Christian Living on Controlling God

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Divine Creator, your ways are above our

Author

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Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-6, Deuteronomy 29:29, Ecclesiastes 11:5, 1 Corinthians 1:25, Psalm 147:5, Job 11:7-9

Divine Creator, your ways are above our ways. No matter how hard we try, you will always confound us. Too often we try to reduce you into something we can fully comprehend, or something we can control...

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How we Deal with the Desert

Author

Bianca Juarez Olthoff

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hosea 2:14, Isaiah 43:19, Psalm 63:1, Matthew 4:1, Deuteronomy 8:2

We all go through desert seasons and have the opportunity to determine how we will respond. The cyclical frustrations I faced in regard to my desire for control, fear, and the longing to feel chosen w...

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Control Issues

Author

M. Robert Mulholland Jr.

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Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, Jeremiah 29:11, John 15:1-27, Proverbs 3:5-6, Galatians 2:20, Matthew 6:25-34

In their excellent book Invitation to a Journey , M. Robert Mulholland and Ruth Haley Barton describe the foundation of life as being spiritual in nature. This means we are constantly be “formed” s...

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Leader: Oh God, You have been so gracious to us.

Author

Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, Illinois

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 36:5-12, James 1:16-18, Jeremiah 2:13, Psalm 103:10-12, Exodus 20:3, Proverbs 3:5-6

Leader: Oh God, You have been so gracious to us. You have given us so many wonderful gifts—they outnumber the stars in the sky! You have kept Your promises to us, and You have been faithful! Peop...

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God's Will Through Circumstance: He Opens and Closes Doors

Author

David Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, Genesis 24:27, Isaiah 48:17

Not long ago, I had a young couple come to me and say, “Pastor, we’re looking at buying a house. We’ve looked at this one house, and we really like it, but we want to make sure it’s God’s will. Would ...

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All: Knowing God, we often believe our

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, James 4:6, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Romans 12:3, Matthew 23:1-12, Psalm 25:9, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Hebrews 4:16

All: Knowing God, we often believe our way is the best way. In our arrogance, we ignore your will and your ways. We confess our dependence on knowledge and our independence from you. Thank you that yo...

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Almighty God, we have failed to trust

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:1, Isaiah 41:10, Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 4:6-7, Romans 8:28

Almighty God, we have failed to trust you. Overwhelmed by the pains of life, we have taken charge and pushed you aside. O God, be gracious to us. Remind us of your daily mercies and redemptive power t...

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Prayer of Confession for Transfiguration Sunday

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Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 6:33, James 1:5, Philippians 2:3-4

Save us, Glorious Christ, from every false understanding and motivation Save us from the temptation to just stay on the mountain Save us from the temptation to never engage Save us from the temptation...

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The God I Want

Author

Graham Tomlin

Keywords

Scripture

Ecclesiastes 3:11, Romans 11:33-34, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 46:10, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Isaiah 55:8-9

Some while ago, I picked up a book in a second hand bookshop. It was an old, slightly faded paperback with what looked like an intriguing title: The God I Want. Published in the late 1960s, it was a c...

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Jesus … Immanuel – our God come in the flesh

Author

Richard Herman

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Scripture

Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Psalm 34:8, Isaiah 30:21, Micah 6:8, Romans 3:23-24, Proverbs 3:5-6

Prayer of Adoration Jesus—Immanuel—our God come in the flesh so that we might know You and that You might save us: Thankfully, You watch out for us—help us to watch for You. Give us eyes to see You ...

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God of wisdom, we come before you in

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Psalm 143:10, Romans 12:2, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Proverbs 3:5-6

God of wisdom, we come before you in humility. Too often we choose our own way, discern our own path, without looking to you. We ignore the prompting of your Holy Spirit, and choose what is easiest, m...

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Adapted from Proverbs 3:5-6

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him And he will make your paths straight. We submit ourselves to you as you have gathe...

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God of our hearts, we come to You

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Luke 19:10, Ephesians 2:1-5, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 53:6, 1 John 1:9, Proverbs 3:5-6

God of our hearts, we come to You admitting that we are lost. In our lives of chaos, we have lost our peace. In our selfishness, we have lost our ability to care for others. In our self-reliance, we h...

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Inspired by Proverbs 3:5-8

Author

Chip Hardwick

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-8

Leader: God says, "Trust in Me with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." People: If in all our ways we acknowledge You, Lord, You will make our paths straight. We ar...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 17:20, Psalm 34:8, Isaiah 26:3-4, Jeremiah 17:7-8, 2 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 8:24-25, Proverbs 3:5-6

Faith is a free surrender and a joyous wager on the unseen, unknown, untested goodness of God.

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Father, as adults, we can fool

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Lamentations 3:22-23, Psalm 136:1, Matthew 19:13-15, 1 John 4:9-10, Mark 10:21, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 15:5, Psalm 121:1-2

Father, as adults, we can fool ourselves into being quite self-sufficient. Yet, You have called us to be precariously dependent upon You. When we see how Jesus welcomes the little children, we can als...

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Lord of glory and honor – You are

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

1 John 1:9, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 6:21, Colossians 1:20, Revelation 19:16

Lord of glory and honor – You are worthy of our worship and allegiance. You are Faithful and True. With authentic justice You judge the world, and each of us in it. You’re the Word of God – made fles...

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Author

Timothy Keller

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:6, Genesis 11:1-9, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 1:25, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 17:5

Sin is looking to something else besides God for your salvation. It is putting yourself in the place of God, becoming your own savior and lord, as it were.

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All: Gracious God, you promise that

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

John 8:12, John 1:, Psalm 27:, Isaiah 9:2, Psalm 119:105, 2 Corinthians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 60:1, Matthew 5:14-16

All: Gracious God, you promise that your light drowns out darkness, yet the darkness is so persistent. We cannot see in front of us, so we look to our own knowledge and ways. Forgive us for turning to...

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If You Want to Fill your Sunday School Class

Author

Dallas Willard

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Exodus 3:1-12, 1 Kings 19:9-13, Romans 12:1-2, Acts 16:6-10, Psalm 25:4-5

Within the Christian community this leads to a prominence of teaching on the will of God and how to know it. Russ Johnston draws upon his own wide experience to remark how this continues to be one of ...

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Adapted from “Confession and Petition” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Dustin Ray

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 51:1-4, Hebrews 12:5-6, Proverbs 3:11-12, Hebrews 12:10-11, Psalm 94:12, Revelation 3:19, Psalm 119:71

Pastor: Holy Lord, I have sinned times without number and been guilty of pride and unbelief, failed to delight in your Word, neglected you in my daily life. All: My transgressions and sins present m...

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Author

Oswald Chambers

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 13:2, Matthew 13:15, Proverbs 3:5-6, Revelation 3:20, John 10:27, Romans 12:2, 1 Samuel 3:10

God did not direct His call to Isaiah— Isaiah overheard God saying, “. . . who will go for Us?” The call of God is not just for a select few but for everyone. Whether I hear God’s call or not depends ...

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God’s Abundant Provision in Genesis 2

Author

Mark D. Roberts

Keywords

Scripture

Genesis 2:16-17, Proverbs 3:10, Genesis 1:29, Psalm 23:1-2, Psalm 34:10, Philippians 4:19, James 1:17

There is a tendency among readers and scholars of Genesis 2:16-17 to focus on the prohibition of verse 17: “but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.” …I want to pause to cons...

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The Owner of the Universe

Author

Ben Witherington III

Keywords

Scripture

2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 6:19-21, Proverbs 3:9-10, Deuteronomy 15:7-8, Leviticus 25:23, Psalm 24:1

The biblical theology of creation is a negation of theories of private” property and “public” property, our theories of individual ownership and collective or governmental ownership. The biblical view...

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From Day to Day From the dawning of the

Author

Jenny Child

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 5:3, Mark 1:35, Exodus 13:21-22, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 121:6, Daniel 6:, Psalm 4:8, Mark 4:35-41

From Day to Day From the dawning of the day through the morning, guide us, From the noontide to the setting of the sun, lead us, from the evening till we sleep, keep us, through the night till...

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Loving Father, You receive all who come

Author

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 23:11-13, Luke 14:7-11, Colossians 3:23-24, Ephesians 4:2, Proverbs 3:34, Philippians 2:13, Romans 12:1

Loving Father, You receive all who come humbly before You. Yet we approach You far too often with much satisfaction and inappropriate pride. We think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. W...

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Kind and loving God, forgive us for our

Author

Austin D. Hill

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 6:8, Isaiah 1:18, James 4:8, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 John 1:9, Revelation 3:15-16

Kind and loving God, forgive us for our lack of faith. You deserve our reverence, obedience, and faith, but we give You so much less. Because of our lukewarm devotion, we miss out on so much that You ...

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Author

Alexis de Tocqueville

Keywords

Scripture

1 Corinthians 2:9, Job 23:10, Romans 11:33, Psalm 37:5, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-9

I am ignorant of His designs, but I will not cease to believe in them because I cannot penetrate them. And I will prefer to doubt my own lights rather than His justice.

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Settling Accounts

Author

William E. Brown

Keywords

Scripture

Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 6:33-34, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 37:25-26, Ecclesiastes 3:1, Galatians 6:9

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for “religious” things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed b...

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Fighting Sleep

Author

John Koessler

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 4:8, Psalm 127:2, Proverbs 3:24, Job 11:18-19, Deuteronomy 33:12, Proverbs 3:5

When my eldest son, Drew, was a toddler, bedtime was a battleground in our house. I think he felt cheated by the prospect of sleep. He hated the thought of going to bed while the rest of the world con...

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