Your Steadfast Love Keeps Me Forever

FATHER, You have found me and anointed me with holy oil; Your arm establishes and strengthens me so that my enemies cannot outwit me. You crush my foes; Your faithfulness and steadfast love are with me (Ps 89:20-24). You keep me forever and Your covenant stands firm for me (Ps 89:28).

And when I forsake Your laws and don’t walk according to Your rules violating Your statutes and not keeping Your commandments You faithfully punish my transgressions with the rod and my iniquities with stripes (Ps 89:30-32). But, You will not remove Your steadfast love from me or be false to Your faithfulness; You will not violate Your covenant or alter the word that went froth from Your lips (Ps 89:33-34).

FATHER, everlasting thanks to You for keeping me when I do not keep You. My life is like Your chosen Israelites so aptly depicted in the book of Judges—“And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord….Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel…” (Judges 3:7-8 ESV). “But when the people of Israel cried out…the Lord raised up a deliverer…who saved them…” (Judges 3:9 ESV).

You are forever disciplining me with Your rod, then saving me with Your staff (Ps 23:4). And assuring me that by Your holiness I will endure forever; like the moon, I am established (Ps 89:35,37). Sin will not win over me. Halleluiah.

Only Hearing

…the word they heard did not profit them,… Heb 4:2 NASU

FATHER, some will always say, “I hope GOD will let me into heaven,” and never possess enough faith to come to say, “I am going to heaven,” because they are sluggards who refuse to labor (Prov 21:25). They ignore all Your counsel and have none of Your reproof (Prov 1:25). I pray ____ turn away from being a sluggard and to work at discovering more and more of JESUS.

I observe no spiritual fruit and no repentance from ____. (He/She) may crave or dream about being a Christian but is not diligent to obtain such (Prov 13:4). (He/She) has an unbelieving heart refusing to rely solely on CHRIST, thus (he/she) is turning away from You, FATHER (Heb 3:12).

Only You can cause ____ to have a change of mind accompanied by abhorrence of and sorrow for (his/her) deeds. Only You can cause (him/her) to believe in the “sum total of all that Jesus Christ is in His glorious Person” (ref#37, p276, [Acts 2:38]). FATHER, I pray that You astonish (him/her) “to the point of a loss of self-control” at the appearance of JESUS (ref#37, p305, [Acts 13:12]).

I pray the promise you make to the Israelite nation you apply to ____. You say, “…I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them” (Zech 10:6 ESV).

Point ____ toward right actions, FATHER. Without You putting (him/her) on Your path (he/she) will wander forever. I pray You initiate ____.

1 Timothy Chapters—One, Four, and Six

FATHER, as ____ is a weak vessel of clay that You have filled with the all-surpassing power of Your presence (ref#5, p297), I cry out for Your aid to maintain (him/her) by Your presence.

SUSTAINING FATHER, in ____’s attainment of Your blessings which come through (his/her) exercise of faith, may (he/she) examine (himself/herself) often in order to maintain a pure heart, a good conscience and unfeigned trust in You (1 Tim 1:4,5).

Empower ____ with the ability to place (his/her) training in the race for godliness above all else (I Tim 4:7). Drive (him/her) to covet the prizes of a race well run—prizes such as: righteousness, fear of You, faith, love, steadfast patience, meek-heartedness (1 Tim 6:11) and life eternal (1 Tim 6:12). Motivate

(him/her) to keep all Your precepts flawlessly, regarding them as irreproachable and so able to demonstrate their value to others (1 Tim 6:14).

Cause ____ to prosper spiritually in such a way that no one will have any cause to argue against (his/her) words. May all subordinates esteem (him/her) as worthy of the fullest respect so that Your name, O GOD, and Your teaching may not be brought into disrepute (1 Tim 6:1).

You Are A Refuge and A Shield

FATHER, let not the flood sweep over ____ or the pit close its mouth over (him/her) (Ps 69:15). You, GREAT RESCUER, are (his/her) refuge and (his/her) shield. And, also Your word is (his/her) source of hope (Ps 119:114).

Move ____ FATHER, to say, “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me” (Mic 7:8 ESV).

Assurances of Salvation

“If a sinner, upon being convicted of his sin and hearing the gospel of God’s grace, is willing to accept the gospel and by faith take it, he will see how the precious blood of the Lord Jesus answers all the accusations of his conscience. Doubtless there is sin, but the blood of the Lord Jesus has been shed. What ground is left for accusation since sin’s penalty has been fully paid? The blood of the Lord has atoned for all the sins of a believer; hence there is no more condemnation in the conscience….Our salvation is confirmed by the fact that the precious blood has quieted this voice of condemnation” (ref#101, p108).

“When the spiritual life is in ascendancy the believer is most glad; when the flesh gains the upper hand he cannot but grieve. Experience of this kind confirms that such ones have been
regenerated” (ref#33, p81).

FATHER, clue me by this entry that it is my responsibility to seek evidences that prove Your disposition is working in me. Dance with me so I have no trouble displaying Your disposition through my actions.

Back to Basics

FATHER, my human self-worth is tied up in my accomplishments so my tendency is to always think about accomplishments in spiritual life.

“…instead of stressing holiness in order to see God, the emphasis is on service for God…Techniques and methods, by which we hope to make God’s message known, have become the important thing” (ref#100, p16).

Instead of longing for You, I gravitate toward longing for power to better serve You (ref#100, p16). Let me make some notes to myself that they might recalibrate my thinking.

“…thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev 4:11 KJV). “…what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him,…” (Deut 10:12 KJV). “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:…” (Mark 12:30 KJV).

FATHER, let the above Scriptures remind me that I have been created only to delight You. It should be my joy continually to submit to Your will and desires (ref#100, p17).

“The divines who…produced the Westminster Confession of Faith answered the question ‘What is the chief end of man?’ with the words, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever’” (ref#100, p14).

The missionary, David Brainerd records some sobering words in his diary. It makes me question whether I’m interested in Your glory or simply getting from You what I think best:

“I saw it was self interest had led me to pray and that I had never once prayed from any respect to the glory of God….I saw there was no… connection between my prayers and the bestowment of divine mercy; that they laid not the least obligation upon God to bestow His grace upon me…because they were not performed from any love or regard to God” (ref#88, p68).

FATHER, I confess the ease by which I trade my joy of being with You for the satisfaction of doing something I think You would appreciate. Call to my attention swiftly the subtleness by which I move from submitting to You to deciding for myself. Truly, I want to see You. I want to possess a hunger for You. I want to satisfy Your heart. I want to be back into a relationship of submission to You (ref#100, p25).

“It is not left to our own choice whether we will praise God or not. Praise is God’s most righteous due, every Christian, as the recipient of His grace, is bound to praise God from day to day” (ref#34, Sept 30th AM).

I Am The LORD, There is No Other

Before You there was no GOD formed;
there was no such thing as a GOD—(Isa 43:10)
nothing pre-exists but Yourself (ref#15, [Isa 43:10]).

Your dominion is entirely original (ref#16, [Isa 43:10]).

There shall not be any GOD after You,
there never will be (Isa 43:10).
You are the only true and eternal GOD— (ref#16, [Isa 43:10]).

the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8).

Surely, as You have thought,
so it shall come to pass,
and as You have purposed, LORD,

so it shall stand (Isa 14:24).

You fill the heavens and You fill the earth (ref#15, [Jer 23:23]).

You are a GOD that notices things—
things that are close at hand and things far away (Jer 23:23).

Your power is not limited but universal (ref#16, [Jer 23:23]).

Yahweh!—strong and mighty; “Merciful Being”—full of tenderness,

“The gracious One”—naturally good, You, the loving GOD (ref#15, [Ex 34:6]).

Let me hear of Your steadfast love;
Make me know the way I should go (Ps 143:8).

Deliver me from my enemies (Ps 143:9);
Let Your good Spirit lead me (Ps 143:10).

My Nature

FATHER, You have created me to be Your image bearer—to look and act like You. Humans are unique beings of Your creation; the rest of Your creation, without instruction, reflects Your glory but You have given mankind the assignment to declare Your excellencies (1 Pet 2:9).

Being human I am different from the rest of Your creation in three ways: (1) I can receive revelation from You (ref#5, p40). (2) You have given me the ability to interpret that revelation (ref#5, p41). (3) And, I am always a worshipper (ref#5, p44).

However, FATHER, soon after You created humans You permitted satan to corrupt them. Thus I was naturally born into a spiritually lifeless condition. My heart was not inclined to love You (ref#1 p38) nor did it listen, reflect, or worship You. Instead I carried in my spiritually dead body the promise from satan that I had autonomous personal wisdom without any need for You or Your revelation.

It was my nature to give into the lies of satan that convinced me I could be self-sufficient, and self-focused (ref#5, p14). It came naturally for me to idolize and worship everything but You (Ezek 14:5).

But, You imprisoned me with a sinful nature so You could offer me an escape by believing in JESUS CHRIST. You bound me so I might see the freedom CHRIST offers (Gal 3:22, Rom 11:32).

I adore You for giving me CHRIST so I now have the ability to triumph over my born-with nature.
CHRIST not only saves me from sin but saves me from myself.

Prayer Facts:

“Prayer is not so much an act as it is an attitude—an attitude of dependency, dependency upon God. Prayer is a confession of creature weakness, yea, of helplessness. Prayer is the acknowledgment of our need and the spreading of it before God” (ref#152, p141).

Reasons for Waiting for GOD:

Because You are high yet have respect to the lowly, bringing them into fellowship with You, but the proud and haughty You know and recognize only at a distance (Ps 138:6), I will wait for you.
Because You take thought and plans for me when I am poor and needy (Ps 40:17), I will wait for You.

Because if I call on You, You will show me great and mighty things (Jer 33:3), I will wait for you.
Because You will bless those who reverently and worshipfully fear You (Ps 115:13), I will wait for You.

Imperious

In Your hand are power and might (1 Chron 29:12).

You are the victor—
the winner in battle—
the conqueror (ref#110, p1487).

You distinguish Yourself;
having great fame and glory (ref#110, p806).

You are powerfully attractive—
magnetic (ref#110, p813).

Too great to be counted,
You are incalculable (ref#110, 681).
You are Master of being many-sided,
having qualities and accomplishments innumerable (ref#110, p825).

You are imperious, skillful—an expert— (ref#110, p833).

Masterful when You thunder.
As the GOD of glory,
You are full of majesty (ref#110, p833) (Ps 29:3-4).