Dear God,
There is no place like home.
Home is where the heart is. Lose heart... and lose home.
We feel the truth of these words, for home and heart are bound together.
The state of one reflects the state of the other.
For who has not lost his home without feeling like the heart has been cut out of him?
And whose heart has not healed faster by being in the right home?
So help me with this prayer.
For I bring to you a brother in need.
He is beloved, Divine and has talents within him to express and share.
But he does not know this.
He lives on the street and eats out of garbage cans.
For living this wretched life, I have blamed and mocked him.
I do not know his name, but call him Homeless.
I do not know what has injured him.
In fact, I do not know him at all.
I have only seen him—sleeping in doorways, wandering aimlessly—staring up at me with hollow eyes.
He barely survives, yet his legacy, as Your Child, is to thrive.
My blaming cannot stir him from his pain, but only increase it.
So I release all blame now and call for compassion to fill me.
Fill me with Your unstoppable energy, Lord.
Fill me with energy that transforms.
Fill me with the desire to pray for him and never lose sight of his Divinity—or mine.
As I pray, positive change occurs in him and in me, for You work miracles everywhere.
I am so grateful that I have a home; that I have a place in which to eat, bathe, rest and love.
I cannot imagine the chaos of living without one.
Therefore, Lord, I declare You intervene on behalf of this beloved.
You fill this one, who is so dear to You and has so many faces—male, female, old and young—with the knowledge of Your most intimate love.
For this is Your Vision: that each of us know our own worth and be nourished.
You enter the hearts, minds and bodies of my brothers and sisters, and awaken within them knowledge of their holiness and gifts.
You call them—and me—to The Work You have laid out for us.
I am filled with Your compassion, O God—so that you are able to use me for the betterment of all.
I commit to Your Holy Vision for the world—and I am lifted
As I am lifted—all humanity is lifted, for macrocosm mirrors microcosm.
Together we rise into attractor fields of nourishment where each of us has a home in which our hearts and bodies find comfort.
Thank You for Your Love, which breaks all boundaries and moves Heaven and Earth for us so that no one is known by the name "homeless."
"Help me to perform whatever miracles you want of me today."
Prayer For Personal Transformation
Dear God,
It is fruitless to rail against the world.
The world I inhabit is a reflection of my own self, for macrocosm always mirrors macrocosm.
If I see it in the world, I know the seed exists in me.
Therefore, to change the world, I now commit to my own transformation.
I become the fertile soil for the world I want to see.
As a beginning, I tell myself—every day—that by I am changing.
I tell myself that You are guiding, shaping and loving me into wholeness.
Then instead of only focusing on what is bad or frightening and telling myself things are getting worse—
—I affirm that bad things will fall away as I heal myself and switch my focus to what positive contribution I can make to the situation.
I stop blaming and, instead, take responsibility for the state of the world and the state of my life.
I open myself to Your love and experience the intensity of the Unconditional.
I never wish for others what I do not want for myself.
I become generous and visualize lives of fulfillment and prosperity for others.
I leave fear behind as You take me by the hand each day.
And I forgive the unforgivable.
As a result, all conflicts within me resolve and, with them, the discord in my life.
All disapproval within me dissolves, and with it, the aches and pains in my body.
I am a better person, one of whom Christ would be proud.
Yet I do not practice denial of my anger or fear, Lord, but practice transcendence.
For You lift me up in accordance with my intentions and words.
You make these words powerful, Lord, and only Truth utters from my lips:
That You and I are One
That, to You, every living thing is sacred
That, as part of You, I am able to let go of fear
That, as part of You, my destiny is to be happy and useful
I begin my transformation today and, with it, the automatic transformation of the world.
Thank You for working Your miracles through me.
Thank you for peace of mind, heart, and soul.
The world and I are One with You, God of my heart, Breath of my breath, Throb in my veins.
Your loving world is the real one, and my gratitude is profound.
And so it is.Amen.
"Help me to perform whatever miracles you want of me today."
Prayer To Increase Self-Worth and Self-Esteem
Dear God,
I have been told I am a sinner and unworthy because I am human.
For, as a human being, I make mistakes.
I cannot dispute that I make mistakes, God.
It seems, sometimes, like my entire life is trial and error.
The worst part is, sometimes, I make a mistake over again because I did not learn from it the first time.
It is easy to judge myself and withhold love when I look at my life.
After all, God, am I smart enough?
Successful enough?
Loving enough?
Rich enough?
Thin enough?
Can I ever be?
More importantly, have I given anything to the world that it really needed?
Or have I concentrated on what I saw as my shortcomings, instead of giving what I had to give?
I know how to criticize myself, Lord. I have been very good at it.
Teach me how to accept and love myself as I am.
For, although I am grown, it is my nature—my human nature—to keep trying things, as a child tries.
As a child falls, I have fallen.
That does not make me bad in Your eyes. It makes me brave.
For I am resilient, and I never give up trying new things.
Which is how You created me. You created me as a seeker.
You gave me courage to fall and stand up again.
You gave me curiosity that wants to know and see and experience.
So, like a child, sometimes I get in trouble.
Or, sometimes what I do winds up not feeling good.
Guide me, Lord, so that I explore and savor life in safety, knowing I am worthy—infinitely worthy—of Your protection and love.
Just as my infant child is worthy of my love when she falls, so am I worthy of my own love as I explore life.
Fill me with love for myself. Transform me with new appreciation.
Align me with my highest good, for You know I deserve it.
I am worthy:
—I am worthy of tender care
—I am worthy of a life I love
—I am worthy of loving friends and family
—I am worthy of wonderful work
—I am worthy of peaceful thoughts
—I am worthy of a peaceful world
—I am worthy of a healthy, happy body
—and I am worthy of Your guidance and protection.
And the miracle is, when I accept these things as my Divine Right, then I serve You better.
I serve You at the highest level.
I serve You in joy, in gratitude and in freedom.
I have no agenda other than loving You and All That Is.
So I accept my worthiness now, and I am made anew.
I live in Your heart, bathed in Your love for me.
You love me. I can do no less.
Thank You, Divine Friend, Companion, Creator. You bless my life with such meaning. My life is my prayer to You.
And so it is.Amen
Feel the Peace of Godby Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.
Summary: The hurts, pressures, and disappointments of this life can weigh down your heart. Come see how the peace of God can bring you back to great emotional victory.
Explanatory note: This is not so much a "sermon", but a devotional Bible study of the powerful inner healing available from what the Scriptures call the "peace of God". It is my hope that these verses will bring refreshing to your soul.
Judges 6:23-24 But the LORD said to him, "Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die." So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD is Peace.
•• "Jehovah-Shalom" — the Lord is Peace. Gideon was fearful of imminent death. But the Lord’s immediate and encouraging reply was, "Peace! ... You are not going to die."
•• In the place of fear, even fear of death, Gideon experienced the peace of God, a peace that proceeded from God’s very Person.
•• If you are at a point in your life where fear is gripping you, be still for a moment and hear God’s assurance to you: "Peace! Do not be afraid," says Jehovah-Shalom.
Psalm 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
•• Insomnia troubles millions of people. Sometimes there is a biological or medical cause, which needs physical healing. At other times, the restless sleep or even lack of sleep comes from inner mental or emotional turmoil. That condition can be wonderfully overcome by embracing the peace of God.
• Notice the underlying cause of the Psalmist’s ability to sleep in peace: he trusted entirely in the Lord’s protection — "...for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety."
• As you prepare for sleep, I encourage you each night to pray that portion of the Lord’s Prayer that says, "Our Father in heaven ... deliver us from evil [and the evil one]..." Then, confident in the Lord’s presence and protection, you can "lie down and sleep in peace".
Psalm 119:165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
•• Fill your heart with God’s word, the Bible, and you will automatically be filling your heart with God’s peace.
•• So many times I, like you, have faced difficult times in life. At such times I have found time and again that the words of Scripture replace anxiety, worry, and fear with the tranquility that comes with the peace of God. The words of God in the Bible are an ever-present source of peace for your mind and heart.
Proverbs 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body.
•• This is a powerful example of the psyche-soma connection in the Bible — that is the strong effect the state of our inner man, our soul or psyche [Greek], has over our body or soma. In modern times medical science has caught on to this long-standing Bible truth about the "psychosomatic" factor in physical health and healing.
•• The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that a heart at peace has a profound effect on the physical health and well-being of the body — it "gives life to the body".
•• Pray to God, read His word regularly, worship Him both in church and in your private times, and you will surely find that the peace of God that fills your heart will have a beneficial impact upon your physical well-being.
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.King James Version: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
•• Perfect peace! What a desirable state of mind that would be. And in this verse God provides two avenues to that "perfect peace":
1. Fix, or "stay", your mind on Him. Make Him regularly the focus of your thoughts.
2. Trust in Him. A friend of ours once gave us a small plaque with this profound saying on it: "It’s always safe to trust the Lord."
• And from these two things — (1) a mind focused on God and (2) an abiding trust in Him — you can come to a state of "perfect peace" in your heart.
Mark 5:34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
•• Jesus healed the woman then; Jesus still heals today!
• If you are facing serious health issues, follow the example of that ill woman and reach out in faith to Jesus. Imagine yourself touching the hem of His garment and having Him turn to you and say, "Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
•• Jesus’ words remind us that it is not man-created peace, but rather the peace of God, that calms our troubled hearts.
• Jesus reminded them that it was His peace — peace from Him — that would allow them to face life’s troubles without fear and trepidation. His peace is abiding, powerful, life-changing, lasting. The world’s so-called "peace" is often just a transient feeling that results from man’s faulty methods and philosophies, none of which have brought lasting peace to this earth.
John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
•• Similar to the previous Scripture, this verse quotes Jesus assuring us of three important facts:
1. In this world we will have trouble. To believe otherwise is to be naive and even antibiblical.
2. But in the midst of that predictable trouble, we may find peace in Him! Trouble in the world, but the inward peace of Christ in the very midst of the trouble.
3. And He gives us the assurance that the troubles will not triumph over us, since Jesus Himself has overcome the world. Therefore, we may "take heart" and rest in His peace in the very midst of troubles and trials.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
•• Two little prepositions in these verses ("with" and "of") give us a wonderful revelation about God’s peace.
• Upon repenting of our sins and believing in Jesus, we are justified by faith, are born again by the Spirit, and enter into a relationship of peace with God. Our sins, which had once kept us at enmity with God, are forgiven through Jesus Christ. And now we find ourselves at peace with God, rather than in opposition to Him.
• Now, as born-again children of God, at peace with Him, we can find great peace in prayer. We bring our anxieties to Him in prayerful petition, with thanksgiving, and as a result we find our hearts and minds wonderfully filled with the peace of God. He replaces our anxieties with His peace.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him...
•• It’s a short verse, with a simple but powerful truth — that is, we can be filled with peace as we trust in the Lord. I find that when I don’t do this, anxieties begin to crowd into my thoughts. Then as I rest in the Lord and trust in Him for all things, the peace returns.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
•• We have a choice to make. We can hold onto our anxieties, fears, and stresses. Or we can let Christ’s peace "rule in [our] hearts". My natural tendency is to allow troubles to cause me to fret. But over the years, in the light of Scriptures like these, I have learned (and am still learning) to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart, to deliberately turn my cares over to Him and consciously allow Him to replace them with His own peace. Try it; it works!
2 Thessalonians 3:16a Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.
•• That is my closing prayer for you — that you will find the Lord’s peace filling your hearts and minds "at all times and in every way". "Let" His peace rule in your hearts, and you will find life’s troubles much easier to manage under the influence of the wonderful peace of God.
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