Prayer to Begin Your Day

Dear Father, You are in Heaven yet among us, your name is holy. May your kingdom come, your will be done today on earth as you desire in Heaven. Give me this day, all I need, food, shelter, your presence. Forgive me of my sins, just as you expect me to forgive others (with a free heart, not a blaming, accusing heart). I ask you to abide in me, keeping me from all temptation toward sin and please guard me from all evil today and for as long as I live. I belong to your Kingdom and I live for your glory. Amen

My Spiritual Battle  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Because I know, my battles are not with flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in evil high places I choose to equip myself today by taking on Your armor. I thank you, Father, for this new day in Jesus’ name.

I stand in this evil day, having my waist encircled with the Belt of Truth.  Which will help me stand on His Word and speak truth in love (Eph 4:15).
With the Breastplate of Righteousness in place, I guard my heart and walk in righteousness.
With my feet prepared with the Gospel of Peace, I walk in peace and spread peace to others by becoming a peacemaker (not a peacekeeper avoiding my responsibility). 
I take up the Shield of Faith, to distinguish all the fiery darts of the enemy and to refresh my spirit in faith toward You and your will for me this day.
I am covered with the Helmet of Salvation, which reminds me of who I am in Christ, refreshes my mind with Your Word, and keeps my mind protected.
I take up the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and choose to use it against my enemy. I will memorize it and feed upon it daily.

Guarding My Heart (Proverb 4:23)
God, give me grace and knowledge to see Your image in people, not just the negative. May I also be Your hand extended to show mercy to them.

Whatever plan or scheme the enemy has in mind for me today, I recognize that I have a foe who wants to thwart Your life in me and I choose to walk in obedience to You. I desire to conform to Your will, Father. Jesus is supreme in my life… not Satan, I give the enemy no foothold in me.

I choose to depend on You today to give me the strength, faith, wisdom, and the knowledge I need for this day. I refuse to take offense (Satan’s bait) from those who hurt me or are difficult to be around. I choose to be aware of my feelings, and not allow them to rule my heart. I will guard my heart so that everything I encounter will proceed from a sound heart and mind (2Tim 1:7). Rather than basing my responses and reasoning upon my feelings, I choose to base them upon Your Word.

I will not allow another’s poor choice to determine mine. Because of Your care and defense of me, I do not need to take offense toward anyone today. I choose to receive Truth and grow as you send people to help me, through correction and instruction in righteousness. I will not have an offended heart. Instead, I will guard my heart (Prov. 4:23). Others will feel free to interact with me because they see my genuine love for them.

Fill me afresh today Holy Spirit  (Ephesians 5:15-20)
Fill me Holy Spirit so that I can live this day pleasing You. May I recognize your gifts so that I can serve You in a Spirit-filled way. By this, I will experience good in this day, making the most of every opportunity.

Holy Spirit, fill me every moment of today. Help me remember my body is the temple of God. Search me, and show me anything in my life that I haven’t given over to You or that is displeasing to You. Help me rightly discern anything or anyone that has control over me instead of You: addictions, attractions, money, food, sexual pleasure, any idolatry, so I can get rid of them and serve You completely. Help me walk renewed in the spirit of my mind (Eph 4:23).

I am determined to run my race…finish my course… and do ALL that You have for me to do! Give me strength today, I believe I can do all things through You, as You give me strength (Phil 4:13).

 
My Position & Posture

My position in You, Jesus, is because of your sacrifice for me. I am justified – all of my past sins are covered because of your shed blood and this brings me great joy and peace.

I need Your help today because apart from You, I can do nothing (John 15:4-5). I acknowledge that I need You in every situation. Reveal to me, Holy Spirit, when I am acting on my own apart from Your will and gifting (Rom 12:3-5). As I live my life with you, I recognize there is rest. There are Angels all around me, protecting me (Psalm 91).

May I recognize your gifts in others and submit to those you have appointed in godly leadership over me. When I get frustrated, I’ve taken my eyes off of You and put them on myself, the person I’m working with or the problem I’m dealing with. Help me get my eyes back on You. May I remember that there is a treasure in this trial…help me keep focused on You.

I choose to receive Your mercy today. I choose to clothe myself with compassion, kindness, love,
humility, gentleness, and patience today (Col 3:12).


My Words

Give me grace today, not to say hurtful words. Everything I say and do should edify, encourage with Truth, and be done unto the Lord. May my words bless others and show God’s grace to them (Eph 4:29, Col 3:17 & 23).

Help me be quick to hear and slow to speak (James 1:19). Help me take responsibility for my attitude, my thoughts and my words today.  Work with me to be more pleasing to You.

May I be willing to speak Your Truth in Love (Eph. 4:15). Holy Spirit, guide me as a peacemaker and help introduce the Word into situations people face. Remove my natural fears while trusting Your Word to accomplish its powerful work in someone’s heart.

Put a watch over my mouth, so I don’t sin against You with my tongue (James 1:26). May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight (Psalm 19:14).


Your powerful Word   (Hebrews 4:12)

Your Word is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.  It penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

As I read your Word my mind is renewed, so I may think properly. I am going to agree with you today. I will not allow myself to spend the day self-focused leading me toward depression, idolatry, or wasting time. I’m going to memorize Your Word and obey what it says. The joy of the Lord is my strength! (Psalm 28:7)

Your Word causes me to recognize Truth. I see that I am blessed above measure. If all I have ever received is your forgiveness of my sin, and a place in Heaven with you for eternity—that would be enough! Yet you continue to bless me.

Blessings & Healing

I come now asking you to bless my family: my spouse, my children and grandchildren (name them individually), my parents, elders, pastors, my siblings, my co-workers, my neighbors, and my friends. Please bless the provisions You’ve supplied to me. May I use them wisely, not frivolously, so that I will have plenty for myself and with generosity, give to others who have much less.

Father, please bless my job, and those I serve in some capacity as a mother/wife, father/husband, homemaker, secretary, employer, pastor, leader, supervisor, and helper. Wherever you currently have me occupying, please give me joy and contentment. And move me forward in Your time. I want to always be learning and growing so I may show forth a testimony of Your goodness to me.

Isaiah 53:4-5 tells of your suffering, wounding, and punishment for me so I may be healed from all diseases, grief, and sin. Thank you, Jesus, for enduring pain on the cross in my place! I can never repay you, but I can love you supremely, above all else. But help me when I am unbelieving and fail, like Peter.


Trusting & Listening

I choose NOT to worry about what I should eat, drink or wear. Instead, remind me that I am Your child and You will take care of me.  I don’t have to worry about tomorrow (Matt 6:25-34). I plan to sleep well tonight: because the sleep of the righteous is sweet! Teach me how to let my mind rest and not worry.

Help me to listen to You today, so I may live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm (Prov 1:33).  Help me to be pure and peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere today (Gal 5:22-23).

Help me to be better at quick, prompt, complete, obedience to what You show me to do…whether it’s little or big. Help me grow in grace and knowledge today (2 Pet 3:18).

I am sealed by the Holy Spirit. The enemy sees that, but I forget it sometimes.  Help me walk with the knowledge and understanding that You are always protecting me.

This is the day that You have made, Lord, I choose to rejoice and be glad today (Psalm 118:24).

Original author unknown/Modified by Nancy Demary 12/20/2023

Grief

Nancy Demary's avatarNancy Demary

waitingGrief of soul demonstrates the great value someone has placed upon a person, place or thing.

Anyone who has passed through the dark valley of grief knows what a painful trek it is. Death, divorce or some major loss brings us to this difficult journey. Whether the event was expected or not, it requires diligence to come out on the other side with a healthy sense of acceptance and closure.

Moving God into the center of your world is important during this process. Perhaps He has been a small piece of your pie and grief has brought you to a place of desperation, asking “How will I get through this?” I believe that unless we place God largely in the center of our circle, we will have deleterious ramifications from the loss we’ve suffered.

Sometimes we realize through our grief that we had placed too much hope or…

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Moms

Nancy Demary's avatarNancy Demary

Mother’s hands are used by God to nurture us until we reach His heavenly embrace… and a mother’s prayers are her most effective weapon.

I’m am thinking of a couple of moms that I want to remember today for different reasons. One is a young Mom who I came to know last Spring through an event at our church. Her prayer request during an alone time together was to have another baby; she already had a young son but had lost other babies by miscarriage. This Mother’s Day, a year later, she has another beautiful boy to love, nurture, and enjoy. This young woman’s heart cry and faith are inspiring, I enjoy seeing how she delights in her gifts from God. (Be inspired by reading Hannah’s story I Samuel 1 and 2:1-26.)

The second Mom that I want to commend, is someone whose son I’ve interacted with regularly. He’s a considerate…

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Flee Sexual Immorality!

I was fearful, afraid to broach the subject, so nervous inside, my stomach filled with acid, my heart pounded and I wondered how I could possibly confront this. I have been through this so many times before; previous attempts at trying to deal with the problem have failed. But what IS the problem?! It’s so elusive; I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’ve been told I’m a bit crazy, suspicious, going overboard… “relax; maybe some medication will help you chill out a bit“. Why try? Avoid– that’s it! I’ll just lay low and pray and hopefully, time will fix all of this. Yes, don’t think you have to do everything. Lots of people have problems… you’re blowing things out of proportion. Remember last time you said something and it turned into a huge war? The kids think I’m going crazy too. What’s wrong with me? Do I have a mental problem? Maybe I am going crazy? Help…

These thoughts are common among those in relationship with someone who has a secret. Secrecy is what keeps sin alive.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality… Are you lashing out in anger at those around you when asked a question? Are you isolating, turning inward? Using your device (phone) in order to avoid others? Do you see your indifference toward life; toward others? No depth in meaningful conversation, have you become unthankful, unholy, defiled? Have your self-centered lusts blinded you? This warning is written in love for your soul, urging you to flee and become free.

Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

fist

Spouse, parent, child… UNDERSTAND that fits of anger are normal for those who continue to harbor a hidden sinful life. When you press on something that touches the secret of one whose heart has been ensnared, get ready for pushback, blame, and skilled manipulation. Some have honed this so well they can intimidate you into thinking they are innocent in the midst of their fits. They want you to back off, acting like you are the cause of their anger. Remember, they are responsible for their anger and steps to healing. Satan loves this drama and scornfully laughs, delighting in the deceptive work of his hands.

family standing on brown grass

IDOLATRY: Someone who continues to indulge in selfish pleasure rather than serving God, and their family, is an idolater. A sexually impure person is covetous. Short of repentance, they will face judgment and reserve their place in hell forever. Think of that; a person who is willing to be forever separated from God and those they love! Why? Because they loved their sin more!

So, what can I do?

First, PRAY for someone caught in the web of sexual immorality; ask God to give them godly sorrow (delineated in 2Corinthians 7:9-11) so they will repent. Prayer will also give you spiritual authority to stand strong upon God’s Word while walking through the battlefield you’re in. It will give you the ability to love their soul while hating the sin they’re involved with.

Secondly, speak the truth in love, and confront with God’s Word (Ephesians 4:15). Don’t coddle sin in any form; sin must be destroyed, completely rooted out and revealed; brought into the light (I John 1:7). Like the serpent it is, the head must be severed allowing the twisting body to die. The only way someone will become free is to hate the sin the way God does.

Ephesians 5:5 (ESV) For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

It is heartbreaking to see families torn apart by sin; it is happening all around us. Whether you’re the one who’s been hiding sin or the betrayed party(s), respond to God. God will avenge all unrighteousness. Rather than hold unforgiveness in your heart, get before God and ask Him to help you, and receive godly counsel on how to walk in forgiveness. It will be a hard road, but worth it. Whether the marriage survives infidelity or not, forgiveness will still be your issue to pursue.  Betrayal in any form is painful and will greatly affect you if you do not come to a place of forgiveness and wholeness.

Romans 12:19 (ESV) Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

The Book of Proverbs says that a fool only expresses their own opinion and does not want to listen to wise counsel. In Proverbs, chapters 4-6, there is strong counsel about staying away from situations that will lead to sexual sin. What we allow to enter our hearts, and then ponder, think about and entertain, will determine our actions. That is why we are told to guard our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 (KJV) Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

EDUCATION on SEX:

Masturbation is sin, no matter what your own thinking, school sex-ed class, or a therapist may tell you. Sexual pleasure was created by God for a husband and wife only and within the covenant of marriage. Self-sex will corrupt you in several ways:

1.  You are deceived in thinking it’s harmless and you become a deceiver to your spouse by engaging in self-sex. If you are single, you are developing a wrong view of the gift of sexuality, it was not designed for idolatrous self-gratification. For others, they resort to this for self-soothing but find it to be further bondage, entrapping them in their past suffering.

2. Sexual intimacy involves giving; when you’ve trained your mind to be a taker/receiver of pleasure only, this will grow and take you down a very dark path (read below). You’ve changed the purpose of sexual relationship and will pay a great price for that.

3. You betray your spouse by not sharing sexual intimacy with her/him. The hormones God designed for bonding within marriage are crucial to the success of being one; physical and spiritual oneness is the only way to truly know God’s perfect plan. When one party brings a “stranger” into the marriage bed it becomes defiled. “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” Hebrews 13:4. You end up “bonding” to the images you watch and you cannot serve two masters. You WILL be mastered by the images unless you renounce and flee from your sin.

4. You become spiritually impotent. Your compromised position will give your enemy (workers of darkness, demons) a foothold in you, forfeiting the authority of God in your life. This impotence will be seen in a lack of biblical leadership and the inability to love your spouse.

5. You’ll become physically impotent. You will need perverse sexual interactions in order to fulfill your lusts. If you are sexually habituated, you have perhaps unknowingly rewired your brain. You’ve addicted yourself to porn and your body no longer functions as God designed it to. (Good news is that you and change the wiring, see RESOURCES)

6. You will reap what you sow. Read Matthew 5:27-30, Hebrews 13:4, Romans 1:26-27, 1Corinthians 6:18.

There is HOPE. God has wonderfully designed us with hormones for sexual relationship, but when taken outside of the boundaries He established, these work against you. This is where sowing & reaping comes to bear. By restructuring the physiological brain, you can either become free or go deeper into destruction. By habitually indulging in pornography, people turn into devils, monsters of iniquity and many do not understand how they got there. God will not be mocked, flee as He warns. God sets captives free. But it takes action on your part.

Sin is incremental by nature, the downward spiral over time takes people to places they never imagined they would go. Ongoing sexual sin takes a soul into the places we see in our nation’s headlines. It should not be difficult to put two-and-two together: childhood sexual abuse, human sex-trafficking industry, rape, serial murder, sexual abuse of boys and girls in religious circles and the film and music industry… the wretched list on parade is endless. This downward spiral draws habituated people into one of three main areas of abuse toward others: sodomy, bestiality, and pedophilia — a sexual lust for children.

Statistics indicate those who sexually molest children, first addicted their brain to pornography. As the physical brain changes so does the desire for more deviant stimuli to get the same “high”. You have a choice. The temptation to lust after pre-pubescent children to get your fix is diabolical. Flee! Satan delights in shame and the destruction of innocents. You become his fool; a pawn in his hand. You become a self-centered idolator and lose genuine concern for the well-being of others, choosing to satisfy the wicked lust that drives you. Why continue being tormented when Christ offers you freedom? The mind differs from your brain, it is “seated” in your heart according to scripture. This means you can change your mind, which will determine your actions and set you free from spiritual bondage. You can change your brain, once you decide to change your mind.

Look where sexual immorality has taken you and what you are doing to those around you… it affects everyone; no one is an island. …and getting married will not solve your problem, it will only pull more people into the pit with you. You alone must choose.

Just as the fool has said in his heart, “there is no God…” (Psalm 14:1), someone who professes to know Jesus Christ and continues in sexual sin, is like the proverbial fool. One day the revelation will come on the deception they lived under and what the pleasure of sin delivers (read Proverbs Chapter 4 & 5). Sin changes everything!

Let us all wake up and turn from any known sin in our lives, large or small. Fornication (pornea) of any kind will bring consequences, if not sooner, then later. Satan, the master deceiver, comes along making shame and guilt appear larger than Truth and God’s forgiveness. His goal is to entrap people and finally, with glee, usher them into Hell for eternity. 

If we could see into the spiritual realm active here on earth, it would be astounding to know what our loving Father is constantly protecting us from! We must gain a healthy reverence for God and face the reality of what His inspired Word says about sexual immorality. Hate the sin and stay far from it! Become grateful, thank Him, fear Him, renounce your sin and repent with godly sorrow. He desires to set you free.

For further learning on overcoming sexual immorality go to RESOURCES.
Photo Credit: Canva, Family/Rodolfo Quirós/Pexels.

Nancy Demary's avatarNancy Demary

guy w phone

I was fearful, afraid to broach the subject, so nervous inside, my stomach filled with acid, my heart pounded and I wondered how I could possibly confront this. I have been through this so many times before; previous attempts at trying to deal with the problem have failed. But what IS the problem?! It’s so elusive; I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’ve been told I’m a bit crazy, suspicious, going overboard… “relax; maybe some medication will help you chill out a bit“. Why try? Avoid– that’s it! I’ll just lay low and pray and hopefully, time will fix all of this. Yes, don’t think you have to do everything. Lot’s of people have problems… you’re blowing things out of proportion. Remember last time you said something and it turned into a huge war? The kids think I’m going crazy too. What’s wrong with me? Do…

View original post 1,446 more words