Father, You created within us a desire for the human touch. We’re grateful for hugs of love, affection, and friendship; for those who embraced us following a personal disappointment, a time of loss, a long separation, or a time of celebration and rejoicing. Sometimes words fall short or are inadequate for a situation, so You gave us the ability to show that we really do care by warmly embracing one who is in need of a loving physical touch. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Father God, You are awesome in power; You established Your throne in the heavens, and yet Your Spirit resides within my frail heart. I witness Your unfathomable power daily when I see the sun rise in the east and set in the west; when I witness the change of the seasons and when I witness the change in a redeemed life. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords and You are my King and the Lord of my heart. I honor You and exalt Your name above all other names, my King and my Lord. Amen.

Father, today we are thankful for our journey here below. We also thank You for our future heavenly dwelling where we will live in an unshakable kingdom that has no end, where sin and its awful consequences cannot enter, where we will worship You with reverence and awe throughout the myriad of time. How good it is that we can also worship You here with reverence and awe, with thanksgiving and praise even as we live in the midst of a world filled with sin, even as we praise You from a heart that plays tug of war with the enemy of our soul. We want to be purposeful and focus on that which cannot diminish over time, that which has eternal value, and that which will grow our love and devotion to You, our loving Father and Redeemer of our soul. Amen.

Father, thank You for the treasure of Your riches; salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. This treasure which You invite us to partake of stabilizes our hearts when instability surrounds us so much so that even we feel the shaking, kind of like an aftershock. Your salvation, wisdom and knowledge surpass those passing and temporal treasures experienced in this mortal life. We walk by faith and not by sight, so keep us steadfast in our times as we hold to You, our unshakable foundation, for there is no Rock like You, our God. Keep our eyes on the invisible God, for though we cannot see You we love You and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, as we await our future union in heaven. Amen.

Father, we don’t want to proclaim our own loyalty, but we give glory to You, when others testify of our loyalty, our trustworthiness, our dependability. Your Scripture teaches us to be people who are honest and dependable, who do to others as we would have them do to us. Living among such people makes day to day living so much more enjoyable, relationships more trustworthy, and dealings with those who do business a more fair and pleasant experience. You “detest lying lips but delight in people who are trustworthy”. We want to bring delight to You today and always, and we can do so by being people who are trustworthy. Through Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.

Father, during the natural course of events, we often declare “God is good” when circumstances lean in our favor. But the life of Joseph teaches us that, in the midst of granting us giftings and favor, You also grant us unwanted circumstances in our life to bring about Your intended purpose. By the time Joseph married and had two sons he learned that it is You who makes us “forget all our trouble”. And it is You who “makes us fruitful in the land of our suffering.” May we embrace the same attitude as Joseph, who learned far more about You through his years of suffering than his years of ease. Keep us faithful and growing in our sorrows and suffering, in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Father, we have been given a trust and desire to prove ourselves faithful in all areas of our lives as evidenced in our responsibilities carried out here on earth. Being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us involves sacrifice, humbleness, repentance, and obedience which does not come easily, but is nevertheless required. As we walk steadily with You and prayerfully apply Scriptural principles we will be found faithful. We look to You in prayer coming to You through Jesus Christ our Lord in whose name we pray. Amen.

Father, You assure us time and again of Your compassionate love toward us through Your Word, through fellow believers, through extraordinary intervention and whatever other means You ordain. You respond to our needs faithfully, but we confess that our doubts begin when Your voice is silent about particular ongoing needs we’re dealing with. It is in these instances that we begin to wonder, do You really do care. But we desire to prove our faith to be genuine by trusting You even when You are silent. Help us to persevere in prayer as we seek to understand Your overall plan in these troubling matters. And when we don’t understand Your plan help us to trust You because faith that cannot be tested is faith that cannot be trusted. Amen.

Father, we thank You for Jesus who is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother or a sister, who never leaves us nor forsakes us. We also thank You for the companionship of a marriage partner who walks alongside us during the ups, downs, and winding pathways of our journey below. Help us to be vigilant in preserving our sacred vows and honoring the institution of marriage. We want to be united as two blending together as one as we live in harmony with You. Amen.

Father, in the midst of our trials may the problem at hand not be the single focus of our prayers. Help us to seek You for godly understanding and patient endurance, so that our lives are spiritually maturing in the process of waiting upon You to answer our prayers. May seeking You be our primary focus in fulfillment of Christ’s command in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto You.” In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.