Isaiah 25:1 ” O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”

Elsewhere in Isaiah it says, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,  and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ”  Lord, I give You thanks and trust that everything, both big and small,  that happens in my life has been prepared long ago.  Each wonderful, miraculous, and extraordinary thing that has and will happen to me  You have planned out far before I was even born.   And I know you have much more for me to be doing, and I look with eager anticipation to the future and Your plans for me.     And everyone said,   Amen.

Psalm 52:9 ” I will praise You forever for what You have done; in You name I will hope, for Your name is good. I will praise You in the presence of Your saints.”

Do you see your glass as half empty, or half full?  Rather than focus and dwell on the have nots…concentrate on what the Lord has already accomplished in your life.  Thank Him for what He’s brought you through as you expectantly wait for Him.  Linger in the miraculous happenings  of your life story with the Lord as you anticipate what He’ll do next.  As one of the faithful, your glass will never again be half empty…for the Lord’s love will fill it to overflowing.

Psalm 52: 8 ” But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love forever and ever. “

I am planted like a thriving tree in Your presence Lord…grafted securely to the root of Jesse…my dependence is on You and You alone.  I praise You Lord  for Your never-ending  mercy and kindness.  I thank You for Your everlasting and eternal love.  Amen.

John 3:19 ” This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

In this verse Jesus so wisely observed the world’s value system both then and now.  For what we treat as precious and dear, are what we value.  Are they things of virtue and truth, or things of  sin and wickedness?  Jesus came into the world to shed illumination on our spiritual darkness…that we love evil rather than good and falsehood rather than speaking the truth.(Psalm 52:3)   He declared in John 7:7, ” The world hates Me because I testify that what it does is evil.”  Pray that the spiritual darkness that is enveloping the world may be lifted and banished as we seek the light.

Psalm 40:5 ” Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders You have done. The things You planned for us no one can recount to You; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.”

I think when I get to Heaven, the Lord will show me a little slide show.  The theme will be – all the countless times He has intervened on my behalf,  saving me from  dangerous situations, and even sparing my life.  I don’t think our mind can even grasp how often God has rescued  us from ourselves and our dumb thinking.  When that slide show is over, I will then finally come to realize the enormity of His work in my life…how unaware I was about most of it…and I will love Him even more.

Psalm 119: 89 ” Your Word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens…”

To paraphrase Isaiah 51:6…the heavens will vanish, and the earth will wear out – but My salvation will last forever, My righteousness will never fail.  The Lord is everlasting and forever…His authority supersedes all that we know and see.  His dominion will never end….His love for you will never cease.

Psalm 20:7 ” Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Take a moment to reflect on what exactly you put your trust in.  Is it modern technology and the digital age?  Or are you putting trust in the Stock Market and future commodities?  Or maybe your trust lies in simpler things you hoard away.  You need to remember, nothing here on earth can be trusted…for we all  live in an imperfect world filled with imperfect people.  But there is One that you can trust without reservation…His name is the Lord our God.

Psalm 10:14 ” But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; You consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”

The Lord understands the misery and sorrow you may feel today.  He wants to take that pain from you…placing it in His all-powerful  hands and off your shoulders.  If burdens are weighing you down today…entrust yourself to God’s mercy and fall upon His  grace.

Psalm 80:3 ” Restore us O God; make Your face shine upon us, that we may be saved.”

Turn us around Lord.  Return us to our first love and enable us to know again the joy of our salvation.  As it says in Psalm 71:20, “Though You have made me see troubles many and bitter, You will restore my life again.”  Refresh us  O Lord that we may restore others around us.

Psalm 38:15 ” I wait for You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God.”

If you’re praying but not expecting…why even bother?  If you’re simply mouthing words because it’s the thing to do, but  have no hope  that God will answer…why waste your breath.  If it’s only for show that you pray…why even go there if you don’t truly believe that your prayers are heard?  If you’re praying, but not expecting God to move…why bother.