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Faith in God – Is it Possible?

Guest Contributor
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Faith in God – Is it Possible?

Does it make sense to have faith in God? Is it possible to release all our fears and failures into God’s hands? Each time those questions are asked, the answer is always, “Yes.” There are times in our lives when the road ahead seems uncertain; when the answers we desperately seek are elusive. As long as we depend upon our own understanding and reasoning, our faith will waiver.

We may not always agree with what happens to us, we may not understand why, but we can rest assured in knowing that our God knows what He’s doing. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Just because we may not always see His hands at work in our lives, it doesn’t mean He’s not working! Just because we can’t see the light at the end of this trial, or the calm after this storm, it doesn’t mean that it never will come.

The enemy will constantly lie to us. His mission in life is to completely destroy our lives. He’ll whisper in our ears that things are hopeless and will never change, but these are all lies from the pit of hell! The Bible assures us in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

God’s ways are incomprehensible: “‘My thoughts are completely different from yours,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine…my ways [are] higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts'” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

We are so precious to God that His highest thoughts are about us; they can’t be counted (Psalm 139:17-18). Knowing that God is our loving Heavenly Father makes it easier to release control of our lives to Him. Peace comes when we place our faith in God, not man.

We go from victory to victory in our walk with the Lord because every battle we face truly does belong to Him. A war may be raging all around us, but as Christians, we have confidence in knowing the war of our souls has already been won.

The truth is that God will come through for us; we are never hopeless; and what the enemy intends for evil against us, God will turn around and use for our good! (See Genesis 50:20.) Our mission as Christians is to “know God and make God known,” not be bummed out and defeated due to stress, worry and anxiety.

As sons and daughters of the Most High King, we need to stand on the promise found in Romans 8:28. God is working everything we’re going through together for our good! So, when the trials and testing comes, we need not be moved by them. We can trust our unknown future, to our known God! We can be, steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. We can walk by faith, confident our Savior has never let us down and He never will.

Faith in God – Believing the Impossible

There will be times when our faith in God requires us to believe in the impossible. Sarah and Mary both experienced impossible circumstances. Though barren, at 90, Sarah became pregnant, fulfilling God’s promise as well as an oath (Hebrews 6:17-18). Abraham’s descendants would multiply into countless millions. God’s promises bring hope.

In fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary (Luke 1:31-32). Through an innocent girl, the Savior of mankind entered the world. In every case, faith in God requires us to anticipate answers that are infinite and eternal — believing all things are possible.

What About Those Who Don’t Know the Lord?

People in the world who don’t have Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are left for themselves. They might get the job they applied for, they might get through that stressful situation in their lives, they might make it safely through another day, but they also might not. As for believers, with the Alpha and the Omega, with the Beginning and the End leading our way, our provision, protection and salvation are all guaranteed. Isn’t it reassuring we have direct access to Jesus and that we can call upon Him for help every second of every day? Worrying doesn’t change anything we are worrying about. It only makes us stressed out, uptight and emotionally up and down.

Worrying makes us so bummed out that we get to the point where we no longer are reaching out to others because we are so consumed with ourselves. In Jeremiah 29:11, God said, “For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

“We need to turn our mirror into a window.” We need to start looking above the “rubbish” that we’re worrying about and look to God. When we do, we’re able to reach out and help those around us and begin to see the “good” and “bad” seasons in our lives through God’s eyes, not our own. If it’s the Lord’s will you get a job with over one hundred other applicants applying, you will be the one selected. If it’s the Lord’s will you get a kidney transplant now even though you’ve been on a three-year waiting list, your name will be moved to the top. If the doctors say you have terminal cancer and there is no cure, God can touch you and heal you instantly! Worrying only causes us to doubt God’s faithfulness, become paralyzed with discouragement and get depressed.

Faith in God – Making It Personal

Our faith in God intensifies when we invite Jesus into our lives. In accepting that God’s ways are far better than our own, we can release that we cannot manipulate or guarantee — our future. Choosing to release control to the only One who is the Way, Truth and Life give us peace and security. Remember Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not onto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.”

With faith in God, through His Son, we then can say, “I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in the earthly body by trusting the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

God has You in the Palm of His Hand

“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.” (Psalm 55:22-23)

So whatever you’re stressing out about; stop. Whatever you’re worrying about; don’t.

We have a strong God, so let’s start giving Him everything that’s weighing us down. Let’s choose to lift up our eyes to our Lord and cast all these cares down at the foot of His cross. Let’s choose to let go and let God, believing that no matter what, our God’s love for us is unconditional, constant, eternal and will remain. Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and promises to sustain us, provide for us, protect us and never leave us. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)

And Psalm 138:8 assures us that “God will perfect all that concerns us,” so let’s stop worrying and trust Him to.

Our heavenly Father takes care of the birds of the air. He takes care of the lilies in the field. He knows what we have need of and will surely take care of you and me.

Wake-Up Call

We’re living in the last days and Satan knows his time here on earth is short. He may be relentless in his attacks against us, but our God will not relent in coming to our defense as well!

“BUT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US WHO BELIEVE BECAUSE NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR OUR GOD!”

Contribution by a talented author and sister in Christ who has asked to remain anonymous. (Her name might be Amelia.)

Joseph, did you know?

Guest Contributor
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Joseph, did you know?

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20-21

I have three children. Multiple times a week I think about who my three little girls will become as they grow into adulthood. I pray that they will pursue Jesus with all they have and the Gospel will drive their decision making. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed every “phase” each of my children have gone through in their young lives. Yes, it’s crazy at times and I have “bad” days as a parent. Yet, I embrace each season as it comes. Each season leads to and upon the next season, leading me to look forward even more, to seeing the unknown take fruition in their lives.

I’ve sat back in awe as I listened to my oldest daughter read for the first time. I stood in amazement as, on her own, she stated she wanted her training wheels off of her bike. I took them off and sure enough, she rode by herself without the training wheels and with no help from her Daddy. All I could do was stand there, hands on my hips, and smile. My middle child started school in August and I have been blown away by the amount of learning that has taken place since she has started. From barely being able to even trace letters to writing her complete name, out of nowhere. Recently I had the luxury of watching my baby eat pureed food for the first time. She was fed by her older two sisters. (Who’s cutting onions in here?)

While taking a shower the other day and listening to Little Drummer Boy, I told you the shower was my place of enlightenment, I began to think about Joseph. Joseph is barely mentioned after the nativity story in the Gospels so we don’t know much about him after Jesus is born. Scripture tells us repeatedly that Mary stored up, and treasured and “pondered” moments with Jesus while he grew, but Scripture doesn’t tell us much about Joseph. Listening to the words of the song, I pictured Joseph standing in the manger while the wise men brought Jesus precious metals, jewels and fragrances. I picture Joseph perplexed but in awe as the lowly shepherds show up, coming out from the hills to bow down before their King.  I picture Joseph, up with Mary in the middle night while she was feeding Jesus, staring at the amazingly beautiful star that had stopped directly over the stable, himself pondering, treasuring and storing up in his heart the very things God had promised him and his people many years before via the prophets of old.

  • Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. -Micah 5:2
  • “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” -Jeremiah 23:5
  • For unto us a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6
  • So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” -Matthew 2:4-6
  • But the LORD will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel. -Isaiah 7:14

The Christmas season is a magical time of year. It is a time filled with wonder, beauty and expectation. The decorations, music, lights, and–for my northern family and friends–the snow just add to the beauty and majesty. This is a time where we as Christians are presented with multiple months to be more intentional in focusing on the same hope that was given to Joseph that starry night over two-thousand years ago. This is a time where we get to celebrate the coming of the One who created all, who is above all, and who holds everything together (Colossians 1:15-20). This is the time where we bask in the wonder of the humility of his coming, the ordinariness and extravagance of his life, and the simplicity of the purpose of his coming which he has given us in his Gospel.

I would imagine it would have been a crazy time for Joseph leading up to Christ’s birth. They have been traveling for an extended period of time. Joseph, because of the man he was, probably didn’t have much time off of his feet as I’m sure he made sure Mary was the one traveling on the back of the mule when permitted during their travel. He was lugging around most of his belongings. He most likely was in “husband-dad protection mode” as they traveled through dangerous valleys and attempted to sleep during the night. Did I mention Mary was also nine months pregnant? So, at some point Mary tells Joseph that “the baby is coming!” and Joseph had to scramble to find a place for his wife before she goes into full blown labor. As we read in Scripture they were denied a place to stay in the inns because the rooms were full from everyone else traveling. Can you imagine the emotions running through his body? He’s probably exhausted, hungry and sleep deprived and now he can’t find a room!  Finally, one of the innkeepers tells him if they really need a place they can use the stable–by the way, it was most likely a cave where the animals would eat and sleep at night. As they get there, I would imagine Mary saying something along the lines of  “this will do just fine,” and soon after she gives birth to the Promised One.

I’m sure Joseph at times, no matter how noble and righteous he was, felt overwhelmed, inadequate, stressed, and felt like he lacked the ability to be responsible for what he was going through and what was before him, no matter how joyous it would be after those menial trials were over. In the midst of the magical wonder of our Christmas season, we as Christians are susceptible to the commercial mentality of the season and are also susceptible to compromise the joyous reason to why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. Often, we give useless gifts at Christmas, because it’s expected of us, and we feel guilty if we don’t. And the closer we get to Christmas, the pressure to give these  gifts builds and we feel depressed and unworthy if we can’t give to the level we feel, or the culture makes us feel, is necessary. In reality, these things are not necessary. The pressure is unnecessary. The stress is unnecessary. What is necessary during this time, is to not let the distraction and pressures of our culture’s “Christmas” take precedence in our lives and to not neglect to be ever conscious that the root word in “Christmas” is Christ.

For, over two thousand years ago, “in the city of David a Savior was born for YOU, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11). A child was born with the power over death and the power to raise the dead to eternal glory. A child was born to live among his people and provide a way for his people to live in communion with him as it was intended to be. A child was born to reconcile his entire creation back to himself. Soak in this season. Marvel at the wonder. Bask in the beauty.  Rejoice in the majesty. Revel in the excitement that this same Jesus who came as a humble and meek child two thousand years ago, will come again to his people in the manner by which the prophets of old spoke, as a “ruler and a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

Husband. Father. School Counselor. Pastor/Church Planter. My passion is to see men committed to their wives, engaged with their families and intentional being accountable with other men–all because of their devotion to Jesus. This is where I get to share pieces of my life with the hope that you are encouraged and inspired. My life isn’t anything extraordinary. It’s actually quite ordinary. So common and ordinary that I’m sure it’ll resonate with you somehow. Joe Kwiatkowski

Originally printed at https://www.mengineer.net/joseph-did-you-know.

Convergence: Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Real ID, CRISPR and the Book of Revelation

Matthew Schoenherr
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Convergence: Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Real ID, CRISPR and the Book of Revelation

Recently, a question was posed to me about the advancement of technology in the housing finance industry. The question was based upon a few paragraphs from a recent news blast by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA).

(And before I get much further, let me acknowledge this post won’t be a typical post for the Levaire blog. Stay with me. I’ll bring it home; promise.)

The NCSHA paragraphs in question:

One major driver of disruption across these areas, which Mehlman forecasts will continue its astonishing acceleration, is technology. 

What does it mean for housing? Craig Phillips, counselor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, alluded to one important domain in his remarks at that same NCSHA board meeting: the rapid growth of nonbank financial (“fintech”) firms. Phillips cited Treasury’s report released last summer, “Nonbank Financials, Fintech, and Innovation,” which includes more than 80 recommendations to Congress and bank regulators.

The Treasury report notes that while the housing finance industry “has been slow to adopt innovations common in other consumer credit markets…the application of financial technology in the mortgage market is accelerating, challenging existing norms as the industry transitions toward automated, digital practices and processes that appeal to customer demands in today’s digital age.”

The question was, “Really? Been slow to be technologically savvy with mortgages?” It was a question of disbelief, as the evidence of mortgage calculators, online applications and automated eligibility tools seems ubiquitous in this market.

My response was complete agreement, however. For this industry and others, I believe the adoption of technology has been slow, but I think the question can only be answered by looking at where technology is going globally; not by looking at a single industry.

Just as we can’t see how large a forest is by standing in the middle of it, we won’t be able to glean an accurate perspective of an industry’s technological pace by only looking at the industry itself.

What Might the Future Hold?

I think the bleeding edge here looks like artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced vetting and blockchain contractual/financial transactions, which are still in their infancy. Give it a couple years. As the lines between individual privacy, identification (for the US, this means Real ID by 2020, but we’re certainly trailing in the lemming line behind countries like Estonia and Sweden), banking, credit, EMR, retail and Lord-only-knows-what-else continues to blur, I think we’ll see a quickening.

Initially, I think this movement will be pitched under language that looks like the 10th recommendation in Treasury’s document, per Appendix B, page 198: “standardization of data elements as part of improving consumers’ access to their data.”

Translation: We’re doing this for our beloved customers.

Oh, and AI? That’s on page 200:

2018 treasury recommendations to congress regarding AI
Caption reads: “Regulators should not impose unnecessary burdens or obstacles to the use of AI and machine learning and should provide greater regulatory clarity that would enable further testing and responsible deployment of these technologies by regulated financial services companies as the technologies develop.”

Translation: We want an open door.

In respect to housing, I think we’ll eventually see mortgage transactions opened and closed within moments; not weeks or months.

Once all your financial, medical and otherwise personal history is “blockchained” to your bodily person, an AI-driven decision based on your social credit score should be pretty easy (but social credit scores are only in China, right?)

Though this NCSHA article points to slow movement by the financial industry, I’m sure Citi and Chase are planning 20-30 years ahead or more, which easily puts them 10-15 years ahead of most state and local governments.

On that note, back around 2005, I was sitting down to lunch with a government sales rep from Intel when he told me Intel had their eyes on wifi-speed cellular towers. Fast-forward to today, this technology is currently being rolled out under the ‘5G’ moniker and is a key component in the encroaching Internet of Things (IoT).

Bringing It Home

As blockchain and AI improves and infiltrates with the help of quantum computing (Dan 12:4), I think innovation will be led by private-sector (yes, even the financial industry,) fueled by a mix of global competition on the world stage, targeted government contracts and a race toward the gold of data-mining and consolidation.

Then we simply add a dash of cashless society (Rev 13:17), a teaspoon of deep-state bio-metric surveillance (Rev 13:16) and sprinkle a some CRISPR-ish gene-editing (Rev 9:6) to taste.

Sounds like some loose-nut conspiracy theory, right? If these events weren’t unfolding before our very eyes, I mean.

We are in a time of convergence. Eyes and ears open, folks.

matt signature

 

I See You Looking

Scott Bunce
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I See You Looking

As you look, I see you searching for that one thing that can fulfill you.

—

You look at clothes and try to find the perfect item.

You find it; it looks great. You buy it.

Two months from now, it’s just another shirt or pair of shoes in your closet.

—

I see you looking, climbing that corporate ladder because when you reach vice president you think you will fulfill your dream.

After 10 years of hard work and sacrifice you finally made it.

Then one year later, you feel unfulfilled and want to be president of your own company.

—

I see you looking, thinking that winning the lottery will fulfill you.

But the $10,000 you just spent left you wanting more.

—

I see you looking thinking that a great steak or Chicago-style pizza, or backyard barbecue will satisfy, but hours after you’re full, you’re hungry again.

It’s like the Rolling Stones said: I can’t get no satisfaction.

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I see you looking as you walk by our stand. In your head, you are saying I don’t need that. It’s just like I once thought, “That’s for the weak, the stupid, the gullible, because there is no God.”

I see you looking!

Now you are here looking to drink, eat, chill or find that perfect somebody.

Can’t you see these things don’t satisfy forever?

God put eternity in your heart. The hole you’re trying to fill cannot be filled with things or people. You have been on the treadmill of life chasing a carrot just out of reach, thinking—if you got it—you would be satisfied.

It’s a lie.

It is what you are rejecting is the only thing that can fulfill your soul. Nothing is eternal but God. Only He can fill us. It is God who must become a part of your life.

—

I hope you see now or you will keep searching and, when you die, you will be without Him.

You are like a son or daughter who was adopted at birth and felt things were not right. Then the knowledge comes that you were adopted and your birth parents were out there, so now you are searching.

But God didn’t abandon you.

He made you and loves you and desires that you come home to Him. It was our sin that separated us from God. You were born into it and by choice of your sin you were kept from our loving Father God. So the Father sent His son, Jesus, to bring us back together. He sent Him to take away the barrier between us and Him; our sin.

Since we all have lied, that makes us a liar.

Since we have stolen, regardless of size, that makes us a thief.

Since we have had sex or looked with lust outside of marriage, we are adulterers of heart and body.

Even if we have done just one thing wrong that separates you from God.

—

Jesus came to live a perfect life; a life without sin. Then Jesus died for all the sins that we committed. He was placed on a cross to be crucified and after three days He rose from the grave.

So for you and I to be complete, we must believe He died for us. Be willing to turn from sin. Believe that He rose from the grave. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. You will be forgiven. You will receive eternal life and be restored into an eternal relationship with GOD, your Father.

It all starts with a prayer like this from your heart:

“Jesus, I am a sinner. I cannot save myself. I turn from my sin and believe that you died for me on the cross to take away my sins. I believe that, after three days, you rose from the dead. I believe you are my Savior and my Lord. I now follow you and give you the rest of my days. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

If you have prayed that from your heart and have confessed Jesus as your Lord, your sins are forgiven and you have been adopted into the family of God. You are complete in Christ and have been made a new person.

You are now a son or daughter of God.

Now to understand what God has done for you and the relationship He has with you, please read your Bible and pray to Him. Go to a Bible-believing church to fellowship with other believers. Go out and tell others about Him, as we have you.

Your looking is over. You have found eternal life in Jesus.

S.B.

When Does Life Begin?

Scott Bunce
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When Does Life Begin?

I have had persons who argue for liberal rights give me this answer as to when life begins, but is this true? A direct quote:

“As for when life begins, it begins when the child is viable outside the womb without having to subsist on the female body for support. There are many tenets of Christianity that bothers the heck out of me. It’s ok to force a woman to bear a child, but those same individuals who would regulate my body and medical decisions have no responsibility to care for it afterwards.  Its ok, to force a woman to bear another person (which incidentally is slavery and violates our 14th amendment rights) but it’s not ok for her to say that’s NOT ok for her body, or to realize it’s too much for her psyche after it has begun, which does happen. Even animals recognize when they are sick and will terminate pregnancies early for their health.  I believe strongly in individual rights and those of self-care of the woman, as less men care for me than they would themselves, so I have my duty to do so for me.  I owe no-one else a thing in this life, much less accountability about my physical person.  Now, that is not to say I would ever make this personal choice as I love others and I love children, but I also choose not to dominate others with my religious beliefs as certain Christians deem proper thru law.. My love is appropriate to me and not my will on others.  I also do not believe in using them as a means of birth control.  Self-defense is self-defense even if you don’t agree with how the person protects themselves (for example, not bearing the body of another and risking your your life or mental state) because it affects someone elses religious sensibilites.. it may not be their religion, it may just be something less than human until its born.”

“Thats what I meant by comparing killing a person in self-defense, to having an abortion.”

Let me ask you an honest question; I hope it will help you grasp what you said.

When did your life begin?

Mine began in my mother’s womb.

Mine began when the sperm and the egg joined together.

If my parents did not have sex I would not be a person. My parents chose to have sex and were never forced to have sex. The only way I would not be born after the egg and the sperm joined together would be if something went wrong or someone or something interrupted the growth cycle of my early development.

We must also ask when is a growing fetus not a human child? The answer is never. We are always in stages of development. Children live outside of the womb who are three or four months old.

Someone may say, “Well, fetuses are dependent upon someone.” Yes, children are dependent upon someone to live, just like all new-born children and every one-year old, two-year old, four-year old and up.

So to use logic that says a baby still in utero is not a child until they’re born because they’re dependent cannot be right.  A young human life is always dependent upon a grown up, so is not wise to use this type of logic.

A two-year old needs his mom too.

Using this logic, should we be able to kill the two-year old child since he still needs his mom? For us to choose to terminate a child before it is born does not change that it was a developing child any more than it does to kill a two-year old under the same pretense.

Abortion as self-defense?

Now, let’s look at the last part of this logic: that people are forced to take care of a child that they did not want merits self-defense. That this child was forced into me so I need to kill and remove it.

First, let’s be honest. A person almost always has the choice to have sex or not with another person.

Most people beyond a 4th grade education know sexual union can produce a life as it’s the God-given process most people were brought into the world (aside from some newer, modern science techniques.)

Yes, a person choosing to engage in sexual union outside a marriage commitment may decide afterwards they don’t want to be with this person so they terminate the life inside them. That’s not self-defense. Who forced you to have sex?

You had a chance to “defend yourself” by saying no, right?

If you use this logic, the real problem becomes that unwritten law that says that we can have sex when we want and with whom we want. Especially throughout the West, peddled largely through Hollywood and social media, we are told we have an unhindered right to sex.

But the GOD who created us calls this fornication.

It is sex outside of marriage where we first disobey God. Marriage with a person who is committed to us for life is beautiful.

Bad math

The first variable in this equation is that we have done wrong by having sex as we chose—outside of marriage. Plus, now we want to kill the child because of our willful “mistake”! This math doesn’t work.

Two wrongs will never make a right.

S.B.

Prayers for the Unbelieving and Lost

Matthew Schoenherr
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Prayers for the Unbelieving and Lost

These prayer points were originally offered by a woman dealing with her unbelieving spouse, however you can obviously pray God’s Word over any loved one, friend, coworker, etc., struggling with (against) their Kingdom identity. We are all called to intercede on behalf of others. Pray these Scriptures in love over the unbelievers in your life. Remember, these prayers are not techniques for manipulating God into correcting the struggling or lost, but an outpouring of faith in His goodness and promises of deliverance and freedom through Christ.

P.S. – You’ll be pleased to know the woman with the unbelieving husband saw her husband eventually turn to Jesus. God is faithful to respond to His Word. Hallelujah!

 

  1. “Lord, may Your wise and knowing Spirit rest on ________. Be his/her counselor, Father. May ________ delight in You and obey Your commands. Convict ________ of sin, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and of the coming judgment.”

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: (Isaiah 11:2-3)

  1. “God, You will fulfill the purpose in each of our lives. Your love endures forever—do not abandon the works of Your hands. Do not abandon ________. Draw him/her to You.”

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me: thy mercy, O Lord, endures forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. (Psalm 138:8)

  1. “Bring ________ to the end of himself/herself and into a living, vital, intimate, overpowering relationship with Jesus Christ. Open his/her eyes that he/she may see wonderful things in Your law.”

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (Psalm 119:18)

  1. “Your hands made ________ and formed him/her; give ________ understanding that he/she may learn Your commandments and will.”

Your hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments. (Psalm 119:73)

  1. “Bless ________. Your Word says that Your kindness leads to repentance. Don’t allow ________ to continue to store up wrath for himself/herself.”

Or despises thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

But after your hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: (Romans 2:4-6)

  1. “________’s heart is in Your hand; You direct it like a watercourse where You please. I can trust You.”

The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he will. (Proverbs 21:1)

  1. “Give ________ singleness of heart and action so that he/she will always fear You for his/her own good and the good of our children.”

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (Jeremiah 32:39)

  1. “Instruct ________ and teach him/her in the way he/she should go. Counsel ________ and watch over him/her. Your unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in You.”

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with my eye. […] Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusts in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. (Psalm 32:8, 10)

  1. “Help ________ to humble himself/herself under Your mighty hand, that You may lift him/her up in due time.”

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1 Peter 5:6)

  1. “I pray a hedge of thorns around ________, that those with wrong influence will lose interest and leave him/her alone. I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of His blood.”

Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. (Hosea 2:6)

 

Are we missing some Scriptures you’ve used to pray over those struggling with their spiritual identity? Let us know and we’ll add them to this list!

References

10 Ideas: Prayers for an Unbelieving Spouse. FamilyLife. Retrieved from https://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/marriage/marriage-challenges/spiritually-mismatched/10-ideas-prayers-for-an-unbelieving-spouse

 

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