devotionals

Called to Freedom

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 1:6

Embraced

Then I turned and looked down the corridor at the David, the statue fully chiseled by a master artist. As I walked toward it, I whispered,
“O God, chisel me. I don’t want to be locked in my hard places forever. I want to be free. I want to be all that You have in mind for me to be.”

It is beautiful when the Master chisels. God doesn’t want us to label ourselves and stay stuck. But He does want to make us aware of the chiseling that needs to be done. So instead of condemning myself with statements like, I’m such a mess, I could say, Let God chisel. Let Him work on my hard places so I can leave the dark places of being stuck and come into the light of who He designed me to be.

God is calling us out—out of darkness, out from those places we thought would never get better, out of being stuck. And with His call comes His promise that He will complete the good work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).

Lord, You are the Divine Artist. Thank You for applying Your creativity to me—first in creating me, and now in continuing to shape me into who You designed me to be.
I surrender to Your work. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Excerpt from It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst

How the Faithful Pray Differently

Great men of the faith think differently than the rest of us.

The reason some men and women of faith rise above the rest, you decide, is that they think and pray differently than those around them.

Many people wonder if it’s wrong or selfish to ask God for more blessings, fearing that persistent or bold requests might come off as greedy. But rather than being self-centered, such prayers can be a sign of spiritual maturity. In fact, these honest, faith-filled requests are exactly the kind our Father longs to hear.

Summary:

True spiritual growth involves boldness in prayer. We honor God not by holding back but by trusting Him enough to ask for great and abundant blessings, knowing that our trust pleases Him.

Excerpt from The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkerson

The Faith That Takes

Therefore I say to you, all things you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you will have them.” —Mark 11:24 (ASV)

What a promise! It’s so big, so divine, that our limited hearts can hardly comprehend it. We constantly try to shrink it down to what seems safe or likely. We don’t let it enter our lives the way God gave it—full of His power and energy. If we would let that promise shape our hearts, we would be ready to receive all that God’s love and power wants to do for us.

Faith is not just intellectual agreement with God’s Word or a logical conclusion. True faith is the work of the Holy Spirit in a heart prepared by God’s Word. When that happens, the answer is inevitable—because faith is the guarantee and preview of what’s coming.

“All things whatsoever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive.” Human reasoning wants to limit this with qualifiers like “if it’s God’s will” or “if it’s appropriate.” But that weakens the promise. Jesus meant what He said. He repeats “all things” often to stretch our hearts to believe more. He wants us to know how powerful faith is. The Father gives His power to the one who completely trusts Him. Faith is nourished and strengthened by the "all things" Christ promised. And when we weaken that promise, we weaken our faith.

The “whatsoever” is unconditional, except for the condition of believing. Before we can believe, we must know God’s will. Believing is the natural result of a heart surrendered to God’s Word and Spirit. Once we truly believe, nothing is impossible. So let’s pray with hearts that don’t limit Christ’s “all things” to only what seems possible.

When we pray and ask in faith, we will find the Spirit of faith helping us—most powerfully when we kneel at the throne of grace. Jesus said, “Believe that you receive them.” That means we are to believe we already have what we are asking for—even before we see it. This faith removes mountains.

There’s a kind of prayer where we lay all our requests before God and trust Him to decide what’s best. That kind of prayer gives us peace, because we rest in His will. But the prayer Jesus talks about in Mark 11:24 is different. It is bold. It believes God will do what He promised. It stands on the Spirit’s assurance and knows that it receives exactly what it asks.

When we don’t receive what we’ve asked for, we may not need more prayer—we may just need more praise. When we know the answer is on the way, we should praise God for what we’ve received, even if we haven’t seen it yet.

Sometimes, faith needs to grow through persistent prayer. Elijah knew God would send rain, but he still had to pray seven times. Faith and patience go hand in hand. Faith says, “I’ve received it.” Patience waits until the blessing is visible.

“Believe that you receive them, and you shall have them.” The key word is believe. Between the promise in heaven and its manifestation on earth, believing is the bridge. Praise and prayer are the link. And don’t forget—Jesus Himself said this.

Faith should define what we hope for. God’s Word is a seed; if we hold onto it, it will take root and bear fruit. “All things whatsoever you pray and ask for” are meant to be brought before God. The faith that asks is fed by prayer, and even more, grows through prayer. As we pray, we test our motives, surrender our desires, and grow in confidence. The Spirit helps us discern whether we’re asking rightly. Even when our faith is weak, God invites us to keep praying. Persevering prayer strengthens faith.

“Believe that you receive them.” That’s often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean you’ll see it right away. It means you accept it in prayer just as you accept Christ—by faith. It’s a spiritual action. When you ask God for something according to His Word, you believe it’s already yours. You thank Him as if you’ve already received it.

“And you shall have them.” The gift you held by faith becomes your experience. Once you know you’ve been heard, you don’t need to keep asking. You praise instead.

When we don’t receive what we ask for in faith, we should feel ashamed that we made so little use of the privilege. Maybe our faith is too weak to grasp what’s within reach. But there is hope: Jesus, who brought us this message from the Father, also lived by it. The disciples were amazed at what He did to the fig tree, and Jesus told them they could do the same—even move mountains.

Jesus is our life. He gives us everything He taught. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). The faith He gives is for every child of the Father. It’s within reach of anyone who is childlike, surrendered to the Father’s will and trusting in His Word and power.

So be encouraged! This word comes from Jesus, our Brother and God’s Son. Let’s respond by saying:

“Yes, blessed Lord, we do believe Your Word that we receive whatever we ask.”

Closing Prayer

Lord, teach us to pray.

Blessed Lord, the Father sent You to show us the depth of His love and all the treasures He wants to give. You’ve given us overwhelming promises about the freedom we have in prayer. But we confess—our hearts have accepted so little of it. It’s felt too great for us to believe.

Teach us to take, keep, and use Your powerful Word: “All things whatsoever you pray and ask for, believe that you receive them.” Jesus, our faith must be rooted in You. Your work has freed us from sin and opened the way to the Father. Your love draws us into full fellowship with the Father’s glory and power.

Your Spirit keeps pulling us into deeper faith. We believe that through Your teaching, we will learn to pray in faith. You’ll train us to pray so that we will truly believe we have received what we ask. Teach us to trust, love, and live in You. Through You, may all our prayers rise before the Father. May our souls rest in the assurance that we are heard.

Amen.

Attribution: Adapted from With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray. Public Domain. Modernized and formatted.

Reflection: Alone With God

Scripture

  • “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)
  • “We know that we have the requests we asked of Him.” (1 John 5:15)
  • “He who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Teaching

Prayer is not about trying to convince God with many words or urgent pleading. He already knows what you need before you ask. Instead, prayer is about childlike trust in a Father who loves, sees, and cares.

When you pray, shut out distractions and enter the secret place with God. There the Father is waiting for you. Jesus Himself will teach you to pray in that quiet space. Being alone with God should be your greatest joy and strength.

God is not concerned with how little you bring Him, but with how much He longs to give to you. His heart is full of tender, caring love. Even when your heart feels cold, sinful, or dark, His presence brings light and warmth.

Encouragement

  • Prayer in secret cannot be wasted. God promises to reward it openly.
  • The blessing of prayer doesn’t depend on strong feelings, but on God’s power and love.
  • Faith grows as we trust that our Father sees, hears, and knows our needs.
  • Prayer is not forcing an unwilling God, but resting in a willing and faithful Father.

Application

  • Go often into your “inner chamber” — a place where you can be still with God.
  • Close the door, silence distractions, and simply look to the Father.
  • Trust Him to answer in His way and His time.
  • Let your prayer be less about many words and more about faith, quietness, and confidence.

Prayer

Father, You see me, You hear me, and You know what I need even before I ask. Teach me to treasure time with You in the secret place. Give me faith to trust that You will answer and reward what is done in secret. Let my greatest joy be to be alone with You and to know that You supply every need according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Attribution

Excerpt adapted from Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer (1885).

God Has Not Forgotten You

Reflection

You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so. He who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in no danger of forgetting His own children. He knows your situation as thoroughly as if you were the only creature He ever made, or the only saint He ever loved. Rest in His compassion and draw near to Him in peace.

Prayer

Lord, You make a way out of no way.
You have already planned a pathway through the valley of impossibility. Help me to operate with faith, not just facts.

Amen.

Attribution: Reflection adapted from Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon. Prayer from 100 Days of Believing Bigger by Marshawn Evans Daniels.

Thinking That Leads to Peace

Philippians 4:6–9 (NIV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

In the absence of truth, lies reign.

This is probably a passage you’ve read before. But have you thought of applying it to your every thought—especially the toxic ones?

The mind feasts on what it focuses on. What consumes our thinking will be the making or breaking of our identity.

That’s why we need to think on, ponder, and park our minds on constructive thoughts—not destructive thoughts. Thoughts that build up, not tear down. Thoughts that breathe life, not drain the life from us. Thoughts that lead to goodness, not anxiety.

Prayer

Dear Lord, reveal to me untruths throughout my day that can so easily distract and discourage me. Help me see You and Your truth in all I do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Excerpt from It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst

Keep Circling in Prayer

“On the seventh day, march around the city seven times.”
Joshua 6:4

To pray or not to pray—those are the only options. Whether you’ve been circling your prayers for the past seventeen days or seventeen years, if the answer is not yet, then you’ve got to keep circling. It’s always too early to give up! Because it’s never over until God says it’s over. If your cause is ordained by God, then the battle belongs to the Lord. It’s His victory to win, not yours. God’s timing is perfect. And as you wait, you’ve got to keep praying.

Today, examine the request you want to bring to God. No matter if it’s an old request or a new one, if it’s ordained by God, then write it down, keep praying, keep asking, keep circling.

Excerpt from The Circle Maker: 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson

The Gift Hidden in Heartbreak

Pressing Through the Pain

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” — James 4:8 (NKJV)

Does it ever feel like the heartbreak in your life is trying to break you? I understand. I really, really do. I’ve been in that place where the pain of heartbreak hits with such sudden and sharp force that it feels like it cuts through skin and bone. It’s the kind of pain that leaves us wondering if we’ll ever be able to function like a normal person again.

But God has been tenderly reminding me that pain itself is not the enemy. Pain is the indicator that brokenness exists.

Pain is the reminder that the real Enemy is trying to take us out and bring us down by keeping us stuck in broken places. Pain is the gift that motivates us to fight with brave tenacity and fierce determination, knowing there’s healing on the other side.

And in the in-between? In that desperate place where we aren’t quite on the other side of it all yet, and our heart still feels quite raw?

Pain is the invitation for God to move in and replace our faltering strength with His. I’m not writing that to throw out spiritual platitudes that sound good; I write it from the depth of a heart that knows it’s the only way.

We must invite God into our pain to help us survive the desperate in-between.

If We Avoid the Hurt, the Hurt Creates a Void

The only other choice is to run from the pain by using some method of numbing. But numbing—the pain—never goes to the source of the real issue to make us healthier. It only silences our screaming need for help.

We think we are freeing ourselves from the pain when, in reality, what numbs us imprisons us. If we avoid the hurt, the hurt creates a void in us. It slowly kills the potential for our hearts to fully feel, fully connect, fully love again. It even steals the best in our relationship with God.

Pain is the sensation that indicates a transformation is needed. There is a weakness where new strength needs to enter in. And we must choose to pursue long-term strength rather than temporary relief.

So how do we get this new strength? How do we stop ourselves from chasing what will numb us when the deepest parts of us scream for some relief? How do we stop the piercing pain of this minute, this hour?

We invite God’s closeness.

For me, this means praying: No matter how vast our pit, prayer is big enough to fill us with the realization of His presence like nothing else. Our key verse (James 4:8) reminds us that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. When we invite Him close, He always accepts our invitation.

And on the days when my heart feels hurt and my words feel quite flat, I let Scripture guide my prayers—recording His Word in my journal, and then adding my own personal thoughts.

One of my favorites to turn to is Psalm 91. I would love to share this verse with you today, as an example for when you prayerfully invite God into your own pain.

A Prayer from Psalm 91

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1).

Prayer:

Lord, draw me close.
Your Word promises when I draw close to You, You are there. I want my drawing close to be a permanent dwelling place. At any moment when I feel weak and empty and alone, I pray that I won’t let those feelings drag me down into a pit of insecurity. But rather, I want those feelings to be triggers for me to immediately lift those burdensome feelings to You and trade them for the assurance of Your security.
I am not alone, because You are with me. I am not weak, because Your strength is infused in me. I am not empty, because I’m drinking daily from Your fullness. You are my dwelling place. And in You I have shelter from every stormy circumstance and harsh reality. I’m not pretending the hard things don’t exist, but I am rejoicing in the fact that Your covering protects me and prevents those hard things from affecting me like they used to.
You, the Most High, have the final say over me. You know me and love me intimately. And today I declare that I will trust You in the midst of my pain. You are my everyday dwelling place, my saving grace.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

And with that I close my prayer journal, feeling a lot less desperate and a lot more whole. I breathe the atmosphere of life His words bring.

I picture Him standing at the door of my future, knocking. If I will let Him enter into the darkness of my hurt today, He will open wide the door to a much brighter tomorrow.

Dear Lord, in this moment I draw near to You and I invite Your closeness. Help me to experience Your presence today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Attribution: Excerpt from Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God Is Holding You Close by Lysa TerKeurst

Stop Shrinking: You Were Made to Shine

Blessing Blockers

Shrinking

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.
— Romans 12:3 NIV

Our trust in God is not somehow separate from our belief in ourselves. For far too long we’ve been taught that believing unapologetically in ourselves is considered unspiritual or prideful.

To the contrary, divine trust and self-belief are linked together by the umbilical cord of purpose. We cannot fulfill our destiny with just one or the other; we need both. The Bible says not to think more highly of yourself than you should, but it doesn’t say not to think highly of yourself. The reason God wants you to have a strong, all-things-are-possible self-image is for the very purpose of being able to fulfill your purpose. You need a healthy and hearty self-image to even have the audacity to pursue all God has in store for you.

Notice that it doesn’t say you need a strong self-image to believe in God. It’s not enough to love God but not really like yourself. That’s not God’s will. But truth be told, many of us spend an inordinate amount of time trying to fix our faults or find a way to simply “live with” ourselves. If you don’t learn to celebrate yourself, you’ll settle for a life where you merely tolerate who you are. You’ll shrink. You’ll settle. You’ll take the leftovers and never go after what God has for you.

What if you really believed in your potential and power, not only your imperfections? There is nothing God-glorifying about hiding your anointing, gifts, and voice. The very nature of your existence is a supernatural permission slip! When God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), He was giving you permission to shine.

Excerpted from Blessing Blockers: Shrinking by Sarah Jakes Roberts.

From Intimidating to Inviting: Reading the Bible with SPACES

Using the SPACES Bible Study Tool

Overview

Reading the Bible can feel intimidating. The SPACES acronym is a simple tool to help you engage with Scripture, understand it, and apply it to your life. You can write this acronym on a piece of paper or in your journal and use it as a guide every time you read a chapter.

What SPACES Stands For

S — Sin to Avoid

  • Look for sins mentioned directly or shown through characters’ actions.
  • Ask: What behavior or attitude should I avoid?

P — Promise to Claim

  • Identify promises God gives in the passage.
  • Ask: What can I confidently trust God for in my own life?

A — Attribute of God

  • Notice what the passage teaches about God’s character.
  • Ask: What does this reveal about who God is?

C — Command to Obey

  • Find explicit or implicit instructions to follow.
  • Ask: What is God calling me to do or change?

E — Example to Follow

  • Observe positive examples in characters’ lives.
  • Ask: Who should I imitate in this passage?

S — Something to Pray About

  • Turn what you read into a personal prayer.
  • Ask: How should I respond to God in prayer based on this passage?

How to Use It

  1. Write “SPACES” at the top of your notes when you start a chapter.
  2. As you read, jot down insights under each letter.
  3. Use your notes to guide prayer and application.
  4. Share it with a friend or in a small group study to help others engage with Scripture.

Why Use SPACES?

  • Reduces intimidation when reading the Bible.
  • Encourages deeper understanding and reflection.
  • Makes it easier to discuss and share Scripture with others.

Start using SPACES today and enjoy a more meaningful time in God’s Word!

Adapted from content by Jeremy Vuolo, shared in an Instagram video post.

Living From Love, Not For Love

We often act out of a deep desire to be loved, seeking approval, validation, or respect from others. This mindset can leave us anxious, disappointed, and focused on ourselves.

But when we remember that we are already loved by God, everything changes. We can act from a place of security and freedom rather than striving for acceptance. We can serve, give, and relate to others without hidden agendas or unrealistic expectations.

Living because we are loved means:

  • We can humble ourselves without needing to prove anything.
  • We can give our worries to God instead of obsessing over our performance.
  • We can resist lies and stand firm in faith rather than relying on feelings.
  • We can embrace growth and strength instead of choosing comfort and ease.

When we live from the truth that we are loved, we find true freedom and clarity. We stop striving and start living with purpose and grace.

Lord, help me remember today that I am loved. Free me from self-focus and striving, and help me live out of Your love. Amen.

Adapted from Lysa TerKeurst, Because I Am Loved.