W@W WRAP – Week 325

The Depths of Our Hearts…

Read:

Act:

Let us be determined this week to:

Keep careful watch over our hearts. As servants of our God Most High, may we fully trust that He is faithful, and He is with us right now. May we shift our focus from the worries of tomorrow to His goodness, provision, blessings and promises today! Let’s offer Him praise and thanksgiving for all He has done and is doing for us. In a spirit of worship and surrender, let us ask our Almighty God to reveal any part of our hearts that is not fully devoted to Him – any area that has been stolen by the enemy – any area where we fall short in serving Him and sharing His gospel truth. We have a responsibility to guard our hearts, to keep them soft, tender, whole and receptive to the direction and love of our Heavenly Father. In Luke 6:45 (NLT), we learn, “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” The way to store a good harvest in our hearts is to spend time daily in God’s Word, in His presence and in prayer. When His Word is hidden in the depths of our hearts, our lives brim over with Godly truth, wisdom and deeds – for His glory.

Find our joy, our fulfilment, in Christ alone. We get to be present with Him in the here and the now! We have the opportunity to access His peace and understanding in the moment. We have heard it said, “We should not live in times that are not our own.” May we ask for the presence of Jesus to go before us, to be behind us, around us and within us. He is for us. We only need to be still to experience His love, compassion and peace. May we know that regardless of our worries, fears or doubts, Jesus is the one we need to keep company with. In Him, we find grace and understanding to live freely and lightly. Despite our suffering, personal struggles, and the messiness of life, we know that we can be victorious. We can focus on advancing the Kingdom of God by living a Christ-centred life. Then, in our daily routines and in the unexpected challenges, what is in our hearts will overflow into our lives and the lives of those around us.

May the overflow from our hearts be one of joy, worship and adoration towards our amazing Heavenly Father as expressed in Psalm 100:1-5 (ESV): “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

Pray:

May you know the grace, the joy, and the peace of God our Father as He is with you and in you. Father thank You for Your truth, Your grace and Your peace that surpasses all understanding. Thank You so much that You love us and that You are powerful and that we have nothing to fear. In Jesus’ name.

Dear God, thank You, for always being with us. Thank You for the constant reminders in Your Word that You are always with us and that we do not have to fear anything. Please help us to live in the moment. Help us to be here and grab the present – the now – with everything in us, so that we can live the life that You have planned for us. Help us to not worry about tomorrow or the future, but to live a joyful, peaceful life, because of who You are and because You live inside us. Help us to stop: to stop more, to take a deep breath and spend more time in Your Word, the bread of life – the living Word. We love You dear God and we pray this in Jesus’ name.

Dear Lord Jesus, I just thank You so much for this day. I thank You for new opportunities. I thank You that Your mercies are new every morning. I thank You for Your Word. I thank You that it is alive, that it is sharper that any double-edged sword. I pray that we would know it and that it would set us free Father. I pray that You will help us to submit ourselves before You Lord – to humble ourselves before You. May we relinquish the false idea of control, because we do not have any control, Father. I pray that we would live according to Your will and Your ways. Your promises are faithful and true Lord Jesus. I pray that you will help each of us to hold our peace, to be still, to remain calm and to remain silent. We ask that Your Spirit will teach us when to hold our tongue and when to speak Father God. I ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus.

Father thank You that You are our Healer – that by His stripes, Jesus heals us. The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus and to healing; and the whole Godhead wants us to be healed – wants our hearts to be healed. I pray that You will help us to remain sweet and tender in all our ways. Help us to seek healing for our hearts – for wounds of any kind – whether they are small or big. Help us to always remain soft-hearted. In Jesus’ name.

Lord, thank You for the opportunity to gather together again. It is such a privilege to make this part of the rhythm of our day – to gather around Your Word and pray. I pray that You will impress on us Lord that everything finds its meaning in Jesus. I pray that You would strengthen us, empower us and enable us to live our lives as if that is actually true Father. Search our hearts, search our motivation, and help us to understand that we have been called by Christ. We do what we do because of His calling on our lives. When we are discouraged or demotivated, help us to find our true purpose, in Jesus and His calling on us. Help us to understand that everything ultimately finds it place, as Colossians says, in being held together in Christ. Impress that on our hearts again. In Jesus’ name. Amen and Amen.