Thursday, December 19, 2013

Day 365




Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

-2 Corinthians 13:11











Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. Although this is the last day of the year of prayer, I ask You to bless Pastor Robert with the gift of prayers; the prayers of the saints. Please put the desire in people's hearts to continue praying for Pastor Robert. May the voices of Your people raise him up to You each day.

Also, Lord, I ask You to bless Pastor Robert with the gift of unity in the church. May the people of Calvary Chapel Tucson live in peace, be of one mind, and comfort each other. May we bear each other's burdens with grace and mercy, and most of all, love.

Bless all those who have prayed faithfully for Pastor Robert this past year. I ask You to grant them a deeper knowledge of You, Lord, and mark their hearts with Your love.  

And finally, Lord, I ask You to continue healing Robert's heart. His heart cannot be healed in one year, or in any measure of time, but only in measures of love. From one act of love to the next, both his own, and those of others towards him, can his heart be healed. 

These are the gifts I pray for.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,

Amen



Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Day 364




I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation.

-Psalm 118:21







Lord Jesus,

Thank you for getting Pastor Robert through this last year. You may not have answered his prayers the way he had wished, but Lisa will never suffer again. 

Lord, we are grateful for Pastor Robert, for the witness he has been to us all, for his compassion, for his dedication to You.

Please keep him near to You every day, and continue to comfort his heart. Remind him, Lord, that it's only for a little while longer.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Day 363





The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Numbers 6:26










Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. I ask You to turn Your face upon him, and give him the peace that only You can bring. As he begins a new year, give him new reasons to praise Your holy name.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen




Monday, December 16, 2013

Day 362




The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17
















Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. I thank You for getting him through this first year, and I ask You to stay with him, Lord, and get him through each day. Deliver him from his pain, and may joy bloom forth in his life in unexpected ways.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Day 361




But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
-Jude 1:20-21





Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You today, on the one-year anniversary of Lisa's death. Help him continue building himself up through his faith in You, Lord, and keep him in Your love--the love that never fails.

Encircle him within Your arms of mercy, and may these words from the book of Jude, marked on Lisa's grave, comfort him; may they comfort us all. 

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Saturday, December 14, 2013

Day 360




So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
Matthew 14:29-30






Lord Jesus,

My prayer is for Pastor Robert, for all the people of the church, to keep their eyes on You. We have had a particularly stormy year. Many of us feel that the waves are so violent, they are drowning us. 

As Your people Lord, we cry out to You with one voice. We are sinking in a sea of despair. Do not let Pastor Robert, or any of us, lose sight of You, because our vision of You is our only hope. Save us, Lord Jesus, save us from our sorrows.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Friday, December 13, 2013

Day 359




Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.
John 16:22





Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. I pray You give him the strength to wake up each day, and praise Your name. I pray You fill him with the hope of his coming joy-- a joy that will never end, and a heart that will rejoice again.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Thursday, December 12, 2013

Day 358




A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
















Lord Jesus,

Bless Pastor Robert with true friends; friends who will lift him up, and always find a place for him in their hearts. May the comfort of friends be salve to Robert's soul; friends "for such a time as this."

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen




Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Day 357





Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2













Lord Jesus,

I pray that Pastor Robert feels the prayers of the many people who are lifting him up to You each day. Let his heart be made lighter as his brethren bear his burdens with him.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Day 356




But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
 My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 26:11-12





Lord Jesus,

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. He walks in integrity. He stands in the congregation and blesses Your name. Show him mercy, and redeem him from sorrow.

We can see You, Jesus, in Pastor Robert.

I ask these things in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Monday, December 9, 2013

Day 355




But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?'
Matthew 20:13-15a





Lord Jesus,

Sometimes we feel cheated. We look around and see others who got more than we did; better jobs, truer friends, more years of marriage until death do us part...

But Your promises to us are so much more than any worldly calculations. You give us children, but don't promise obedience; bodies, but don't promise health; and marriages-- husbands and wives-- but don't promise we will all celebrate 50th wedding anniversaries.

We belong to You, and You are sovereign. Each of our lives is in Your hands, and You alone decide the number of days allotted to us. Every moment, every breath, is a gift.

Please help Pastor Robert, please help all of us, to accept Your will and not grow weary in well-doing. Help us not grow bitter, but instead, to be grateful for what we did have. 

Help us through our seasons of sorrow when You decide our loved ones have finished their work on this Earth, place a crown of righteousness upon their heads, and lead them away with You.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen




Sunday, December 8, 2013

Day 354




Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
-Romans 5:5






Lord Jesus,

I pray for hope in the heart of Pastor Robert, and through his hope, for others to grow the seed of hope in their own hearts. 

May the love of God, poured out in Robert's heart, overflow onto the people of the church. May that love then flow out from the people of the church onto others; a fountain of God's hope and love.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Saturday, December 7, 2013

Day 353





"And if I perish, I perish!"
Esther 4:16














Lord Jesus,

It is easier to let go of our own lives than the lives of those we love. We are quicker to say, "If I die, I die," than, "If my wife (or husband, child, mother, etc.) dies, she dies."

You never said obedience was easy, but You did say You would give us the strength to obey through the power of Your Holy Spirit.

I lift up Pastor Robert to You, and all those You have asked to let go of the life of someone they love. 

Remind us that we must separate now so that we can be united forever.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen




Friday, December 6, 2013

Day 352




"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"

Jeremiah 18:6









Lord Jesus,

We are in Your hands, whether in good times or in bad. You are the master of our lives, shaping them according to Your plans, not ours.

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. Please continue to fortify him for those times when the path of Your will is different from that of his own. In the end, all paths lead to You.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen




Thursday, December 5, 2013

Day 351




And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

Job 1:21














Lord Jesus,

Pastor Robert is faithful to You. He has been submitted to Your will throughout his loss of Lisa. Thank you, Lord, for the example he has been. 

Many of his brothers and sisters are facing times of trial also. I pray You give all of us the grace and humility, such as Pastor Robert has demonstrated, to face our own storms. 

I pray You fill Pastor Robert's heart with an ocean of peace.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Day 350




With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Psalm 119:10










Lord Jesus,

I pray You keep Pastor Robert close to You, and within Your will. Continue to consecrate him for Your purposes, Lord, and encourage him to seek You always with his whole heart. 

I ask this in Your name, Jesus, 
Amen



Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Day 349




And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Genesis 15:6









Lord Jesus,

Pastor Robert believes in You, and his belief grants him righteousness. Please show him that he is part of a much bigger plan, and all he needs to do is keep believing. 

You are not the author of confusion, Lord. Show us how to keep it simple.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Monday, December 2, 2013

Day 348





And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

Psalm 39:7















Lord Jesus,

Sometimes we come to a place in our lives where we don't know what comes next; we don't know what it is we are waiting for. 

You remind us that at the end of every road, You are what is waiting for us.

I lift up Pastor Robert to You. Let him know that You will always be the hope of his heart.

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,
Amen



Sunday, December 1, 2013

Day 347




I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.
Psalm 40:1










Lord Jesus,

I pray that Pastor Robert knows You are always on his side. Sometimes we forget that just because You haven't acted yet, doesn't mean You haven't heard our prayers.

Please give Pastor Robert the peace of patience. 

I ask this in Your name, Jesus,

Amen