Daily Devotionals
Tuesday, August 20, 2024 (Aminta)
Last week, I got the awesome opportunity to be on the radio! My dear friend, Sondra, had me join her on the mid-day show for Praise FM. We took the hour to pray over all of the students who will be going back to school in the next few weeks- from pre-school through college; homeschool to those going overseas.
We prayed for the well-being and safety of the students, of course, but we also pressed into these four specific areas. I picked these areas because they are the themes I see time and time again as I have the privilege of meeting and praying with youth:
1. Identity- that kids would know who they are in Christ, how much they are loved, and that identity starts with us being God’s children.
2. Purpose- that students would understand the incredible mission they have been assigned and be courageous enough to be light in a dark world.
3. Purity- that the Next Gen would be able to live set apart, and follow the precepts of God’s world rather than living according to the world’s standard.
4. Truth- that students would seek and know truth amidst the flood of information coming their way. That they would have eyes to see it and ears to hear God’s Word, and have discernment about false information.
My invitation to you today is to think of the students in your life and take a little time to pray the following prayers over them. Maybe it’s your own kiddos, but maybe it’s your nieces and nephews, neighbors, or friends. Let’s join hands and stand in the gap for the world changers of tomorrow!
Prayer for IDENTITY (based on Psalm 139):
Heavenly Father,
We come before you this morning and praise you for being a loving and attentive God. You made the world and hold it in the palm of your hands, yet you know each of us by name and the number of hairs on our head. We can never escape from your presence, because you are everywhere we go. You have precious thoughts about us that are too great to be counted - they outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore. You knew all of the days of our lives before we were even born! You planned good works for us to do and made us exactly how you wanted us to be. Thank you for loving us so much. Father, today I lift up ____________, and I humbly ask they realize their incredible identity in you. May __________ understand that first and foremost they are a child of God, fully seen and fully loved; made on purpose for the specific work you have planned for them to do. Help _______ understand that nothing about them is by accident or was a mistake. Let the fullness of their identity as a child of God be planted deep within the heart, that they feel a security and confidence in who they are in you that cannot be shaken. Protect ____________ from any lie the enemy throws at them that causes doubt, insecurity or confusion. Let __________ feel your overwhelming love.
Amen.
Prayer for PURPOSE (based on Matthew 5):
Lord,
I come before you this morning so thankful for the Great God you are. Thank you for being sovereign. Thank you that nothing is more powerful than you. Thank you that you love your people and have good and precious work for them to do. Thank you for having a purpose for everything you do, as well as a purpose for us. I pray today that you would help __________ understand the incredible purpose that has been placed on his/her life to be light in this dark world. When everyone else is pursuing pleasure and worldly desire, help ___________ to have the focus and courage to share the good news with those around them. As they go to school everyday, and attend activities, may ____________ shine your love in tangible and practical ways. Give him/her the strength of character to love those who no one else loves and to show kindness to those who need it most. Let that light shine! Thank you for the promises in your Word that light always overcomes the darkness, and we thank you for the security that brings.
Help ___________’s light to shine bright.
Amen
Prayer for PURITY (based on Galatians 5):
Great and Mighty King,
I come before you today and bow low at your feet. You are a Great God, and there is no one like you. You alone are worthy of all the glory, all of the honor, and all of the praise. You are pure and holy, set apart by your goodness. Thank you for showing me the best way to live! In a world that is full of sinful desire and impurity, I pray that you would help __________ live a life that is pure and righteous. Help them to avoid the desires of the flesh: lustful pleasure, quarreling, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, drunkenness, division, and even sorcery. Let ____________’s life be marked by the fruits of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Let _____________ follow your Spirit in every area of his/her life, that it would bring honor and glory to your name and keep them from the grip of the enemy. Help keep _________ pure in a world full of impurity. Send your Spirit to make it possible, for we can’t do it alone.
Amen.
Prayer for TRUTH (based on 1 Timothy 4 & 6):
Almighty Father,
Thank you for being the truth and the only truth. Thank you that we can trust what you say because you never lie. Thank you for providing your Word, that we might have a guidebook for how to live our lives in a world that is full of lies and deception.
I pray that you would give eyes to ___________ to see your truth in a world that crooked and perverse. Give him/her a heart that is courageous enough to reject the messages from those who teach deceptive and false messages. Please send _________ the Spirit of wisdom and discernment, that they might be able to identify lies immediately. Let your truth alone grow down deep into their hearts and take root. Protect them from any attack of the enemy that would cause deceit and deception to have a foothold.
Let your truth be known and understood by ___________, and let it be a foundation for all that they do and say this year at school. Guide _________ to read and understand the Bible, that your words would be imprinted on their heart forever.
Amen
We are truly better together, so let’s pick up those prayer swords and fight for the Next Generation of God’s people. Who’s with me?
Mint
We prayed for the well-being and safety of the students, of course, but we also pressed into these four specific areas. I picked these areas because they are the themes I see time and time again as I have the privilege of meeting and praying with youth:
1. Identity- that kids would know who they are in Christ, how much they are loved, and that identity starts with us being God’s children.
2. Purpose- that students would understand the incredible mission they have been assigned and be courageous enough to be light in a dark world.
3. Purity- that the Next Gen would be able to live set apart, and follow the precepts of God’s world rather than living according to the world’s standard.
4. Truth- that students would seek and know truth amidst the flood of information coming their way. That they would have eyes to see it and ears to hear God’s Word, and have discernment about false information.
My invitation to you today is to think of the students in your life and take a little time to pray the following prayers over them. Maybe it’s your own kiddos, but maybe it’s your nieces and nephews, neighbors, or friends. Let’s join hands and stand in the gap for the world changers of tomorrow!
Prayer for IDENTITY (based on Psalm 139):
Heavenly Father,
We come before you this morning and praise you for being a loving and attentive God. You made the world and hold it in the palm of your hands, yet you know each of us by name and the number of hairs on our head. We can never escape from your presence, because you are everywhere we go. You have precious thoughts about us that are too great to be counted - they outnumber the grains of sand on the seashore. You knew all of the days of our lives before we were even born! You planned good works for us to do and made us exactly how you wanted us to be. Thank you for loving us so much. Father, today I lift up ____________, and I humbly ask they realize their incredible identity in you. May __________ understand that first and foremost they are a child of God, fully seen and fully loved; made on purpose for the specific work you have planned for them to do. Help _______ understand that nothing about them is by accident or was a mistake. Let the fullness of their identity as a child of God be planted deep within the heart, that they feel a security and confidence in who they are in you that cannot be shaken. Protect ____________ from any lie the enemy throws at them that causes doubt, insecurity or confusion. Let __________ feel your overwhelming love.
Amen.
Prayer for PURPOSE (based on Matthew 5):
Lord,
I come before you this morning so thankful for the Great God you are. Thank you for being sovereign. Thank you that nothing is more powerful than you. Thank you that you love your people and have good and precious work for them to do. Thank you for having a purpose for everything you do, as well as a purpose for us. I pray today that you would help __________ understand the incredible purpose that has been placed on his/her life to be light in this dark world. When everyone else is pursuing pleasure and worldly desire, help ___________ to have the focus and courage to share the good news with those around them. As they go to school everyday, and attend activities, may ____________ shine your love in tangible and practical ways. Give him/her the strength of character to love those who no one else loves and to show kindness to those who need it most. Let that light shine! Thank you for the promises in your Word that light always overcomes the darkness, and we thank you for the security that brings.
Help ___________’s light to shine bright.
Amen
Prayer for PURITY (based on Galatians 5):
Great and Mighty King,
I come before you today and bow low at your feet. You are a Great God, and there is no one like you. You alone are worthy of all the glory, all of the honor, and all of the praise. You are pure and holy, set apart by your goodness. Thank you for showing me the best way to live! In a world that is full of sinful desire and impurity, I pray that you would help __________ live a life that is pure and righteous. Help them to avoid the desires of the flesh: lustful pleasure, quarreling, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, drunkenness, division, and even sorcery. Let ____________’s life be marked by the fruits of your Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Let _____________ follow your Spirit in every area of his/her life, that it would bring honor and glory to your name and keep them from the grip of the enemy. Help keep _________ pure in a world full of impurity. Send your Spirit to make it possible, for we can’t do it alone.
Amen.
Prayer for TRUTH (based on 1 Timothy 4 & 6):
Almighty Father,
Thank you for being the truth and the only truth. Thank you that we can trust what you say because you never lie. Thank you for providing your Word, that we might have a guidebook for how to live our lives in a world that is full of lies and deception.
I pray that you would give eyes to ___________ to see your truth in a world that crooked and perverse. Give him/her a heart that is courageous enough to reject the messages from those who teach deceptive and false messages. Please send _________ the Spirit of wisdom and discernment, that they might be able to identify lies immediately. Let your truth alone grow down deep into their hearts and take root. Protect them from any attack of the enemy that would cause deceit and deception to have a foothold.
Let your truth be known and understood by ___________, and let it be a foundation for all that they do and say this year at school. Guide _________ to read and understand the Bible, that your words would be imprinted on their heart forever.
Amen
We are truly better together, so let’s pick up those prayer swords and fight for the Next Generation of God’s people. Who’s with me?
Mint
