Daily Quote, Bible Verse and Prayer - December

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December 1

Quote:
Putting our trust in God and depending on his
intrinsic goodness frees us from the need to find
explanations for everything. ~ Frank Retief

Psalm 112:7
He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm,
trusting in the LORD.

Prayer:
Almighty God,
I trust implicitly in Your goodness and know that
Your providence prevails. I never need ask "why?"
knowing that all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to Your purpose. Amen.

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December 2

Quote:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act,
but a habit. ~ Aristotle {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Matthew 5:16 AMP
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral
excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and
recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is
in heaven.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
Lead me to strive for excellence in all things: spiritual, mental and emotional.
If I reach higher, I will go higher. May I make excellence a habit and not just
a passing fancy. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.

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December 3

Quote:
Prevailing prayer is prayer that pushes right through all difficulties
and obstacles, drives back all the opposing forces of Satan, and
secures the will of God. Its purpose is to accomplish God's will
on earth. Prevailing prayer is prayer that not only takes the initiative
but continues on the offensive for God until spiritual victory is won.
~ Wesley L. Duewel

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
Show me what true prevailing prayer is. Help me to plumb the depths of
supplication that I might reach the heights of communion with You. Make
my prayers powerful against the forces of evil that spiritual victory is won.
Amen.

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December 4

Quote:
Dignity is also a valuable goal to me - I am as
God created me and should respect his creation.
I am learning to love myself as much as I love my
neighbour. Surrender is coming home to God's love.
~ SaraT

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory,
are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Prayer:
Lord,
Thank You that I am learning to have self-dignity. You have
created me and I must respect what You have so lovingly
made in Your own image. I surrender all my past baggage
and come home to Your love. Amen.

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December 5

Quote:
Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top.
Then you will see how low it was. ~ Dag Hammarskjold

Proverbs 3:26
For the LORD shall be thy confidence,
and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

Prayer:
Gracious Father,
When I am at the foot of a mountain in life, it looks daunting indeed.
The climb is a challenge and I often begin to loose heart. Yet once I
reach the summit, that mountain suddenly comes into perspective.
Thank you for giving me new eyes to see that which lies before me. Amen.

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December 6

Quote:
We need to be refueled often spiritually. That renewing fuel is found
in Bible reading and prayer. Just like a fuel tank on the car, we need
frequent filling. Lack of fuel causes spiritual weakness and stunted
growth. Unlike the car, we don't have to hunt for a gas station, and
the price of fuel doesn't change. This fuel is always available and free
for the taking. There is no substitute. Our part is to keep our spiritual
tank full. ~ Verna Pollock

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me.

Prayer:
Father,
There is no excuse when I run out of spiritual gas. You have provided
abundantly. It is up to me to drink deeply of the Living Waters, read voraciously
of Your Word and to commune faithfully through prayer each day. Amen.

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December 7

Quote:
No words can express how much the world owes to sorrow. Most of the
Psalms were born in the wilderness. Most of the Epistles were written
in prison. The greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers have all passed
through fire. The greatest poets have "learned in suffering what they
taught in song." In bonds, Bunyan lived the allegory that he afterwards
wrote, and we may thank Bedford Jail for the Pilgrim's Progress. Take
comfort, afflicted Christian! When God is about to make pre-eminent
use of a person, He puts them in the fire. ~ George McDonald

1 Peter 1:6
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of
your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Prayer:
O God,
When I am going through the fires of testing and suffering, may I
be mindful of how You use these times to purge away my dross
and make me fit for greater things. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 8

Quote:
In prayer we go to our enemies, to stand at their side. We are with
them, near them, for them before God. Jesus does not promise us
that the enemy we love, we bless, to whom we do good, will not
abuse and persecute us. They will do so. But even in doing so, they
cannot harm and conquer us if we take this last step to them in
intercessory prayer. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Matthew 5:44
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Prayer:
Father,
I find it difficult to pray for those who persecute me. Yet You
clearly instruct me to do just that. Lead me to love as You
love and to behave toward others as You. May I follow in Your
footsteps. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.

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December 9

Quote:
When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply
within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punish-
ment, he needs help. ~ Thich Naht Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist
Teacher {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Matthew 5:44
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Prayer:
My Savior,
May I understand that when someone lashes out at me, it is
because of their own pain welling up within them and spilling over.
Make me an instrument of Your peace and grace that I somehow
touch their lives and relieve their suffering. In Your holy name I pray.Amen.

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December 10

Quote:
You see things as they are and ask "why?" I dream things as they
never were and ask "why not?" ~ George Bernard Shaw
{submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart faileth:
but God is the strength of my heart,
and my portion for ever.

Prayer:
My Savior,
Thank you for being my inspiration enabling me to see things as they
never were and say, "Why not?" Life is not stagnant. It is forever
changing being molded in Your hands. Lead me to be an instrument
of godly change in this world. In Your precious name I pray. Amen.

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December 11

Quote:
There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation
create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation.
He did it at the cross. He is doing it today. ~ H. C. G. Moule

1Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.

Prayer:
Father God,
When I feel overwhelmed by chaotic situations, remind me that You
always create something surpassingly good out of what seems to
be extreme confusion and disorder. You are almighty. Amen.

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December 12

Quote:
Darkness cannot put out the Light. It can only make God brighter.

2 Samuel 22:29
For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus,
The darkness can never have dominion over me. You are my Lord, my God
and my Savior. You are the light of my life. In Your holy name I pray.Amen.

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December 13

Quote:
It is morally impossible to exercise trust in God while there is
failure to wait upon Him for guidance and direction. The man who
does not learn to wait upon the Lord and have his thoughts molded
by Him will never possess that steady purpose and calm trust,
which is essential to the exercise of wise influence upon others, in
times of crisis and difficulty. ~ Dixon D. E. Hoste

Psalm 37:9
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD,
they shall inherit the earth.

Prayer:
Father God,
Grant me patience of spirit that I wait upon You for the guidance
and direction that I so desperately need. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 14

Quote:
Oftentimes God allows our scenarios in life to get hopeless -- He allows
our efforts to become fruitless -- He allows our knowledge and instincts
to prove useless, in order that we will see that it is He who works within,
through and for us with His power. ~ Chaplain Michael Clark

Psalm 126:5-6
They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Prayer:
O God,
There are days that I feel so hopeless and helpless. No matter what
I do, things just seem to fall apart. I may be powerless but you are
all powerful, gracious and merciful. I trust in Your provision at all times. Amen.

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December 15

Quote:
I have lived to thank God that all my prayers have not been answered.
~ Jean Ingelow

1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of
man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.

Prayer:
O God,
I get frustrated and angry when I feel my prayers go unanswered.
But looking back, I can thank You with all of my heart that all of
my prayers were not answered. You are all wise and all loving. Amen.

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December 16

Quote:
Anger makes you smaller,
While forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.
~ Cherie Carter-Scott {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Colossians 3:13
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another,
if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ
forgave you, so also do ye.

Prayer:
Lord,
Thank You for teaching me that anger makes
me less of a person while forgiveness encourages
me to grow as a follower of Christ. Amen.

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December17

Quote:
We are given each day as a gift. Once a day is gone, it can never
be recaptured. Too often we live our lives as if they are going to go
on forever just as they are. Lives change, and we need to be ready
to change with them. God helps us to accept where we are and to
grow to new levels of maturity. ~ Chaplain Michael Clark

Psalm 102:26
You shall change them, and they shall be changed;

Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for the gift of today. Thank you for change. Make me adaptable
and open to all kinds of change so that I grow to new levels of maturity. Amen.

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December 18

Quote:
To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong;
to choose God's Will even if it means suffering is a very
different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he
chooses God's will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering
or not. ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

1 Peter 4:19 NASB
Let them that suffer according to the will of God,
commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing.

Prayer:
Father,
Thank you for teaching me the difference between choosing
to suffer and choosing to do Your will even if it means suffering.
Thank you for allowing me to rise up over suffering and to achieve
victory in Christ. Amen.

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December 19

Quote:
Trust in God, even when you distrust others. ~ Chaplain Michael Clark

Psalm 65:5 NASB
By awesome deeds
You answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest sea;

Prayer:
Father God,
You are the only One who can be trusted at all times and under all
conditions. Other people may appear trustworthy but eventually they
will fail. You are ever faithful and righteous. I praise Your holy name. Amen.

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December 20

Quote:
There are stages in life when there is no storm, no crisis,
when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that
we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning
to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we
will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.
~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Matthew 8:26
Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

Prayer:
Heavenly Father,
Thank You that I can depend upon You to carry me over
every crises and through every storm in life. Amen.

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December 21

Quote:
Life is an adventure in forgiveness. ~Norman Cousins
{submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Prayer:
Dear Father,
Forgiveness is rarely easy and that is what makes it an adventure.
You ask me to grow and stretch; to do that which seems impossible.
But with the guidance of Your Holy Spirit I can do all things through
Christ...even forgive the unforgivable. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 22

Quote:
Look back and thank God.
Look forward and trust God.
Look around and serve God.

Psalm 136:24-26
And hath redeemed us from our enemies:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
Who giveth food to all flesh:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of heaven:
for his mercy endureth for ever.

Prayer:
Almighty God,
I look back and thank You for all of Your mercies.
I loo forward and trust You for all provision in the
days ahead. I look around me and see great need.
Show me how to serve You in the best ways possible.
In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 23

Quote:
The shepherd isn't always out in front, leading his sheep.... In the
lengthening twilight, when the sheep must pass through the darkest
shadows in the deepest wadis, the shepherd drops back and walk
with them. ~ Ray Vander Laan

John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life
for the sheep.

Prayer:
My Savior,
You are not some remote deity. You are my loving shepherd Who
walks before me to guide and who walks with me as I pass through
the darkest shadows. Thank you for Your protection and love. Amen.

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December 24

Quote:
Don't try and fit your faith into your busy schedule,
build your schedule around your faith. ~ Kenneth Copeland

Luk 10:40-42 ESV
But Martha was distracted with much serving. And
she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her
then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha,
Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good
portion, which will not be taken away from her."

Prayer:
O God,
I desire to have my faith as the center of my life. All
else is just incidental. May all I do, say and think be
centered around You and Your precepts. Amen.

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December 25

Quote:
If you are convinced you are unable to overcome your
addiction or behavior, you are probably right. But you
can put yourself in the place where God's almighty
power will come through you. Make a deliberate
commitment and turn your will and your life over to
His loving care. Allow Him to do the marvelous work
that you cannot. ~ Chaplain Michael Clark

Matthew 9:36
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with
compassion for them, because they were weary and
scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
I cannot overcome my addictions and behaviors,
but I can surrender to You, committing my will and
my life to Your loving care so that You can do the
marvelous work which I cannot. I surrender now. I
surrender all to You today. Amen.

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December 26

Quote:
Prayer opens the heart to God, and it is the means by
which the soul, though empty, is filled by God. ~ John Bunyan

Ephesians 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints;

Prayer:
Almighty God,
Thank you for the gift of prayer for it opens my heart to You.
No matter how empty my soul feels, when I come to You
in prayer You always fill and nourish me. Amen.

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December 27

Quote:
When we are busy doing what we should, there is no time to do
what we should not. {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Tit 2:13-14 ESV
...our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to
redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for
his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Prayer:
O Lord,
Grant me a heart to do good works at all times. May I put Your
Kingdom and the welfare of others first. There will be no time for
me to even look down the wrong path. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 28

Quote:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart…

And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins. ~ Howard Thurman

1 Timothy 6:11
...follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Prayer:
Father God,
Christmas does not end on December 26th. The work
has just begun! May I manifest Christmas every day as
I go about my daily life. Help me to reflect Christ, be his
hands, feet and voice. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

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December 29

Quote:
Three essentials: a faith to live by, a self to live with,
and a purpose to live for. {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

Daniel 11:32
The people that do know their God shall be strong.

Prayer:
Dear Father,
Grant me a faith that I can live by, a self that I can live with and
that is pleasing to You, and a godly purpose to live for. Amen.

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December 30

Quote:
Our strength is not sufficient;
God's strength is. {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

2Corinthians 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength
is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory
in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Prayer:
Almighty God,
My strength is never sufficient. It is intimidating when I see so many
obstacles ahead of me. But I can courageously walk forward knowing
that the power of Christ rests upon me. Thank You for Your grace and
mercy in my life. Amen.

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December 31

Quote:
Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing
happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.
~ Paulo Coelho, poet, writer {submitted by Rev. Nancy}

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has
stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised
to those who love him.

Prayer:
My Lord,
I often think of periods of testing as being a series of trials. But times
of testing can also be periods of silence or when nothing seems to be
happening at all. Help me to see through these times of testing so that
I am steadfast under trial. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.