Praise you, Lord God, for your good and powerful work in my life, bringing change, bringing hope-giving, heart level change. I give you glory and honor for what you have done, for what you are doing, for what you will do. You are the great transformer, the powerful new-creature-Maker. You can break through my soul barriers, my self blindness, the evil deceptions of my heart.
You, Lord God, King of Glory, Wise and All powerful, prepare the way for us, then wait for our cooperation. You are the Loving One who spreads Light in my soul so I can share in your Life abundantly. Praise you for your persistence in pressing me to respond, in leading me to admit, confess, repent and forsake my sin. Keep it up, Lord, that you may be more and more glorified in my life.
Praise you for your purity, your holiness, your perfection, your cleanness, your spotlessness, your sinlessness. You are the only true God, the only One to be trusted fully, the only righteous One. I lift you up, I glorify you, I exalt you with all my heart.
Lord God–Father, Son and Spirit–I praise you for the deep work you have done in my life, bringing transformation of my heart and soul, bringing me to think truth, decide for truth, feel truth, live in truth. This is a great change, a powerful shift from insecurity to rest, from self-defense to eager confession, from fear to secure faith, from unrest to full rest, from complaining to praise, from fretting to thanksgiving, from outward influence to upward influence.

You have worked richly, powerfully, faithfully, continually. I am deeply thankful and rejoice in your love, I revel in your grace, I bask in your goodness, I wallow in your rich, transforming forgiveness, I worship in your absolute, whole-hearted, unending, empowering acceptance.

What a wonder: to be your child, to awake to your presence each morning, to be transparent before you, to rest in your marvelous love, to rejoice in your perfect, warm, gracious, loving forgiveness and acceptance, to be a cherished, beloved, deeply cared for and delighted in son.

I rejoice in knowing that you have gone before me this day, that all is in your hand, under your control, within your wisdom. In you there is security, in you there is significance—far more than I ever will need. Forgive me for forgetting this, for fighting for scraps of security and significance on the streets of life, ignoring the whole warehouse full you have granted me,  forgive me for not believing you, for accepting instead the half-truths of the world, my flesh and the devil.

Help me today to live in your light, to dwell in your shelter, to rest in your shadow, to walk in your presence all day long. May your name may be further glorified in me, through me, by me before the unseen hosts and all those I can see around me. Help me to live the purpose for which I was created, redeemed and commissioned: to bring glory and honor to your Name this day.

Thank you, Lord, for my restless legs last night, an opportunity to get up and work more. I praise you, Lord Jesus, that in all things we can be thankful, know that you are at work, and can give you honor through trust rather than complaining and grumbling, which lead only to discontent and despair.

Lord, as we face difficulties, uncertainty and illness,  I praise you for your goodness, for your kindness, for your wisdom. You are never stumped, never at a loss on how to proceed, never perplexed. Praise you for what you allow to make us grow, to bring us up short, to expose what is keeping us from really living.

Praise you, too, for all you will accomplish today in your plan. Give us wisdom, Lord Jesus, to discern what you are doing and to know how to join you. I am so prone to just go with the next task that comes to mind rather than seeking your face, and with you doing the next thing you have on your agenda.

Praise you, Lord Jesus, for the certainty of your answering these prayers, for the rock solid reliability of your perfect, eternal, mighty character. You will empower, lead us through, protect, guide, challenge and provide.

Psa 28:8  “The LORD is the strength of his people,” [We have no other strength to speak of: here for only a short time with a limited sphere of influence, unable to control even our basic lust for significance and security. But in you, Lord Jesus, we are given strength, filled with your Spirit, washed in grace, enlightened by your Word, protected by your power, used in your hand. Our eyes are on you, for otherwise we know not what to do.]

“a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.” [You, O Lord God, are our Fortress, the Protector, the Deliverer, the Savior of all who trust in you.  In you there is safety, security, protection and deliverance. These are found in no other; all else is temporary, incomplete, weak and futile. The choice is ever before us: Jesus or self, safety or danger, life or death, transformation or termination, good or evil, victory or failure.  In you is all good, Lord Jesus; all we need to do is surrender so you may work your goodness in and through us.

Psa 28:9  “Save your people and bless your inheritance;” [Praise you, Lord God, that we are your people: purchased, cherished, dearly loved, delighted in and doted on. Praise you that we are your inheritance: redeemed, treasured, protected and loved. Praise you that daily you save us, that daily you bless us, daily you prepare, provide and protect in love.]

“be their shepherd and carry them forever.” [And so you are, Lord Jesus, our Great and Wonderful Shepherd, leading, sheltering, feeding, watering, exposing and strengthening. You carry us through each day, arranging all, holding back the foe, preparing a feast in the presence of our enemies, leading us beside the still waters, providing patience, peace and purpose. And this you will continue doing forever with passion, power and persistence.

We can rest in you, rejoice in you, rise up each day in your power, wisdom and goodness. You are worthy of honor, Lord Jesus, of obedience, of worship, of praise and glory. Praise you that you will shepherd me through this day. I praise you now for what will happen, for what you will bring.  May I give you glory today, living in a way that is worthy of you.

Your Word, Lord Jesus, is like you; reliable, steady, faithful, right.  What is written there is true and trustable.  My hope is rooted in you as revealed in your Word. Without this hope, my way would be unclear, unhappy, untenable.  But your Word, Lord, is clear, trustable, good and a joy. Heeding it, believing it I can walk through difficulties with the light of your Love showing me the way. I can trust you no matter what.

As we stood at the Lufthansa check in counter at the Boston Airport, the agent did not give us the seats listed on our tickets. And, it looked like these seats were not together.  I felt the tension rising; we’d picked good seats months earlier and now they were being taken from us.

But I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit, “Trust in me, rest in me.”  Psalm 62 came to mind, “My soul finds rest in God alone,” not in having the desired seats.  In obedience I rejected the urge to object. I let go of what was temporal, held on to God’s goodness and let my tension ebb away as I rose above the situation.

When we got on the plane our seats were not only further forward (meaning we got out earlier to make the plane change in Munich), they were right next to the business class section, giving us more leg room, there were only 3 abreast, not 4, and were near the bathrooms.  God has better ideas!

Trusting God, waiting on Him, being gracious as He is gracious makes everyone’s life easier.  There are times to object, but we’d better make sure our motives are right and that we wait for the right time.  When we live in the truth of His Word that “Knowing Jesus is Enough For Joy, period,” we live in true freedom with the ability to chose what is right.

I praise you, Lord God, for the way you are using Scripture to transform my thinking, my will, my emotions, my responses, my values and my motives. To memorize your Word and meditate on it is powerful.

It is pouring your perspective down into my soul, my inner being, my secret areas where it brings cleansing, revelation and a greater grasp of your glory. It also brings a wider picture of your power, purposes and plans, which results in a greater trust of you. And this leads me to praise you all the time, especially for things that humanly speaking are distressing, unwanted and uncomfortable.

It is clear that this trust and the resulting praise are the way to trigger the flow of patience in my life. When I see the big picture of you having absolute control over where the events of the world are going, that you are molding them to fit your overall plans, that whatever comes to me comes with your permission and purpose, then I can reject my natural impatience at inconvenience, frustration and disappointment, take up Truth and patiently move through each event, trusting you. This is the outcome of receiving my security from you, Lord, who are my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, my strength, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:1,2)

Along with this is the growing grasp of your great supply of significance, poured out upon me every day. There is an ongoing, deep, transformation that flows from knowing that I am yours, am with you, treasured by you, delighted in by you, invited to join you in your mighty purposes, am freely and consistently given worth, belonging and competence.

There is also an ongoing shift away from the fear of man to a fear of God, a desire to please you and a corresponding ability reject what people think, their disapproval, their denigration. Your approval is enough to rest in, live in, die in.

Another aspect of this is a better grasp of the joy of being weak, the opportunity to trust you to work where I am without influence. If I want adventure, trusting you in my weakness is it! This, combined with the daily reminder that the battle is not against flesh and blood, brings me to a compassionate, positive view of those who oppose me, even a warmth as I think about them.

What a change you are bringing in my being, Lord. This is certainly a foretaste of heaven. This is your bringing me out into an ever more spacious place, into growing freedom, into a greater joy. Glory be to you for this change that carries me forward in every area of my life.

I praise you for what you are going to do today, Lord, as you orchestrate the flow of events, protecting and exposing as you know is best. I praise you for the negative feelings that may come: frustration, a sense of uselessness, the perception of failure in my plans, anger, impatience, a feeling of worthlessness. Each of these is an opportunity to think Truth, to surrender to you, to praise you for the chance to use negatives to respond with a positive from your Word, to be a glory-giver rather than a glory-stealer.

I praise you for what you will lead me to accomplish and for what you will prevent for your glory. Before anything happens, I give you glory now, Lord Jesus, trusting in your Great, Good, Glorious and Gracious character.

Good morning, Lord, my Great Shepherd, you who are the Owner, Protector, Guide and Lover of my soul.  You are the marvelous One who has reached down into the slime and sludge of the world to buy back those who had strayed into the kingdom of the devil, who became his agents of destruction.

We deserved to be slaughtered, but in your great love and compassion you provided a way to save us. You called us to yourself, you cleansed us, you transformed us from pigs into sheep and brought us into the Kingdom of Light, where your beloved Son rules.  And now you shepherd us through the rest of the days you will give us here on earth.

In your great wisdom and will, out of your immeasurable riches and power, through your complete knowledge and insight, by your grace and goodness you provide all that we need for the moment; we truly have no lacks in the area of need, only in the area of wants.  Praise be to you both because you desire to give what is needed and because you have the unlimited resources to do so! You are worthy of worship, of exaltation, of honor and praise and I bow before you, giving these to you today.  May you be glorified in my life today.