A YEAR OF PRAYER
PRAYER FOR THE PROCESS UNTO THE PROMISE
3 I thank my God every time I remember you.
4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy
5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. —Philippians 1:3 - 62 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, —1 Thessalonians 1:1 - 4…and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 Thessalonians 1:3c
1. We feed hope by starving out weariness.
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. —Galatians 6:8 - 91 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. —Hebrews 12:1 - 219 Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall.
20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me.
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord. —Lamentations 3:19 - 2628 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” —Matthew 11:28 - 30Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. —Psalm 55:22
2. We feed hope by starving our the anxiety of our present circumstance.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6 - 7Casting all your care upon Him,
for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:717 Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—
18 Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. —Habakkuk 3:17 - 19I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. —Psalm 37:25
3. We feed hope through rewriting the future.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1
24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. —Romans 8:24 - 2516 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. —2 Corinthians 4:16 - 1813 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! —Psalms 27:13 - 14
4. We find endurance inspired by hope when we trust in the sovereignty of God.
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” —Isaiah 55:8 - 9You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3
For we know, brothers and sisters loved
by God, that he has chosen you. —1 Thessalonians 1:4