May 1:  Child, you are fully known

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. 12NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

I thank you, Most High, for the wondrous way You have made my mind…that my mind can record beautiful memories…that my mind could record every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  Not only did my mind record the facts of beautiful childhood experiences, but also the emotions that were connected to those events.  And not only did the facts and emotions of these experiences get recorded, but also the interpretations that were concluded at the time of the events.

Perfect Father, thank you for reminding me of my enemy…the father-of-lies…and that the interpretations I made as a child were not necessarily true, since the father-of-lies suggested false conclusions to my mind when I made my interpretations as a child.  I know that unless I have surrendered these false interpretations to You, they are still in effect today.  And because of these wrong interpretations, I see but a poor reflection of myself…I only see in part.

Most High, how Hope fills my heart when I ponder that I am fully known by You.  Show me who I really am…the way You know me.  May I find the false interpretations I had made about myself as a child and surrender them to You, so You can show me the Truth…so I can see myself the way You see me.

You are worthy, Father, to receive honor and praise!

May 2:  Put Childish Ways Behind You

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME  (1 Corinthians 13:11).

How wondrous You have made my mind, Majesty, to be able to record every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  Not only do the facts of an experience get recorded, but also the emotions that are connected to that event.  And not only do the facts and emotions of an experience get recorded, but also the interpretations that were concluded at the time of the childhood event.

Thank You, Majesty, that You also made my mind a bearer of Your Truth, because sometimes the interpretations I made as a child…were false.

And these false interpretations of the childhood occurrences remain with me even during adulthood, causing me to think like that little child again…reason like that little child again…and talk like that little child again.

” GUIDE ME TO YOUR TRUTH AND TEACH ME, FOR YOU ARE GOD MY SAVIOR, AND MY HOPE IS IN YOU ALL DAY LONG” (Psalm 25:5).

Majesty, I honor You for sending the Spirit of Truth into my heart to lead me into all Truth and set me free from false childhood interpretations.  Show me which childhood interpretations are false, so I can surrender them to You to be replaced with Truth…so I can put childish ways behind me.

Worthy is the Truth!

May 3:  Child, Become Aware of Satan’s Schemes.

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. 12NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

Thank you, Abba, that I may understand how my mind works… that as a child my mind recorded every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  Not only did the facts and emotions of an experience get recorded, but also the interpretations that were concluded at the time of the event.

“HE WAS A MURDERER FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT HOLDING TO THE TRUTH, FOR THERE IS NO TRUTH IN HIM. WHEN HE LIES, HE SPEAKS HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE, FOR HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES”  (John 8:44).

I realize that during my childhood experiences, Satan, the murderer, loved to encourage me to come to the wrong conclusions, for he is the father-of-lies and there is no Truth in him.  He would whisper conclusions like “You are abandoned by God” to us as children when somebody walked out on us...”You are dirty and tainted” when someone sexually abused us as children...”You are only accepted when you do not make any mistakes” whenever we made mistakes.  He knew that it would not be our circumstances as children that would manipulate and rule us throughout our adulthood, but the lies he instilled in our mind. 

“ BUY THE TRUTH AND DO NOT SELL IT-WISDOM, INSTRUCTION AND INSIGHT AS WELL”
(Proverbs 23:23).

Thank you for the Truth, Abba…that Your goal is to set us free from the wrong childhood interpretations, so we may be ruled by Your Truth, Hope and Love.

May I be a bearer of Truth!

May 4:  May you get to know the true God

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. 12NOW WE SEE BUT A POOR REFLECTION AS IN A MIRROR; THEN WE SHALL SEE FACE TO FACE. NOW I KNOW IN PART; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, EVEN AS I AM FULLY KNOWN” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).

Everlasting Father, You know how I am formed…that as a child my mind recorded every experience since the time of birth very accurately.  Not only did the facts and emotions of an experience get recorded, but also the interpretations that were concluded at the time of the event…and some of these childhood interpretations that still live in my mind today are false and distort my perceptions of You, Majesty.

I realize that these false interpretations cause me to ask questions like,  “Am I good enough for God if I was not even good enough for my own parents?  Would God banish me like my dad did because I made a mistake?  Would God keep me at arm’s length like my friend did because I do not please Him?  Does God even notice me…or am I invisible to Him too?”

“IT HAS GIVEN ME GREAT JOY TO FIND SOME OF YOUR CHILDREN WALKING IN THE TRUTH, JUST AS THE FATHER COMMANDED US.” (2 John 1:4).

Perfect Father, You have commanded us to walk in the Truth.  Help me to find these false childhood interpretations about You and expose them to Your Truth, so I may accept that You are not like any childhood dad or any childhood mom.  Guide me with Your Truth so I may know You.

From everlasting to everlasting is Your Truth!

May 5: The Misinterpretations of Childhood

WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME. (1 Corinthians 13:11). 

Majesty, wash out my eyes to see that Satan, the father-of-lies, rejoiced in and contributed to the misinterpretations of my life recordings.  When I was a child, he infused my mind with suspicion…fear…unworthiness.  These misinterpretations became strongholds …patterns…a lifestyle.  I became a captive.

“DON'T YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU OFFER YOURSELVES TO SOMEONE TO OBEY HIM AS SLAVES, YOU ARE SLAVES TO THE ONE WHOM YOU OBEY—WHETHER YOU ARE SLAVES TO SIN, WHICH LEADS TO DEATH, OR TO OBEDIENCE, WHICH LEADS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS?” (Romans 6:16).

Most High, open my eyes to see that the father-of-lies knows that if I continually accept the lie “I am unworthy” into my mind, I would be ensnared by it.  If I continually embrace the lie “I am flawed” into my understanding, I would be enslaved by it.  If I continually welcome the lie “I don’t belong” into my heart, I would live by it.

God of Light, renew my mind to understand that the father-of-lies had a goal during my childhood…to produce in me a distorted mind and a disturbed heart…to get me to obey his lies so I could come under his control for the rest of my life…for as I think in my heart, so I will be.

“FOR AS HE THINKS IN HIS HEART, SO IS HE” (Proverbs 23:7).

God of Truth, work Your Truth in my childhood interpretations, so I may think the Truth and act the Truth…for no lie comes from the Truth.

“NO LIE COMES FROM THE TRUTH (1 John 2:21).

Let me stay in Your Truth!

May 6:  A Parent can Reason like a Child

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME.” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

God of Light, today I realize that even though a person is a parent, he can still think like a child…reason like a child…feel like a child.  Sometimes it is hard for a parent to put childish things behind her, because during a parent’s childhood the evil one loved to promote lies like “You don’t belong”… You are a mistake...You are different and defective.”  Today I realize that the accuser’s goal was for my own parents to become slaves to these lies so these would carry over into their adulthood…and then to me.

Redeemer, feed my mind with Your Truth so I may be released from the lie that everything that went wrong during my childhood was my fault…that I was the bad one…that I was responsible.  Renew my mind so I may understand that when my parent condemned me…he could have been reacting from his own pain of shame.  Call me to the place where I may accept that when my parent abandoned me…she could have been responding from a place of feeling rejected.  Created in me a sound mind so I may see that when my parent overly controlled…he could have been retaliating from a place of fear.

May I forgive my parents for their own pain…and surrender them to You, so they too may obtain Truth to start thinking like an adult…reasoning like an adult…and talking like an adult.

I cling to Your Truth!

May 7: God Will Repay

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Perfect Father, how much I realize that the goal of the father-of-lies during my childhood was to produce in me a distorted mind and a disturbed heart…to promote lies like “You don’t belong”…You are a failure…You are fatally flawed”…to keep me captive in child-like behavior.

"I WILL REPAY YOU FOR THE YEARS THE LOCUSTS HAVE EATEN” (Joel 2:25).

How marvelous is Your Power, God, that You are able to reimburse me for the years the enemy has stolen from me.  How powerful is Your Truth, that You can make up for the times I felt abandoned, alone and isolated.  How unparalleled is Your Hope, that You can compensate for the times I felt condemned and rejected.  You can make reparation for all the years I tried so hard to please…when my efforts made no difference.

“AND WE KNOW THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD WORKS FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM” (Romans 8:28).

How great is Your Love, Father, that You work all things for good of those who love You.  May I love You by obeying Your Word to not lean on my own understanding, but offer You my distorted mind and disturbed heart…so You can work all my childhood experiences for the good.

You satisfy my desires with good things!

May 8: God has been with you during your Childhood.

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Most High, help me to acknowledge that it is not what happened to me as a child that is causing me so much heart-ache today…but my interpretations of these events…and many times these interpretations I made as a child were false.

“AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE”
(Matthew 28:20).

Jesus, my heart is filled with Hope when I realize that You were present…on duty...alive when I was making my conclusions as a child.  You promised that You would never leave me.

You saw it all.  You considered the circumstances.  Most of all, You took heed of the father-of-lies deceiving me.  And You knew what was transpiring in my heart.  You are still aware of the false beliefs I had adopted during my childhood.  You were there.

“THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS MAN LOOKS AT. MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Jesus, how thankful I am that You know my heart. You know the misinterpretations.  You know the lies.  And you know the Truth.  You are faithful to make Your Truth known to me when I invite Your Presence and Participation into these false interpretations

I cherish Your Presence and Participation!

May 9: May you Recognize the Cause for Immaturity

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

God of Light, help me to understand that I could still display the character of a child even when I am an adult…disrespect…character weakness…immaturity.  Because of the misinterpretations of childhood, an adult could still feel, reason and act like a three-year-old.

I have noticed that when I feel like acting like a three-year-old, I feel again like the little three-year-old I used to be when a negative destructive belief entered my mind.  When I feel like a three-year-old, I am reliving the interpretations I had made as a three-year-old.  I would relive the fear and loneliness when I was alone in a foreign place…I would relive the shame when I had thought I had disappointed my mom…I would relive the disapproval when my aunt had told me I was a failure.

“AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COUNSELOR TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER— 17THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. THE WORLD CANNOT ACCEPT HIM, BECAUSE IT NEITHER SEES HIM NOR KNOWS HIM.  BUT YOU KNOW HIM, FOR HE LIVES WITH YOU AND WILL BE IN YOU” (John 14:16-17).

How great are Your benefits, Majesty, that I may experience immediate change in my immature character and act as a mature adult when I request the Presence and Participation of the Counselor You gave me.  I know Him, for He lives with me and is in me.  He is called the Spirit of Truth.  May I recognize the cause for immaturity, so I could enter into adulthood.

I set my Hope upon You!

May 10: To Love Jesus is to Obey Him

“WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME.  (John 14:21).

Jesus, help me to understand that to love You is to obey You.

May I obey You by bringing all my feelings of abandonment, rejection and shame to You.  May I obey You by bringing You all my beliefs of being an outcast…an alien…an object, instead of acting and reacting to these beliefs in anger, fear and hatred.

Jesus, I honor You by not avoiding the burden of despair in my heart.  I love You by not denying the problem of abandonment in my heart.  I obey You by not simply enduring the emotions of rejection in my heart, but embracing the beliefs that cause me pain…and bringing them to You.

"BECAUSE HE LOVES ME," SAYS THE LORD, "I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME.  HE WILL CALL UPON ME, AND I WILL ANSWER HIM; I WILL BE WITH HIM IN TROUBLE, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM” (Psalm 91:14, 15).

And because I love You with obedience, You will rescue me from the lies of abandonment.  You will protect me from the effects of condemnation.  You will answer me when you lay my beliefs of shame at Your feet.  You will make Your presence known during my sorrow.  You will deliver me from the negative destructive beliefs of the enemy.  You will honor me.

Jesus, I love You with Obedience!

May 11: Do not Talk like a Child…Slander No-one

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Father, how great is Your Love You lavish on us…that we should be called children of God.  Create in me a sound mind, so I would not slander anyone…curse anyone…belittle anyone, because this is the conduct of a child-mind.  A child-mind thinks like a child, reasons like a child and talks like a child because of his emotions of hopelessness, helplessness and powerlessness.  A child-mind belittles because of his beliefs of “I am not loved…I am not lovable…I am just a child.”

“THEY MUST NOT SLANDERANYONE AND MUST AVOID QUARRELING.  INSTEAD, THEY SHOULD BE GENTLE AND SHOW TRUE HUMILITY TO EVERYONE” (Titus 3:2).

Jesus, work Your Righteousness and Wholeness in my childhood beliefs so I can become an adult and put childish beliefs and emotions behind me.  Show my mind that I am loved and lovable, so I may become gently and show true humility to everyone.

Create in me a sound mind!

May 12: Hold to My Teaching

“WHEREFORE HE IS ABLE ALSO TO SAVE THEM TO THE UTTERMOST THAT COME UNTO GOD BY HIM, SEEING HE EVER LIVETH TO MAKE INTERCESSION FOR THEM”  (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus, how joy fills my heart when I ponder the words that You are able to save me to the uttermost.  Jesus, I want to be saved to the uttermost.  I want to be saved in my body…in my soul…in my spirit.

But I realize that if I want to be saved to the uttermost, I need to obey to the uttermost, because obedience is like clay in your hands. I need to obey by not surrendering to my pain, but surrendering my pain to You.  I need to follow the Hope…not the hopelessness.  I need to follow the Truth…not the lies.  I need to follow the Light…not the darkness.

“JESUS SAID, "IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING, YOU ARE REALLY MY DISCIPLES. 32THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE"
(John 8:31). 

Jesus, may I hold to Your teaching…the words of Hope you have spoken to me…the visions of Light You have given me…the way of Truth You have shown me.  Then You will reveal more Truth to me…and the Truth will set me free…and I will be saved to the uttermost.

May I follow the Hope…not the hopelessness!

May 13:  And You Will Trample the Great Lion

“BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR” (1 Peter 5:8).

Father, help me to know that I have an enemy who hates the Truth and who will do anything to keep me from the Truth.  This enemy…the great lion…the father-of-lies, prowls around like a roaring lion, guarding against the Truth, because he knows that Truth brings Life, Light and Joy.  It gives Hope to the hopeless mind…Love to the loveless heart and Righteousness to the sinful soul.

“YOU WILL TREAD UPON THE LION AND THE COBRA; YOU WILL TRAMPLE THE GREAT LION AND THE SERPENT.  BECAUSE HE LOVES ME," SAYS THE LORD, "I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME” (Psalm 91:13, 14).

God, may I love You with obedience.  May I love You by obeying Your instructions…the little things you ask of me each day…abiding by the words You speak to me each day.  May I love You by pursuing the Truth…Your understanding…Your opinion.

And because I acknowledge Your opinion and pursue the Truth, You will reveal the Truth.  I will see the roaring lion for who he really is…the father-of-lies.  I will see that the hopelessness is only a set of negative destructive beliefs in my mind instilled by the father-of-lies.  And I will tread upon the great lion to enter into the Life, Light and Joy that Truth brings.

I cling to Your Truth!

May 14: The Enemy Likes to Hide

“BE SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR” (1 Peter 5:8).

Father, thank you that You sent me a Gift…the Spirit of Truth…to break through the lies of the enemy…the great lion…the father of lies, who guards the Truth with every tool at his disposal, his favorite gimmick being blaming others, so the focus is taken away from him.  He always makes sure he stays hidden.  Nobody would suspect him of the misinterpretations of “I am being harmed…I don’t have what it takes…I am defenseless.”

While nobody is suspecting him of the darkness that looms in our mind and the brokenness that festers in our heart, he even throws in lies like “your mother does not love you…your parents do not care about you…your dad thinks you are a failure.”  And thus the father of lies remains innocent and hidden…inventing untruths…concocting falsities…devouring anybody and everybody with his deceit.

“YOU WILL TREAD UPON THE LION AND THE COBRA; YOU WILL TRAMPLE THE GREAT LION AND THE SERPENT.  BECAUSE HE LOVES ME," SAYS THE LORD, "I WILL RESCUE HIM; I WILL PROTECT HIM, FOR HE ACKNOWLEDGES MY NAME”
(Psalm 91:13, 14).

Father, may I stop blaming others for the pain in my heart, because this will not take the pain away.  Instead, blaming others will only cause others to have pain too, reacting to me in defense.  May I love You and acknowledge that only You can repair my heart.  And You will expose the great lion from his hiding place…protecting me from the rejection, abandonment and shame with which he wants to devour me.

May I love You, so You can rescue me!

May 15: Shame Is a Belief

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Everlasting Father, I am aware that my mind recorded all incidents of shame that I had experienced as a child…complete with the facts, emotions and interpretations of “I am bad because of who I am…I am fatally flawed…I am a disgrace.” I realize that during these childhood incidences of shame, I felt disrespected, humiliated and out-shined, but shame is not the INCIDENT that happened to me, but the BELIEF that formed in my mind…a belief of guilt, shortcoming and impropriety.

I understand that this BELIEF, called shame, still lives in my mind and is triggered whenever someone or something reminds me of the incident that caused the belief.

“BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND. THEN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TEST AND APPROVE WHAT GOD'S WILL IS—HIS GOOD, PLEASING AND PERFECT WILL” (Romans 12:2).

Jesus, I invite Your Presence and Participation into my mind to renew my mind and remove the BELIEF of shame.  I hold fast to You.  Cleanse my mind from the belief of guilt.  Release me from the belief of disgrace and impropriety.  Deliver me from the belief of shortcoming and being fatally flawed.

I invite You to renew my mind!

May 16:  Receive Your Father’s Love

“WHEN I WAS A CHILD, I TALKED LIKE A CHILD, I THOUGHT LIKE A CHILD, I REASONED LIKE A CHILD. WHEN I BECAME A MAN, I PUT CHILDISH WAYS BEHIND ME” (1 Corinthians 13:11).

Most High, how I realize that when I do not feel loved, I am prone to think like a child…reason like a child…and talk like a child.

God, you know how I am formed.  You understand that “I am not loved” is a BELIEF in my mind and a HURT in my heart.  It is not a circumstance.  It is an opinion I have accepted as TRUE because of something someone said or did.  And this belief “I am not loved” sometimes transfers to You, God as the belief “I am not loved by God”…and this hurts my heart the most.

“I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY THAT YOU GAVE ME, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE: 23I IN THEM AND YOU IN ME. MAY THEY BE BROUGHT TO COMPLETE UNITY TO LET THE WORLD KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND HAVE LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU HAVE LOVED ME”
(John 17:22-23).

Perfect Father, Your Love is an everlasting Love.  Your Love is unmatched.  Your Love is above earth and Heaven. You love me even as You love Your Son, Jesus.  Therefore, I invite Your Presence and Participation into my childhood incidences through which the BELIEF “I am not loved” entered my heart.  May I become ONE with You and experience Your Presence during these childhood incidences…so my mind may be renewed with a new belief…”I am loved.”

You are worthy, O Lord!

May 17: Freedom from Childhood Pronouncements 

 “THE TONGUE HAS THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH…” (Proverbs 18:21).

Majesty, wash out my eyes to see that I could be a captive to my childhood mind, especially if someone made a pronouncement over me...“You will never amount to anything…You’re stupid…You’re ugly.”  I know that the tongue has the power of life and death and that these destructive definitions could continue into adulthood and cause a yoke of slavery.

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY”  (Galatians 5:1).

Father, thank you for sending Jesus to be my Savior…that it is for freedom that Christ came to set me free… freedom from my childhood pronouncements… freedom from the yoke of slavery under which I have been toiling, striving and struggling in vain to prove myself.

If Jesus would take your yoke of slavery away…would you be willing to give it to Him? 

Jesus, I am willing to give You the pronouncements spoken over me.  Help me to know that You are in this place, waiting with outstretched arms to set me free. Take the words spoken over me and turn them into Truth, so they would lose their hold on me.  And if I am not willing, show me the negative destructive beliefs with which the father-of-lies is keeping me captive, so he could keep me under his yoke of slavery.

I honor You, God of Truth!

May 18: Child, You Are OK!

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really abandoned...It was all a lie.

“AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE”
(Matthew 28:20).

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really without light...It was all just a scheme from the father of lies to kill, steal and destroy.
 

“FOR GOD, WHO SAID, "LET LIGHT SHINE OUT OF DARKNESS," MADE HIS LIGHT SHINE IN OUR HEARTS…” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really poor...It was all just deception from the great lion, looking for someone to devour.

“I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING FOR LIFE AND GODLINESS” (2 Peter 1:3).

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really without holiness…It was all just a falsehood from the evil one.

“GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS…..” (Galatians 4:6).

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really powerless…It was all just a false interpretation from the deceiver.

“NOW TO HIM WHO IS ABLE TO DO IMMEASURABLY MORE THAN ALL WE ASK OR IMAGINE, ACCORDING TO HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US TO HIM BE GLORY” (Ephesians 3:20).

Thank you, God, that as a child, I was never really without comfort…It was all just deceit from the age-old serpent.

“PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, WHO COMFORTS US IN ALL OUR TROUBLES” (1 Corinthians 1:3, 4).

God, inhabit my heart!

May 19:  Focus on the Route of Escape God Has Provided

“NO TEMPTATION HAS SEIZED YOU EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL; HE WILL NOT LET YOU BE TEMPTED BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN BEAR. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, HE WILL ALSO PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN STAND UP UNDER IT” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Most High, help me to be still and know that a temptation is an invitation from the father-of-lies to entice me to do what is wrong. The evil one will throw a piece of evidence at me that indicates the probability or improbability of an event.  His goal...to entice me to focus on what is seen, instead of what is unseen. This is his tool to fill me with negative destructive thoughts of hopelessness, hatred and jealousy.  And it is the negative destructive thoughts accompanying the circumstances, that cause the hopelessness, hatred and jealousy in my heart.

 “SO WE FIX OUR EYES NOT ON WHAT IS SEEN, BUT ON WHAT IS UNSEEN, SINCE WHAT IS SEEN IS TEMPORARY, BUT WHAT IS UNSEEN IS ETERNAL” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Majesty, let me stay in Your Presence, instead of relying on what is seen. Things are not what they seem. Circumstances are not a good presentation of the Truth.  Work Your Patience in me to focus on the daily task and the moment-by-moment thoughts at hand.  Inhabit my heart, so I would focus on thinking and doing what is right, even though my mind begs to react to the evidence that accompanies the destructive thoughts.  May I think on the Hope...not the hopelessness. May I think on the Love...not the hatred.   May I think on the Truth...not the lies.   Protect me from the evil one to focus on Your way out ...not my own...so I can stand up under it.

I bow down to You!

May 20:  Be Patient in Affliction

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”
(Romans 12:12).

Jesus, carry me.  Let me be patient in affliction…steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity. Help me to wait patiently for You to deliver me from my torment. Work Your Patience in me, so I would not become hasty or impetuous and turn to evil…harmful ways…destruction ...for those who suffer You deliver in their suffering; You speaks to them in their affliction.

Jesus, work Your Faithfulness in me so I would be faithful in prayer during my affliction. Show me my heart so I can put my feelings into words. Help me to identify the negative destructive beliefs that live in my mind. Open the doors to Your throne room, so I may present my requests to You.

“DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERY SITUATION, BY PRAYER AND PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD”(Philippians 4:6).

Jesus, I nurture Your Hope in me, for Hope will not disappoint me. Fill me with Joy and Peace as I trust in You.  May I overflow with Hope by the Power of Your Spirit…even during my affliction.

 “EVENING, MORNING AND NOON I CRY OUT IN DISTRESS, AND HE HEARS MY VOICE.” (Psalm55:17).

May I be patient in affliction!

May 21: Be Patient in Affliction

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”
 (Romans 12:12).

May I be patient in affliction.  Father, keep me from turning to damaging ways…trying to ease my pain by hiding from it. Instead, may I hide in the shelter of Your embrace. My obedience to invite Your Presence into my pain unlocks Your Truth for my heart.

 “FOR IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE HE WILL KEEP ME SAFE IN HIS DWELLING; HE WILL HIDE ME IN THE SHELTER OF HIS TABERNACLE AND SET ME HIGH UPON A ROCK” (Psalm 27:5).

May I be patient in suffering.  Father, keep me from turning to destructive ways…trying in vain to relieve my pain by running from it.  Instead, may I run to the safety of Your  arms, relinquishing my own understanding for Yours.  Your Truth will deliver me from my torment.

 “THE NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER; THE RIGHTEOUS RUN TO IT AND ARE SAFE” (Proverbs 18:10).

May I be patient in sorrow.  Keep me from turning to unwholesome ways…trying to still my pain by blaming it on someone else.  Instead, may I take responsibility for my own pain and allow You to be my refuge and fortress…my God, in whom I trust. My OBEDIENCE to yield my interpretations to You dispenses Your Divine Hope.

AND “HE WILL COVER YOU WITH HIS FEATHERS, AND UNDER HIS WINGS YOU WILL FIND REFUGE; HIS FAITHFULNESS WILL BE YOUR SHIELD AND RAMPART” (Psalm 91:4).

Under Your wings I will find refuge!

May 22: Be Quick to Listen

“MY DEAR BROTHERS, TAKE NOTE OF THIS: EVERYONE SHOULD BE QUICK TO LISTEN, SLOW TO SPEAK AND SLOW TO BECOME ANGRY, 20FOR MAN'S ANGER DOES NOT BRING ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT GOD DESIRES” (James 1:19).

Jesus, teach me to help those who are hurting deeply.  Help me to be of great comfort to them by being quick to listen…slow to speak…slow to become angry.

Jesus, work Your Patience in me so I would listen…listen carefully…listen with focus…listen observantly.  May I be attentive to people’s feelings and give my full attention to their interpretations.  May I help them listen to their own heart and find the negative destructive beliefs instilled in their mind by the father-of-lies.

“WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US” (1 John 4:19).

Jesus, You loved me FIRST!  You loved me when I was unlovable.  And the Perfect Father sent Your Spirit into my heart...to LOVE others FIRST, while they are unlovable.   May I be slow to speak, because it is not my advice that counts, but Your Love loving them through my body.

“BECAUSE YOU ARE HIS SONS, GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS” (Galatians 4:6).

Jesus, may I be slow to become angry.  I know that anger is an indication that there is something in my own heart that is hurting.  But when I help someone, it is not about me…about my perception…about my understanding…about my view of the situation. It is about helping the other person identify her own understanding so she can exchange it for Your Truth.

Thank you for loving me first!

May 23:  May you Restore with Gentleness

“BROTHERS, IF SOMEONE IS CAUGHT IN A SIN, YOU WHO ARE SPIRITUAL SHOULD RESTORE HIM GENTLY. BUT WATCH YOURSELF, OR YOU ALSO MAY BE TEMPTED” (Galatians 6:1).

Jesus, I praise You for Your Spirit who dwells in my heart.  May I live and love from Your Spirit and restore those who are hurting, with Your Spirit of Gentleness.

Jesus, I understand that when someone thinks like a child…he will feel like a child…act like a child…and talk like a child. And he will hunger for love…Your Love. It is Your Understanding for which he yearns. It is Your Acceptance he craves. It is Your Comfort he needs.

But I grasp that while someone is lying with his face in the dust, he is not able to reach Your outstretching hand of Love, Acceptance and Comfort, because the heavy burden of hopelessness paralyzes him.

Let Your Spirit love through me, so I may stoop down in gentleness and pick up those who are hurting.  Keep me from condemning, criticizing or controlling.  May I be determined to encourage, bless and understand.

Jesus, Your Gentleness will prevail. I will witness a miracle when I see someone arise from the prostrations in which circumstances have kept her. When Your Love touches her through me, she will put childish ways behind her.  And my heart will tremble with joy.

“LET YOUR GENTLENESS BE EVIDENT TO ALL” (Philippians 4:5).

May Your gentleness be evident to all through me!

May 24: Watch Yourself, Lest You also Be Tempted

“BROTHERS, IF SOMEONE IS CAUGHT IN A SIN, YOU WHO ARE SPIRITUAL SHOULD RESTORE HIM GENTLY. BUT WATCH YOURSELF, OR YOU ALSO MAY BE TEMPTED” (Galatians 6:1).

Jesus, I praise You for Your Spirit who dwells in my heart.  May I live and love from Your Spirit and restore those who are hurting, with Your Spirit of Gentleness while I watch myself, lest I also be tempted.

Jesus, strengthen me when I help someone else with his broken heart. Preserve my life, so his anguish would not throw me into despondency… distress… depths of despair, causing me to timidly shrink back in fear. You are the God who saves me when someone’s pain is too close to my own.  Keep me from becoming manipulative... shrewdly influencing someone’s pain in order to erase my own.  In You I will not be shaken.  Pull me under Your wings when someone’s pain makes me feel hopeless, helpless or powerless, so I would not condemn...violently berating and accusing him.

“BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER”
(Romans 12:12).

May I be patient during someone's distress. Let me be steadfast despite opposition, difficulty or adversity. God of Hope, I am joyful in You, because You have enough Hope for my friend...and for me! I am faithful in prayer, entering into Your throne room with my friend's request...as well as my own. Keep me from leaving my own heart behind; instead, let me stay in touch with my own heart at all times while I help someone else with his.

Great are Your works, O God!

May 25: God Understands

“…THE LORD DOES NOT LOOK AT THE THINGS MAN LOOKS AT. MAN LOOKS AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Father of Compassion, I invite Your Presence into the hidden places of my heart where resentment, fear and confusion still live because of unfair childhood experiences.

Father of All Comfort, quiet the anger and disappointment in the inner parts of my heart where I had been misunderstood as a child and given no chance to justify my actions.  Free me from the negative destructive voice that tells me that there is no defense for my heart...that there is no release from the charge…that there is no way of setting things right.

Perfect Father, thank you that You look at the heart.  How encouraged I am that You understand me…that You understood me all along…even when others could not see and understand my heart during childhood. Thank you that You were there!  Thank you that You have sent the Spirit of Your Son into my heart to get rid of the resentment, fear and confusion...and to get rid of the charge.

“BECAUSE YOU ARE HIS SONS, GOD SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS” (Galatians 4:6).

I bless you

May 26: Freedom from Being a Scapegoat

“IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY” (Galatians 5:1).

Savior of the World, how joy fills my heart as I realize that I can bring You any burden.  Today I lay on Your shoulders the pain of being a scapegoat…one that carries the blame for others.  Jesus, I invite You to console me for the times I had to be a parent to my parent when I was a mere child…playing the role of nurturer, while I myself needed nurturing…playing the role of care-taker, while I myself needed the care.

Jesus, I invite Your Wholeness into my heart for the times I had to be a scapegoat to someone as a child…the one receiving the wrath…the target of someone’s condemnation…the victim of someone’s insecurities.

Lift my heart out of the pit where it has been punished for someone's sins for a long time.  I did not deserve the harsh punishment.  I deserved to be forgiven, accepted and comforted.

Jesus, thank you that You became the Scapegoat…so I may go free.  I invite you to take my place.  I accept the Freedom You are holding out to me…freedom from blame...freedom from guilt…freedom from the responsibility of being someone’s scapegoat.

Enable me to stand firm and not subject my heart to this yoke of slavery again.

“IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? 32 HE WHO DID NOT SPARE HIS OWN SON, BUT GAVE HIM UP FOR US ALL—HOW WILL HE NOT ALSO, ALONG WITH HIM, GRACIOUSLY GIVE US ALL THINGS?” (Romans 8:31-32).

Thank you for being my Scapegoat!

May 27: The Holy Spirit...The Gift from God

IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM"
(Luke 11:13). 

Father in Heaven, thank you that You did not abandon me here on earth to cope with life by myself, but that You sent me Your Gift...the Holy Spirit.  I throw my arms wide open to receive this Gift from You.

“AT THAT TIME JESUS, FULL OF JOY THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID, "I PRAISE YOU, FATHER, LORD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH...(Luke 10:21).

Holy Spirit, I invite Your JOY to penetrate through my sorrow and despair...through my circumstances...through the chaos and confusion in my life.  Holy Spirit, release Your JOY into my spirit….Your Truth into my mind…Your Comfort into my heart.

“BUT THE COUNSELOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS ...” (John 14:26).

Holy Spirit, there is so much I need to learn.  Teach me to be patient in affliction.  Teach me to be faithful in prayer. Teach me to love the unlovable.  Teach me to endure while I wait for answers…have faith when I feel hopeless…follow Your counsel to become whole and holy.

BUT STEPHEN, FULL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, LOOKED UP TO HEAVEN AND SAW THE GLORY OF GOD, AND JESUS STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD” ( Acts 7:55).

Holy Spirit, Gift of God, fill me with Yourself so I would see the Glory of God evaporating my abandonment...see the Glory of God overthrowing my shame...see the Glory of God eradicating my condemnation.

Father, thank you for Your Gift!

May 28: The Holy Spirit…The Good Gift

IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM"(Luke 11;13)!

Thank you, Perfect Father, that You made the Holy Spirit available to me as a Gift ...and that You consider this a good Gift…an essential Gift…a necessary Gift.

“BUT YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES ON YOU; AND YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH" (Acts 1:8).

Holy Spirit, Gift from God, I invite You into my circumstances, mind and heart. Your Power can do immeasurably more than I can ever ask or imagine.  Overcome the darkness in my mind. Overthrow the negative destructive thoughts from the father-of-lies.  Raise me up to become a witness to the ends of the earth.

AND HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT US, BECAUSE GOD HAS POURED OUT HIS LOVE INTO OUR HEARTS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM HE HAS GIVEN US” (Romans 5:5).

Holy Spirit, pour Your Love into my heart...the Love I need for the people in my life who are unlovable...my friends...my family...my enemies.

"YOU STIFF-NECKED PEOPLE, WITH UNCIRCUMCISED HEARTS AND EARS! YOU ARE JUST LIKE YOUR FATHERS: YOU ALWAYS RESIST THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Acts 7:51).

Holy Spirit, I receive You into my heart!  Help me to stop trying to conjure up hope. Instead, deposit Your Hope into my heart.  Help me to quit striving to be righteous.  Instead, work Your Righteousness in me. Help me to stop trying to figure out the truth.  Instead, lead me into Your Truth.

Father, thank you for Your Gift!

May 29: The Holy Spirit…The Gift of Joy

IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM"(Luke 11;13)!

Father, how my heart rejoices that You gave me the Holy Spirit as a Gift…and that You want me to embrace this good Gift in times of feeling depressed…in times of feeling panicked…in times when I feel like making the wrong choices.

FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NOT A MATTER OF EATING AND DRINKING, BUT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE AND JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Romans 14:17).

Most High, I hold fast to the blessing that every time I experience anxiety, PEACE is at my fingertips through Your Gift, the Holy Spirit. Every time I experience depression, JOY is in my reach through Your Gift, the Holy Spirit. Every time I feel like succumbing to unrighteousness, RIGHTEOUSNESS is obtainable through Your Gift, the Holy Spirit.

But I realize my responsibility…to expose the negative destructive thought that is causing the depression, to the Holy Spirit, to exchange for His JOY. I understand my obligation...to expose the negative destructive belief that is causing the panic, to the Holy Spirit, to exchange for His PEACE. I acknowledge my duty...to expose the lie that is causing the unrighteous behavior, to the Holy Spirit, to exchange for His Righteousness.

Most High, I cherish Your Gift!

May 30:  The Holy Spirit…The Gift of Hope

IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM"(Luke 11:13)!

Father in Heaven, I take notice of the extraordinary Gift I have received from You…the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

MAY THE GOD OF HOPE FILL YOU WITH ALL JOY AND PEACE AS YOU TRUST IN HIM, SO THAT YOU MAY OVERFLOW WITH HOPE BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” (Romans 15:13).

How powerful is Your Gift You lavished on me…to saturate me with Hope during times of hopelessness.

Holy Spirit, I turn to You when life does not make sense…when I sink into a bottomless abyss of despair…when nobody seems to care.

How great are Your benefits, that You are powerful enough to supply Hope to my hopeless heart if I expose the negative destructive thought that is causing the despair, to You, Holy Spirit.  Come and save me as I invite Your Power into the painful childhood belief that is causing my powerlessness.  Come and rescue me as I invite Your Light into the cheerless thought of doom that is causing my darkness. Come and deliver me as I invite Your Presence into the desolate thought that is causing my loneliness.

Father, how splendid is Your Gift!

May 31: The Holy Spirit…Received from God

IF YOU THEN, THOUGH YOU ARE EVIL, KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM"(Luke 11:13)!

Father in Heaven, how amazing is Your Gift You lavished on me…the Holy Spirit.

 DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO IS IN YOU, WHOM YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM GOD? YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN”(1 Corinthians 6:19).

How blessed I am, Holy Spirit, that You live inside of me. I am not alone.
May I grasp what it means to have received a Gift, the Holy Spirit, to BELONG to me...and that I BELONG to the Holy Spirit.  I am not my own.

“FOR THOSE WHO ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD” (Romans 8:14).

Holy Spirit, may I belong to You in thought, action and purpose, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. May I grasp that NOT every thought that enters my mind is from You, Spirit of Truth.

Father in Heaven, may I be determined to be led by the thoughts of Hope from the Holy Spirit...not the thoughts of hopelessness from the murderer.  May I be tenacious to be led by the thoughts of Love from the Holy Spirit...not the thoughts of hatred from the evil one.  May I be passionate to be led by the thoughts of Peace from the Holy Spirit...not the thoughts of anxiety from the father-of-lies.

I want to be Your child!

May I be led by the Spirit of God!