Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing (through the experience of your faith) that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises. 

Joy and peace are the best gifts we can get from God when we trust in God so much that life and its ups and downs don’t disturb our minds, our days, and our lives; we know, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that our trust in God will bring abundant hope and confidence in God’s promises. 

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge and recognize Him, and He will make your paths straight and smooth. 

How much conversation do we have with God in our day? Are we confidently relying on God for instruction, or is He a distant God whom we never hear from? When we acknowledge and recognize Him in our lives, God will recognize us. Our own understanding can never compete with God’s knowledge and His ability to smooth the way. 

Isaiah 12:2-3

Behold, God, my salvation! I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and song; Yes, He has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation. 

Many people live in fear, not turning to God, who is their salvation. When fear tries to come into our lives, we use the Word to answer our problems in faith—literally speaking out loud scripture that backs us up. Trust in the Lord, not be afraid, and let the Word of the Lord remind us that our problems are defeated. 

Proverbs 4:23-24

Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful (lying, misleading) mouth, and put devious lips far from you. 

The heart is the control center of thoughts and actions. The heart holds what we feel, think, and believe. We speak about what we hold inside. We need to guard our mouths and protect our hearts from the world’s influences, so we do not speak about worldly influences or damage our hearts. 

Psalm 141:3

Set a guard, O Lord over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips (to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly).

If we want to speak with intention, we need to think with intention. That means that whatever thought comes into our minds should be examined, reviewed, tossed out, or accepted depending on whether it aligns with the Word of God. Then, when we speak, we won’t regret our words. 

Ephesians 6:18

With all prayer and petition pray (with specific requests) at all times (on every occasion and every season) in the Spirit, and with this in view, stay alert with all perseverance and petition (interceding in prayer) for all God’s people. 

Prayer is how God makes a difference here on earth. We intercede on behalf of people making requests to God. We send out the SOS to God, and God sends His angels to intercede. Prayer is not the last resort but the first line of defense. 

Ephesians 1:15-16

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I do not cease to give thanks in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation into the true knowledge of Him. 

Pray for other people! We can make a difference in other people’s lives through prayer. We all need help and prayer at some point. Our prayers lift others up, bring them comfort, bring wisdom, and bring safety. God needs us to intercede and call Him in to help His people

2 Chronicles 7:14

And My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear (them) from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. 

Sin blocks God from hearing our prayers. When we concentrate on the excesses of the world that satisfy the flesh and leave our souls empty, sin will prevail. If we repent and turn from our wicked ways, God will hear us, reach down from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. But first, we must humble ourselves and seek and pray for God’s presence!

Matthew 26:41

Keep actively watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.  

We all have weaknesses; if we don’t keep our guard up, we will fail. Prayer helps strengthen our spirits so that we can resist temptation. We cannot control our environment, but we can control ourselves with the help of the Holy Spirit and prayer. It takes time and practice; we learn from our mistakes but don’t give up. 

Mark 11:24

For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer (in accordance with God’s will), believe (with confident trust) that you have received them, and they will be given to you. 

Doubt is the enemy and gets in the way of receiving God’s promises. Faith is being fully convinced in what God says and His promises to those who believe. Inspect the internal dialogue: Is it in faith and according to the Word? What we keep before our eyes and in our hearts is what we will believe, whether it is faith or fear.