Have you heard this prayer? “Dear Lord, please give me patience, and give it to me right now.”

Psalm 37:4 Says, “Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires.” however, the Psalm goes on in verse 7 to say “Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper.” TLB

It is important to trust God’s timing and “rest” or stay in peace patiently while we wait for Him.

Dear Lord, Help us wait patiently for the things for which we desire and pray. Help us trust your timing knowing that you care for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Do you ever wonder what God wants from us?

Christian behavior is one thing, which is summed up in Luke 10:27, where Jesus said, “Love the Lord with all your heart soul and strength, and love your neighbor as your self.”

But that is how he wants us to act, but what he wants us to give him is described in Psalm 50:14,15 which says, “What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.”

What God wants from us, is thanks, obedience, and reliance on him, all of which will give him glory.

We do this by keeping him in our thoughts all the time as if he were our constant companion, which he is.

Dear Lord, Thank you for all the amazing blessings you have given us. Each of us have so much for which to be thankful. Help us keep you in our thoughts all the time and trust in your protection. When things go well for us, let us be quick to give you the glory. Without you, we would be lost. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You have heard people say how they love this thing or that, like “I love my IPhone,” or “I love my new car.” Of course this is just a figure of speech, but we need to be careful where we place our focus.

John writes in 1 John 3:17-18 “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

The expression, “Love people and use things, not the other way around,” is a good reminder of God’s direction for us.

Dear Lord, we thank you for all the wonderful things we have. Help us remember, however, to put people before things, and show our love in our actions. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

One of the joys of life, and also a challenge of life is dealing with different types of people.

Proverbs 9 has some wisdom for these interactions.

First, Proverbs 9:7-9 says, “Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you Instruct the wise and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous and they will learn even more.”

Then verse 12 says, “If you become wise, you will be the one to benefit. If you scorn wisdom, you will be the one to suffer.”

We need to look at these passages, from both the speaker and listener point of view, making sure we are not the “mocker,” who knows it all and is not open to learn, but are the wise who are open to correction and do not get defensive, because we know we will be the one to benefit.

Most importantly we need to remember Proverbs 9:10, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”

Dear Lord, it is you who provide us wisdom for life, good judgment, and understanding of those we encounter. Help us humbly look for wisdom to be better in all we do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you read stories about successful people, athletes, musicians, actors, chefs, Nobel prize winners, business people, etc. and the story writes about how they studied under the same instructor that coached several other great athletes, or the person studied under the same professor as several other famous people.

These successful people are bringing fame and “glory” to their teacher, coach, or mentor as a result of their own success.

In a similar way, Jesus’ tells us in Matthew 5 that we, Christians, are the light of the world. In verse 16 he says, “let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We need to be those people who bring glory to our teacher, Jesus, with our actions.

Dear Lord, thank you for setting the example for us on how to live a humble life serving others with love. Help us live this life and be a light for all to see and bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.