We all occasionally worry about something, but Paul tells us that there is an alternative to worry, prayer.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

In my words, what he is saying is, when we have a concern, rather than worrying, we should ask God to solve it, then thank him for doing so. We should then carry on in the best way we know how, with trust that God will handle the situation. We may not know how He will handle it, but we can know that God has a reason for the way He is answering our prayer, and His ways are better than ours.

Dear Lord, help us remember to pray rather than worry. Help us also remember to include our thanks that you will handle our concern in your way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

At the end of most worship services, the pastor sends the congregation out with a blessing. In Numbers 6 God tells Moses how this blessing should go. You have probably heard these words many times. Verses 24-26 say, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” ESV

In the Living Bible, verse 27 says, “This is how Aaron and his sons shall call down my blessings upon the people of Israel; and I myself will personally bless them.”

We need to remember these amazing words when receiving this blessing. God said, “and I myself will personally bless them.” What a comfort this can be to those who believe, that God has personally blessed each of us.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the blessing of your love and care for each of us. Help us live lives in bold faith, knowing that you are always there to guide and protect us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We never really know why God lets bad things happen to people. In one story when Jesus healed the blind man and the Pharsies asked who sinned that caused the man to be blind, Jesus said, this happened, “so the power of God could be demonstrated.”

Jesus also says, however, that our sins can bring bad things on us. In John 5 after Jesus heals the man by the pool, He tells the man, “…Now you are well; don’t sin as you did before, or something even worse may happen to you.” TLB

Our motivation to avoid sin shouldn’t just be to avoid something bad happening to us. We should obey God’s direction because we love him.

Dear Lord, we may not know your reasons for what happens in our lives, but we know you love us. Help us to follow your direction out of our love for you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you seen young children test their parents by doing something they have just been told not to? For example, the child throws his or her food on the floor, the parent in a teaching voice says “no don’t do that,” and puts the food back in front of the child. The child proceeds to throw the food on the floor again, So the parent disciplines the child by taking the food away, completely; A simple example of a parent disciplining the child to teach right and wrong.

In a similar way, Proverbs 3:11-12 tells us, “My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline, and don’t be upset when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”

It is different in ways, because we cannot see God standing their telling us not to do something, like a parent. However, maybe some of those things that seem to be coincidences are actually God disciplining us; Misplacing our car keys shortly after thinking how irresponsible our spouse was for misplacing something, or muttering something impolite at another driver, then finding a parking ticket on our car when we come out of the store.

When these inconvenient coincidences occur, we should stop and ask ourselves whether God is trying to discipline and teach us something to make us better.

Dear Lord, help us be aware of your discipline in our lives and work on taking your guidance so we can become better Christians. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Many personal development books and coaches emphasize the importance of visualizing what you want to occur in your life. Some also say that if you dwell on your fears they are more likely to occur, and conversely if you focus on the positive, those things are likely to occur.

It is interesting that this idea has its origin in the bible. Proverbs 10:24 says, “The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.” This ties in also with Jesus’ words in several places including Matthew 8:13, saying “..because you believed, it has happened.”NLT

Dear Lord, help us keep our thoughts on the positive; our hopes, dreams and prayers, and help us avoid negative, self defeating thoughts that lead us to question your power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.