A Prayer for Hard Days

By Christina Fox
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8
We all have hard days. Challenging days. Days that stretch us, sometimes beyond what we can bear. Sometimes these days appear as a series of little irritating events that build up to one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Other days we wake up to find one huge unexpected event that lands like a bomb in our life.

Sometimes those hard days find us busy and distracted as we try to fix everything that has gone wrong. Or we get so caught up in our thoughts and feelings about our circumstances that it consumes us. Or perhaps we attempt to hide away from struggle of the day in the hopes that if we don’t think about it, maybe it will all go just away.
Instead of such responses, hard days are opportunities for us to draw near to God. They are opportunities for us to rely on him, depend on him, and receive more of his grace. Such days remind us how desperate we are and how much we need our Savior.

A Prayer for Hard Days
Father in Heaven,
Help me! I am so weary and worn down by this day. So many things are happening all at once and I don’t know what to do. I am overwhelmed. It feels like I am standing in a fierce wind that is whipping and swirling around me. I can’t move; the force is so strong. It may just knock me down flat. And worse of all, what if I can’t get back up again?
Father, I can barely lift my eyes to you. It’s all I can do to cry out for help. Please extend your grace to me this day. Help me to see that you are in this and that you are with me. Help me to remember that you are not surprised or taken off guard by the events of this day.
As I dwell and meditate on who you are, I am amazed and filled with wonder that you would love and care for me. No other religion in all the world has a God that loves his people. No other religion has a God that listens and cares about the cries of the human heart. No other religion has a God that would humble himself and take on frail human flesh and live in this sin-stained world. No other religion has a God that would lay down his life for his people.

But you are that God. You are God alone. Your word tells me that before time began you chose me to be yours through your Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4). You set your love on me and made me yours. Ephesians also says that through Christ, I have “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (1:7).
Forgive me for my fears about this day. Forgive me for how I have complained and muttered about how hard this day has been. Forgive me for forgetting that you are with me. Forgive me for forgetting who I am because of what your Son, Jesus Christ, has done. Forgive me for failing to remember the glorious truths and riches I have because of the gospel.
It is these truths that I am focusing my heart on in the midst of this hard day. I pray the words of Paul and claim them as my own that “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give me the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of my hearts enlightened, that I may know what is the hope to which he has called me, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe” (Ephesians 1:17-19).

Father, hear my prayer. Grant me gospel hope in the midst of this hard day. Help me to cling to your grace, your wisdom, and your strength.
Through Jesus and because of Jesus and in his name I pray, Amen.

Former President Obama declared concern Saturday that Democrats are creating ”a circular firing squad” by embracing progressive socialists. He is right. Democrats are setting up a 2020 landslide — for President Trump.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

The Illinois Senate this week heard testimony on a bill to bail out College Illinois, a Ponzi scheme doubling as an ominous symbol of the state.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Illinois News Network.

It’s Mueller Time, exposing one of the worst disasters of media bias in history – the false claim that Donald Trump, his campaign or associates colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.

Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

Do You Have a Shortage or a Surplus Mindset?
By Rick Warren
“My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:5-6 NIV).

Is your life overflowing? If you’re like most people, it may be overflowing, but not with goodness. So many people have overbooked their calendars, overspent their money, overdrawn their credit, overloaded their emotions, overworked their bodies, overcrowded their days, and overvalued the approval of others. As a result, they wind up overstressed, overanxious, and overwhelmed—and they’re over it! They are far from experiencing the goodness of God.

Why do we do let ourselves get overextended? Often the fear of missing out motivates us to do more. But the truth is you’re not missing out on anything when you rest in the goodness and provision of God.
God wants to move you from being overwhelmed to overflowing. He wants to meet all your needs—and he can! First, you need to recognize two fundamentally different approaches to life that either keep you from or bring you into God’s abundance. You can approach life with a shortage mindset or a surplus mindset.
With a shortage mindset, you constantly think, “I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough energy. I don’t have enough contacts, opportunities, knowledge, education, or whatever.” It’s the sense that you’re always a day late and a dollar short. A shortage mindset focuses on your limited resources, and the result is an overwhelmed life.
A surplus mindset focuses on God’s limitless resources, and the result is an overflowing life.
Have you ever worried that the person breathing next to you is stealing your air? Of course not. You know that God created more than enough air for everybody to have all the air we need.
Think of God’s provision like this: God doesn’t give us one pie. He’s a pie factory! He’ll never run out. The Bible includes words like abundance, plentiful, abounding, and bountiful to describe what God has to offer you. God has more than enough to meet all your needs and everybody else’s needs at the same time.
Jesus said, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10 The Message).
You don’t have to worry about running short of anything, because God is the source of your life. He can turn on one faucet and turn off another. You can lose one job, and he can provide another. He wants to fill you beyond capacity with an endless supply of his goodness, joy, blessing, hope, and peace.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

What perspectives or emotions would a shortage mindset lead to?
How does a surplus mindset produce peace in your life?
Why do we so often worry about how much others have instead of focusing on God’s abundant provision in our own lives?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

A Prayer for Thankfulness When You’re Struggling
By Wendy van Eyck
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
If you’re struggling with being thankful for an imperfect life at the moment here are 5 different ways to practice thankfulness:

1. Toe to head thank you
As a teenager I heard Mike Pilavachi speak at a Soul Survivor event. I can’t remember most of what he said but one thing stuck with me: a prayer of gratitude when you wake up in the morning. I still do this from time-to-time. Basically the idea is that as you wake up in the morning you start at your toes and you thank God for the ability to wiggle them and then you move up naming various body parts and why you are thankful for them until you reach your head. I generally find at the end of this prayer I’m pretty cheerful about the day ahead.
2. Grace
Another way to build gratitude into your life even when you aren’t feeling it is to say grace before your meal. Don’t make this a rote prayer that you learnt at kindergarten. Use each meal as an opportunity to thank God for one good thing in your life. If you’re really drawing a blank, you can always simply thank him that you have food for one meal.
3. The Ann Voskamp method
A few years ago now, Ann Voskamp wrote a beautiful book about how she learnt to embrace gratitude through hard things. It is called One Thousand Gifts and if by some chance you haven’t read it yet, you should. Without giving too much away the basic premise is find 3 things to be grateful for each day. Ann Voskamp’s lists always read like poetry. I tried my own list for a couple of months while Xylon had chemo and I definitely found myself noticing the small things to be thankful for that I might have otherwise missed.
4. Sunset thank you
One of my cousins, Pam, was telling me recently how from the time her children are small she tells them every time they see a sunset that God loves them and just like the sun sets every evening God’s love for them will never change. I thought this was a beautiful idea. It also made me think of the sunset as an opportunity to thank God for being part of the day we just lived. Even if I didn’t feel him there the sunset reminds me that was.
5. Last thought at night
Something I try and do each night as I fall asleep is thank God for at least one thing that happened that day. This prayer is usually really sleepy but it helps me to fall asleep in good frame of mind and forget all the difficult things that might have happened in the day.
Do any of these ideas sound doable to you? Do you think they’d help get you into a cycle of cheerfulness-prayer-gratitude?

Prayer: God, sometimes life gets me down and I find it hard to see things to be thankful for. Open my eyes to see the gifts you’ve given me in my life. I’m going to start by thanking you for loving me enough to come to earth and die so we can live together forever. Amen.

If watching the college admissions scandal unfold makes you feel uneasy about young people’s adulting journeys, you’re not alone. Research studies and kitchen table conversations nationwide highlight that teenagers in the U.S. – both those applying to top-tier colleges as well as those making other educational and vocational decisions – face choices and challenges those of us over 30 didn’t encounter until our mid-20s.
Here’s a link to the editorial at Fox News.

A Prayer for Revival – Your Daily Prayer

A Prayer for Revival
Debbie Przybylski
Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. – Matthew 24:44
We live in serious times. We need to cry out fervently to God, asking Him to revive His Church worldwide. We need to be in intensive prayer, asking God to move in our cities and nations. Studying the characteristics of revival will help us prepare both personally and corporately for a great move of God in His Church. Understanding the deep need to prepare our own hearts for revival and learning how to cooperate with God as He pours into the earth will keep us from hindering the move of God as it comes. The key phrase of the Welsh revival in 1904 was, “Bend the Church and save the world.”
· Spiritual preparation
· Conviction of sin
· God-consciousness
“There was nothing humanly speaking, to account for what happened. Quite suddenly, upon one and another came an overwhelming sense of the reality and awfulness of His Presence and of eternal things. Life, death and eternity seemed suddenly laid bare.” – Winkie Pratney

May God prepare each one of us personally to pay the price for revival—the price of fervent prayer and allowing Him to work deeply in our lives. Let us ask Him to make us conscious of His Presence and learn to abide in Him moment by moment. Pray that He will convict us of even the smallest sin in our life. Press on in prayer and fasting for revival in the nations. A worldwide end-times revival is going to be a glorious thing, but it will be costly.
We lived on a book exhibition ship for years. In some countries, thousands of visitors came on board daily. Long hours of hard work consumed our full attention. Are we ready for the demands of revival? God must prepare us, His Church, personally and corporately for the self-sacrifice that revival entails. May we not draw back but prepare to lay hold of this glorious end-time outpouring of God with all our hearts as the radiant Bride of Christ who is willing to sacrifice all so that people might be saved.
Pray with me for revival:
Lord, thank You for the work You have been doing and the work You continue to do in this world. Make us conscious of Your presence, help us learn to abide in You moment by moment. Convict us of even the smallest sins, and help us turn toward you in joyful obedience. Lord, revive the nations to Your gospel truth. Help us not draw back but rather fight the good fight of faith. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Are Your Friends Led by the World or the Word?
by Rick Warren

“Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools” (Proverbs 13:20 CEV).

One of the things that causes people to miss God’s plan is peer pressure. Most of us know what that was like as a kid or teenager, but that pressure actually continues into adulthood. There’s plenty of bad advice floating around out there, and too often we feel pressured to follow it.

Proverbs 13:20 says, “Wise friends make you wise, but you hurt yourself by going around with fools” (CEV). You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re running with the turkeys, so choose your friends wisely. If you keep company with wise friends, you’re going to become wise.
We all worry about air pollution and water pollution. Have you ever worried about mind pollution? If you want to follow God’s direction, make sure your advice is from the right source.
The Bible says in 1 John 3:7, “Do not let anyone lead you the wrong way! Christ is righteous. So to be like Christ a person must do what is right” (NCV).
The difference in a thermometer and a thermostat is that a thermometer reflects the temperature of the environment and a thermostat sets the temperature of the environment. Every day, you’re faced with a decision: Are you going to be a thermostat or a thermometer?
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
Talk It Over

Who are the people who have the most influence on you?
Do you think God wants you to be friends with unbelievers? Why or why not?
How can a person who is quieter or less outspoken than others help set the temperature of his or her environment?

Give hope, prayer, and encouragement below. Post a comment & talk about it.

A five-letter word should sink Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s new tax plan: trust.

Here’s a link to the story at Illinois News Network.