Zephaniah 3-Zechariah 1
“The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Lord, though this passage for Thy people Israel, I thank You that You are mighty and You do save. I thank You for extending Your salvation and knowledge to all people and for giving me a chance to serve Thee. Help me to love Thee with my whole heart.
Habakkuk 2-Zephaniah 2
“A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet upon Shigionoth. O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:1-2
Lord, I thank Thee that Thou hast already shown so much mercy to Thy people and to me. I pray that You would continually revive Thy work in our lives and help me to follow Thee today with all my heart.
Nahum 1-Habakkuk 1
“The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” Nahum 1:3
Lord, thank you for being slow to anger. Without your mercy and grace I would be utterly lost and devoid of hope. I pray that You would help me to serve You better.
Micah 4-7
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Micah 4:1-2
Lord, what a glorious day it will be when we finally find rest in Thee. I am longing for the day of comfort that is coming when I will eternally be with Thee. Help me in this world to take joy in Thee during times of struggles. In my life You are doing a wonderful thing now even though it is not always comfortable. Help me to learn Your ways and to work harder than I ever have.
Jonah 4-Micah 3
“And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.” Jonah 4:2
Lord, help me not to be like Jonah was toward the Ninevites. Help me to love people as You do and seek for their souls with joy.
Obadiah 1-Jonah 3
“And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” Jonah 3:4-5
If only we would stand and proclaim the word of God, people would turn unto Him. Lord help me to be a witness and to obey Thee immediately.
Amos 6-9
“And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” Amos 9:14-15
Lord, Thank You for Thy forgiveness and mercy. Every day I commit sin and turn my back on Thee but every time, Thy goodness is what brings me back. My sin nature is such a burden and barrier that keeps me from knowing the fullness of Thy love toward me. Help me to study Thy word that I may truly know Thee.
Amos 2-5
“Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;” Amos 2:6
Lord, help me never to trade righteousness or righteous people for the wealth of this world. God, I know that Thy desire is to use my life, at least for a time, to fund the work of Thy church…but I beg You to help me never to become consumed by greed and the desire for pleasure. Help me to be a good steward of the things Thou hast given me and to be wise in matters of investment.
“Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:1-3
Dear God, forgive me for the sins of my life. You have spoken through Thy word that you will bring every work into judgment whether it be good or evil, but because we have known Thee and Thy precepts, how much greater is our sin when we do not obey Thee. Lord, every day I live my life in such a way that does not honor Thee and yet, Thou art merciful and kind to me. Forgive my wickedness and help me to follow Thee with my whole heart.
“I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the LORD, whose name is The God of hosts.” Amos 5:21-27
Heavenly Father, I desire that my worship would not be mere routine but rather an effectual reverence and adoration toward Thee. Your word says that true sacrifice is a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart. Lord, I beg Thee to break my heart for Thee. Help me to continually turn unto Thee. Forgive me for the sin of my life that I would preach Thy word and sinners would be converted unto Thee.
Joel 1-Amos 1
“Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.” Joel 1:3
Dear God, one of our greatest failures as Christians is that we often do not teach our children to follow after Thee. We do not tell them of Thy greatness and Thy loving kindness. I pray that when the time comes that would be a father, that I would follow Thee with my whole heart and teach Thy mercy and grace to my children. Lord, I pray that now, I would follow after Thee with my whole heart so that I would be able to do the same for the lost.
“Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” Joel 1:11-12
Dear Father, I pray that joy would always be in my heart because of Thy work in my life. Whenever I turn away from serving Thee as I ought, it is always because my joy withers that I return. There is no true joy apart from knowing Thee and I pray that this joy would be evident in my life that others would see and desire Thee.
“And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” Joel 2:13
Heavenly Father, I pray that You would help me not to forget Thy mercies. It is my sinful flesh that continually turns my heart from Thee. I know in my heart of hearts that Your desire for me is only peace and joy but because of my wretched nature, You are too often required to send trials, troubles, and chastisements to keep me near Thee. Forgive Thy servant for my wandering heart.
Hosea 11-14
“Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no savior beside me.” Hosea13:4
Dear God, thank you for being the one true God. Thank you for saving me from my sin and giving me a place at Thy side. Lord, I need Thy strength in this time of need. Help me to know where I must go and what I must do. Most of all Lord, protect and provide for my family. Help me to be the husband that I ought and a diligent provider for Cindi’s needs.
Hosea 7-10
“Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” Hosea 10:12
Lord, You have done so many wonderful things for me. I pray that You would help me to trust Thee, even in this time of trial. My desire is to sow unto myself righteousness because I know that apart from Thee, I cannot weather this storm. Help Thou mine unbelief and help me to know Thee more each day.
Hosea 3-6
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 4:6
Lord, I am tired of being without knowledge. Fill my heart with Thy truth that I may stand.
Daniel 11-Hosea 2
“Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:10
Lord, I currently am one of those that does not understand because I am not wise. For many a year, I have failed to be a student of Thy word and still continue to struggle. Lord, I am tired of this struggle and desire to be a daily student of Thy word, that I might understand Thy truths. Things such as these that are written in the book of Daniel. Though I know that I will never be wise enough to fully understand ever nuance of Thy plan; knowing the end of all things and the signs of Thy coming would undoubtedly cause my heart, and the hearts of others to stand with urgency to reach the lost masses. Dear God, this struggle has gone on long enough. Strengthen my heart, my discipline, my body and mind for the task ahead, that I not be found wanting in the battle for men’s souls.
