Needy

Whenever you possibly can, do good to those who need it. ~ Proverbs 3:27 (GNT)

If we have what we need and see one of our own people in need, we should help that person. If we don't help we cannot honestly say that we love God. ~ 1 John 3:17 (ABP)

KEY IDEA:

Helping the needy is an important part of our relationship with God.

PRAYER:

Lord, I am so grateful that you help the needy. I'm a beneficiary of your help. I admit, though, that I have been slow to keep the momentum going. There are just so many demands on my time and energy. Albeit some of them are demands that I have created by my own ambition and desires. I could use your help in sorting this stuff out. I want to be a part of your care force. Amen.

Messengers

Help us, Lord! There is not a good person left; honest people can no longer be found. ~ Psalm 12:1 (GNT)

Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. ~ Colossians 4:3 (CEV)

KEY IDEA:

The message of Christ needs to be spread regardless of the cost.

PRAYER:

Thank you, God, for the good news about Jesus. He and his mission were the secret weapons that you were planning to use to turn the world back to you. I want to be a messenger of that secret. I want to make it known. Pardon me when I am shy and timid about sharing it. I worry too much about how things will work out and I'm not fond of suffering -- or even of people disrespecting me. But the good news packed into that secret is that I don't have to worry and that I am pardoned. It's all good. Amen.

Words

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything Samuel said proved to be reliable. ~ 1 Samuel 3:19 (NLT)

For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say. ~ 1 Thessalonians 1:8 (GNT)

KEY IDEA:

Your words make a difference.

PRAYER:

Your powerful word, Holy Lord, created the heavens and the earth. It is your word that gives power to my words. Help me to be aware of how I use words. Help me to speak in ways that build up and don't tear down. Empower my words to help others come to know you more deeply and love you more sweetly. Amen. (Daily Texts, Mount Carmel Ministries edition)

All-Knowing

God knows every secret of the heart. ~ Psalm 44:21 (CEB)

These are the words of the one who is the first and the last, who died and came back to life: I know your hardship and poverty... ~ Revelation 2:8-9 (CEB)

KEY IDEA:

God knows it all.

PRAYER:

God, you are not only all-powerful -- so powerful that you can raise the dead -- but you are all-knowing. You know all secrets and you know all of the issues that drive us. You have as a fully human Savior experienced it all yourself. Save me from my doubts and fears. Help me to trust that your solutions are ultimately the best solutions for the world and for me. I'm glad that you know so much. Amen.