God is at Work, No Matter How You Feel

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

Read this as a prayer today –
In faith, I know this to be true:

• Jesus, you are full of truth and grace, and you fill me with your truth and grace (John 1:14).

• You are working within me to clear a channel so that your love flows through me into the lives of everyone I meet. When I find it difficult to love someone, I can be confident that you will love that person through me (Galatians 2:20-21).

• I may not be where you need to be yet, but I am “confident of this, that he who began a good work in [me] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).

• And I know “God is able to make all grace abound [in me], so that in all things at all times, having all that [I] need, [I] will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV).

• Thank you, Jesus – You have filled me with your grace and truth, brought me deep and permanently into the love of God, and given me the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. I am, at all times, filled with grace, mercy, and peace (2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV).

Prayers Have an Impact

“God hears us whenever we ask Him and we know also that He gives us what we ask from Him.” 1 John 5:15 (GNT)

Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God's sovereignty.

Do you ever wonder if prayer really works?  You’re praying about something and Satan whispers to you, “This is a waste of time. Forget it!  Who do you think you are?  What do you think you’re doing?  God is not listening. Don’t waste your time.”

Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God’s sovereignty.  Why does He do one and not another?  Because God is in control.  We have to trust His wisdom and His goodness.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.” (LB)

Prayer can do whatever God can do.  His resources are available to you.  Twenty times in the New Testament it says, “Ask.”  It’s encouraging to know that things that are out of my control are not out of God’s.  I may not be able to change a situation, but I can pray and God can change it. 

by Rick Warren

Pray for Others

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.” Philippians 1:4 (NIV)

The more specific you are in prayer, the more specific the answer will be.

The quickest way to change a relationship from bad to good is to start thanking God for people you are having difficulty getting along with.

Praying for them will do two things -- change your attitude and change them. Positive praying is much more powerful than positive thinking. People may resist our help, spurn our appeals, and reject our suggestions, but they are powerless against our prayers. 

What do you pray? The more specific you are in prayer, the more specific the answer will be. 

In Philippians 1:9-11, Paul spells out exactly what he’s praying for people. “And this is my prayer, that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (NIV)

These verses give you four things you can pray for people today –

“Abound in love …” Pray that they will grow in love.
“Discern what is best …” Pray that they make wise choices.
“Be pure and blameless …” Pray that they will do the right thing.
“Filled with the fruit of righteousness …” Pray that they will live for God’s glory



by Rick Warren

Parenting with the Lord's Prayer: Creating Stability

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10 NIV)

When you set boundaries with your children, they may push back, but they will also feel secure when those boundaries stand firm.

Study any psychological test and they’ll tell you the most insecure place for a kid to be is at the center of his or her family – controlling all the strings, getting their way in everything.

Kids instinctively know they do not belong in the center of the family; it creates great insecurity in their lives. Where kids find stability and security is in having boundaries. This is true from the moment they are born. We take little babies and wrap them up tightly. It’s called swaddling and being tightly bound gives the baby a feeling of security.

When you set boundaries with your children, they may push back, but they will also feel secure when those boundaries stand firm. They learn that you really do care about them. It’s when children don’t have those boundaries, and feel they can get away with anything, that they begin to question their parents’ love.

In the same way children need to know God’s purpose for their life is part of God’s larger plan. This creates boundaries of identity for them. It let’s them know that life is not all about them.

And in understanding God’s plan, they are able to find the answers to the basic questions of life: who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? Where did I come from? Does my life have meaning? What is my purpose and how should I live it out? Why is this happening to me?

When you teach a child, “thy kingdom come, they will be done” you are teaching them that God has a master plan for history, but he also has a specific plan for their lives.

by Rick Warren