Father, when those aboard the ship in Acts 27 were looking at the gloomy forecast that appeared for many days their hopes diminished day by day. So often that’s what leads us to defeat; we fear the raging storm and the damage it will do, instead of looking for the Peacespeaker who controls the wind and waves. When we consider the scores of relief workers in Haiti we’re reminded that it is their duty to go beyond the dangerous ransacked rubble to search for life. They must expect the impossible in order to save lives where it would seem there could be no one alive. We trust You for the miraculous stories that will eventually be reported, reminding us that You are a God of the impossible, bringing hope in the midst of devastation, restoration in the midst of loss. We entrust every one of these workers to Your care and pray for their safety as well as those who are presently entrapped by the rubble. We pray that there will be Christian believers who will bring the life-saving message of Jesus Christ to the hearts of surviving Haitians so that their hope is not based on what they see, but in the hope we have through the Holy Spirit as we trust in You. Amen.

Father, we think of those people in our lives that refresh us at the very sight of them or at the mention of their names. They have poured into our lives fruitful blessings by their kind actions and words, by their exemplary lifestyle and so often by their personal overcomings of life’s hardships. May we be not only recipients of such tender mercies, but diligent dispensers of lovingkindness toward others. May our actions and words refresh them. Not that it should be our major motivation, but we know that when we refresh others, we ourselves are refreshed. So as we bless others, we too are blessed and we bless You as well. Amen.

Father, when we place our trust in You we’ve only begun to tap into the unlimited resources You make available to the believer. You have blessed us with Your special favor and Your unsurpassed peace and it only gets better and better as we grow to know You more and more. The illumination of Your Word is truly a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path revealing the mystery of the Gospel to us. May we be found consistent from day to day growing in the grace and knowledge You give to us in the midst of varying daily experiences of life. It is in Christ’s name that we pray. Amen.

Father, help me to fix my thoughts upon the living hope I have in Jesus Christ my Lord. I anchor my soul in the bedrock of Your Holy Word so that when other viewpoints counter the truths prescribed in Your Word my anchor remains firm. When difficulties appear insurmountable remind me that I serve an extraordinary God who does not rely on natural solutions but works in the supernatural realm to meet each one of my needs. I am not tossed to and fro by wishful thinking but I am firmly grounded in the living hope of our resurrected Savior and it is in His name that I pray. Amen.

Father, we not only surrender our hearts to You but also our minds. We pray that You would help us sort truth from fiction; to see that which You want us to see, not what the master deceiver dangles before our eyes. So many do not live victorious lives because they imagine that which is not true, they perceive thoughts that are based on false assumptions or the words of others. They limit themselves in areas of service where You want to grow them and make them useful for Your kingdom. Helps us to seek Your will above the opinions of others or our own opinions when they’re not based upon factual criteria. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.