For he held fast to the LORD.

He did not depart

       from following Him,

but kept the commandments

  that the LORD

              commanded Moses.

And the LORD was with him;

wherever he went out,

                   he prospered.

               2 Kings 18. 6-7

(Yes, it matters.

              It matters a lot,

  whether or not

       we follow Him.

Even today.  Even in this.

Hold on with both hands

    and with our hearts.

God has a strong hold on us.

Wherever we go,

   whatever we do,

   God completes it

       in ways we may not

       ever realize.

Faithfulness to God changes us

            and the situation

            in radical ways.)

O LORD,

Help us to be faithful to You

   in whatever You have

   laid before us today.

No matter the pressures,

     may we honor You in it

by loving You,

loving others, and

bringing Your name and grace

                  to it.

LORD, complete our work

     for Your glory alone.

Help us to hold fast to You.

 

For it is good

   to sing praises to our God;

for it is pleasant,

and a song of praise

                 is fitting.

              Psalm 147. 1

(A song of praise to God

     is not just appropriate

     but a called-for response,

that directly influences

what we see, hear, pray

           and how we respond,

   the soundtrack of our hearts.

What are we listening to?

What if we intentionally sang

         --or sang along--

   outloud a song of praise

                 and worship

   at least once a day?

How differently we would walk,

   and talk and think.

God invented music

   as yet another means

   of conversing with Him.)

O LORD,

We bring to You the cries of our heart.

We also bring to You our worship.

Thank You for the songs of praise

    You have woven into our days.

Help us to hum Your Presence

   into this divinely appointed encounter

and to sing outloud Your grace

   through all we do and say today.

www.nightlytea.com

 

Then Jehoahaz sought

      the favor of the LORD,

and the LORD

      listened to him....

             2 Kings 13. 4

(Have I even considered

      asking the LORD about this matter,

      this situation, this difficulty,

                                  this decision?

Am I just seeking His favor

             or His way through?

Am I coming to Him

    or just want a favorable solution?

God guides, God provides,

          God aligns our hearts with His.

He listens to us.

Do we listen to Him?

       Are we willing to respond?)

O LORD,

We come to You in our time of need.

But we don't just want help.

             We want You.

We stake our lives

          and our hope on You.

Order our days.

Align our hearts with Yours.

Guide our thoughts to You

   in whatever we do

   and in all things we pursue.

Change us through Your Word.

You listen to our very words.

           You know our hearts.

Reveal Your way in this

   that leads us not just to an answer

             but closer to You.

Help us to listen and respond.

 

...for I have many in this city

who are My people.

                        Acts 18. 10

(Look for them.  Seek them out.

God has planted the faithful

    in the most unlikely places

    to bear witness for Him.

As believers, we are never truly alone.

God is with us,

    and His people are here too.

We need them.

                They need us.)

O LORD,

As we seek You,

help us to seek out

         Your faithful people.

From one place to the next,

   wherever You lead us

   and among whomever we are,

help us to seek to

          strengthen the faithful,

    nurture the struggling,

and love others

into a deeper relationship with You.

Thank You

   for the blessing of fellowship.

Help us to not just have

        a sense of community

   but grasp the reality of it.

 

But some men joined him

           and believed.

                Acts 17. 33

(It is not for us to fully know

    how God is using us

    in the lives of others

         and for His Kingdom.

Not everyone will respond,

but we can still be faithful

    in sowing and nurturing

    and pointing others to Him.

God brings fruit from faithfulness,

      in ways we will never see

             on this side of life.

Even in what we face today,

  to bring the name of Jesus there.)

O LORD,

Help us to know that people

     don't just happen in our lives,

but You have placed them there

   for us to love them to You.

Wherever we go,

     whomever we are with,

we can bring the name of Jesus

    in what we say and do,

    even in our attitudes.

You turn the world rightside up

     by Your grace.

Fill us with faithfulness

and courage.

Let Your steadfast love

          flow through us,

even into what is

    beyond our understanding.

 

About midnight,

Paul and Silas were praying

  and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners

       were listening to them.

                   Acts 16. 25

(God strategically positions us

      for His purposes

      in the unusual, unexpected

                    and unlikely,

even in what may appear

     an affliction or mistake.

Bring the name of Jesus

          where we are.

Others are desperately

      watching how we respnd

      and listening to whatever we say

to see if God is real

  and if God has indeed

          made a difference in our hearts.

Worshiping God cannot help

                     but change us,

not just in appearance

        but to our very core.)

O LORD,

We can never know

    how You are using us

even what we see as ordinary,

       or difficult,

       or inconvenient,

       or did I make a mistake?

Because Your intervention

            is always supernatural.

There are no ordinary days,

        nor insignificant encounters.

May our worship leave an imprint

        on our hearts

        and bear witness to others.

You redeem all.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

But his servant said,

"How can I set this

      before a hundred men?"

So he repeated,

"Give them to the men,

    that they may eat,

for thus says the LORD,

"They shall eat and

       and have some left."

                  2 Kings 4. 43

(God's fundamental

           law of leftovers--

God makes it

        more than enough.

God specializes in

  impossible situations

  and bleak landscapes

  and empty hearts

that we may know

           that He is God.)

O LORD,

Help us to trust You in this.

Give us the courage and wisdom

    to yield what we can

    and do what we are able,

       following You into it.

And know

          that You redeem,

even in ways we will never see.

You are the Almighty.

You surround us with

        Your Presence.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

And Elisha said to her,

    "What shall I do for you?

Tell me,

   what have you in the house?"

And she said,

"Your servant has nothing in the house

        except a jar of oil."

Then he said, "Go outside,

borrow vessels

     from all your neighbors,

empty vessels

          and not too few."

                 2 Kings 4. 2-3

(God meets us in our need.

He does not just show up.

    He is already here.

Are we focusing

           on what we lack?

What do we have?

God does His best work

   with "nothing."

We see empty.

God sees His glory in this.)

O LORD,

We offer to You

         what we have.

And that is our hearts.

Strengthen our souls

           for the task ahead,

    for the journey before us,

    and for Your glory in it.

Help us to know

   1. Do not fear.

   2. You are with us.

   3. Walk with Me.

May how we trust You

be a testimony to others

and a reminder to ourselves.

We are not alone in this.

Leave Your fingerprints

            all over this.

 

Is it because there

          is no God in Israel

that you are going to

   inquire of Baal-zebub,

   the god of Ekron?

               2 Kings 1.3

(Who are we seeking

    as the source of our hope?

What do we pursue in

    our times of fear and need?

Everyone struggles with something.

      And everyone prays.

We just choose

       in whom we trust.

And exactly why are we

   not seeking God in this?

We worry, we complain,

   we panic, we gab with others,

but do we pray

         to the Almighty?)

O LORD,

We come before You

in all of our mess,

in every bit of our brokenness,

because You are our God.

Help us to not miss

   what You are doing with this.

Help us to know

   Your strength and Your Presence

   in both the daily

             and the impossible.

And by praying to You,

  may others come

          to know You,

a God not just of answers

  but of steadfast love

         and faithfulness.

That is Who You are.

 

Brothers and sisters,

if you have any

   word of encouragement

   for the people,

                    say it.

              Acts 13. 15

(We cannot do everything,

    but we can always encourage,

giving strength, kindness

          and grace to others,

   every which way we can.

Seek and seize the opportunities.

We can never know

   with what others are struggling

  and how they are enduring.

We can never conceive how

  a few words of encouragement

             from the sidelines

   keeps them trekking on.)

O LORD,

In any situation we walk into,

make us sensitive

  to the hearts of others.

Provide for us

   words of encouragement

to infuse joy into their day

and somehow point them

         to Your abiding strength.

Encouragement is a strong

   and intentional way

           of loving others.

Show us how to sustain

   with a word

   those who are weary.

             (Isaiah 50.4)

 

The people of Israel

    encamped before them

like two little flocks of goats,

but the Syrians filled the country.

..."I will give

    all this great multitude

                     into your hand,

and you shall know

       that I am the LORD."

                   1 Kings 20. 27-28

(Everyone struggles with something.

But the odds are never a barrier

            to God's victory in this,

   yett the means to His glory.

"Walk with Me

    into what is overwhelming."

We not only go in His strength,

  but we can see it differently.

The point is that we shall know

    in the face of all this

         that He is still God.)

O LORD,

Great is Your faithfulness

  even in the face of the overwhelming.

Perhaps our fear is just realizing

   how much we need You.

Help us to walk with You

   and sing Your glory

                all over this.

You bring Your victory

  even in ways we may not see.

But we can always stake our lives

             on You.

Give us the courage we need.

 

...but the LORD

      was not in the wind.

And after the wind

         an earthquake,

but the LORD

    was not in the earthquake.

And after the earthquake

                  a fire,

but the LORD was

                 not in the fire.

And after the fire

   the sound of a low whisper.

                 1 Kings 18. 11-12

(Listen for His voice

in unexpected ways

    and unlikely places.

Even in this,

    God is with us.)

O LORD,

We are often confused

      by circumstances

      far beyond our control.

But we can seek

        Your Presence there.

You walk with us in the garden.

You hold our hand tight

           in the wind, earthquakes

           and devastating wildfires.

We are not alone.

You are with us.

Help us to not just hear Your voice,

    but to listen to You.

May we be faithful to You

       in the ordinary and

                 the extraordinary.

And abide in You

       through it.

 

...and with the stones

he built an altar

in the name of the LORD.

             1 Kings 18. 32

(With whatever

   God has placed before us,

even what appears

            as ordinary rocks,

we can worship Him,

     even with that.

Build altars to the LORD

   in the unexpected and unlikely

that all the world

    --or even our little patch

                   of sacred ground--

may come to know Him

   as God Almighty.

Worshiping God always changes us

        and infects others.)

O LORD,

You do not just change the ordinary

             and natural

into the extraordinary and supernatural,

but You empower us

    to see that they already are.

You do a mighty work

   even through a single

        act of faithfulness.

Worshiping and praying to You

      enlarges our hearts

and defines what is before us

   with a deeper vision

   and renewed energy

                   from You.

These are no ordinary rocks.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 ..and went and served Baal

        and worshiped him.

               1 Kings 16. 31

(What are the Baal's in our lives?

We often disguise the idols.

    " It doesn't matter,"

                    always does.

Who or what we worship

  changes us

     and the course of our lives.

In Whom do we trust,

    with Whom do we stand?

Everyone worships something.

    The significant difference

    is what god has our heart.)

O LORD,

We seek to worship You.

Help us to not be distracted

    from loving You.

Empower us with

   third shift faithfulness.

Even when it does not

       seem to matter.

Because worshiping You

     always bears eternal fruit.

     

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

...for I have sent them.

           Acts 10. 20

(Has it occurred to me

that God is in this encounter?

That this is a divine appointment,

that God has placed me here

    strategically

             for His purposes?

Nothing random at all

    but seamlessly woven.)

O LORD,

We face what we cannot know.

But it is not unknown to You.

Unfold and reveal Your way

     for us into this very day.

Help us to be faithful to You

   and welcome those

                on our path.

You have commanded Your blessing

in the mysteries, the ordinary days,

the unexpected events,

the steep craggy trails,

    what is now

    and what is next.

Help us to bless You in it.

 

So he went in and out

   among them in Jerusalem,

preaching boldly

   in the name of the Lord.

             Acts 9. 28

(Our comings and goings

     are never random,

but divinely appointed

     by His hand

     and in His designs,

 to seize every opportunity

                for the gospel.

These times do not just happen,

    but God unfolds them.

We have been

           anointed and appointed

for this time and place

      and sacred encounters

      for His glory and the gospel,

in the ordinary and familiar,

   because they are all extraordinary

                    in His sight.)

O LORD,

May we be very aware

   of Your Presence today

wherever we are

     and whatever we do

to bring Your name

            to this defined moment.

Grant to us the grace we need

   and words handpicked by You

            to point others to You.

Help us to live with such intention

      of loving and serving you

that You change our loves.

Create in us a new heart.

And help us to walk with You.

 

But rise and enter the city,

and you will be told

   what you are to do.

                Acts 9. 6

(God is in the business

        of guiding us

   into what we can see

   and into what

             is unknown to us.

When we follow Him,

God unfolds His course

before us,

              step by step.

When we are willing

     to trust Him

     and take just a single step,

when we are faithful

     even in what we don't understand,

His next step rises up before us.

               And not until then.)

O LORD,

We come before you in this day

     that You have intricately created

and say,

            "Here I am, Lord."

Guide us into Your designs.

Align our hearts

           and words,

    our actions and reactions

                      with Yours.

Help us to not get ahead of You,

but to know that You provide us

with all the necessary wisdom,

  Your strength,

  and boatloads of grace

            in all we do and say today.

This day, for Your glory.

How we approach it,

              with Your steadfast love.

 

And as for you,

if you will walk before Me....

           1 Kings 9.4

(When we seek God,

walk with Him,

   and worship Him

   in all we do,

life will look very different

in how we approach

   and navigate both favor

              and difficulty.

God literally changes

   the trajectory of our lives

           day by day,

    even moment by moment.

And directly impacts

  those who come after us,

       more than we can know.)

O LORD,

Help us to walk with You

   through thick and thin today,

following You

   and bringing Your name here.

Help us to be faithful to You

    in both the familiar and unexpected,

with those we love

             and those who are unlikely,

seamlessly in the ordinary

        and the extraordinary.

You change the course of our lives,

     alter the pattern of our thoughts,

     and enlarge our hearts.

Empower us

       to see this situation

       and these people differently.

Align our hearts with Yours.

 

Now those who were scattered

went about preaching the Word.

      

                        Acts 8. 4

(For whatever reason,

     wherever we are,

bring the name of Jesus there.

Even in the strangest places,

even when we have

      no idea how we got here

      or why we are in this place,

           God's purposes prevail.

God redeems,

    on that we can stake our lives.

And someday

         we will be astonished

         at what only He can do.)

O LORD,

Help us to speak up,

    to speak of You

    in every conversation,

    in every situation.

Fulfill Your purposes

               in this place.

Grant us the courage

    to love others that way

       and point to You.

And use our words.

 

And on the top of the pillars

          was lily-work.

             1 Kings 7. 22

(Not just what is necessary

          or practical,

but what is beautiful,

   even what no one else may see.

God says,  "I see it."

If no one even notices,

    we honor God

    with excellence in all we do.

No detail is ever insignificant

             for His glory,

every patch of ground holy.)

O LORD,

May we not just fulfill the requirements,

     but go the extra mile

and complete our work

           with lilies carved on top,

   for Your honor,

                  even in this.

You have given us this assignment,

   what the world may overlook

   or consider insignificant,

but You bring Your glory to it

    and bear fruit,

even beyond our vision

              and our lifetimes.

 

But during the night

an angel of the LORD

    opened the prison doors

and brought them out,

and said,

"Go and stand in the temple

and speak to the people

all the words of this life."

               Acts 5. 19

(God releases us

       to bear witness of Him

and bring the name of Jesus

      to unexpected places

      and unlikely people.

He opens the doors of ministry.

We can never realize

      who is listening

      and who will respond.)

O LORD,

Help us to pay attention to You

and to be aware of

    how you have strategically

    placed us today

          for Your name's sake.

May we be faithful in

    sowing Your grace

    and Your Word right here,

even in the unexpected.

Help us to see difficult situations

        with a different heart

and know that You are working

           powerfully through us.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

Those who sow in tears

shall reap with

          shouts of joy.

           Psalm 126. 5

(When we are faithful,

even in the really hard stuff,

even when it appears

   that no one notices or cares,

God brings us through

   to the other side of suffering.

We live differently

                in this broken world.

   We cannot do it without Him.

Keep sowing,

   whatever seed He has given.

And be assured,

               God redeems.)

O LORD,

We pray for Your strength

   not just to face what is

   before us this day,

but to walk and run with You

      through it,

knowing You are with us.

Unfold Your glory,

bear Your fruit,

and help us to grasp Your joy,

    even in impossible places.

You have strategically placed us

    to bring Your name here

that others may know

and we might realize even more

           that You are God.

 

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds His people,

from this time forth

                and forever more.

                  Psalm 125. 2

(This psalm is one of the

        songs of ascent

--what the faithful sang

         on the difficult ascent

         up to worship in Jerusalem,.

And what they are singing

   when the path is really hard,

   steep, and getting steeper.

Grumbling and complaining

         don't make our way easier.

The mountains are a visible image

    of God's steadfast love

                and immense beauty.

God does not promise an easy path,

but "Do not fear.  I am with you.

             Trust Me in this,

             even in this.

The response of the faithful

     is not to complain,

but to burst into song.)

O LORD,

Guide us on our way.

Guide even our hearts

   that we would seek You

       on the upward slopes.

Place a new song in our hearts.

You are building in us

    not toughness,

       but stronger hearts.

Help us to see this path

   with new eyes

and to sing our way to You.

And to reach out a hand

    to help those

          who You have placed

    on our path today.

 

As the LORD lives,

who has redeemed my soul

    out of every adversity....

            1 Kings 1. 29

(There is hard stuff

      in this broken world.

Everyone struggles

                with something.

But if we choose

        to walk with Him through it,

                God redeems.

We can trust Him with it,

    we can trust His slow growth,

    His steadfast love

        and His goodness,

    even in what we cannot understand.

God works in unexpected ways

    and in the most unlikely places,

so much deeper

than we will ever realize,

    even beyond our own lifetimes.)

O LORD,

You are not just redeeming circumstances,

      but You are redeeming our souls.

Help us to follow You into this day,

      to abide with You,

      to trust You

           in what we can know

           and in what is mystery to us.

May we bring Your name

                    to this situation

          for Your glory in it.

You, O Almighty One,

      weave the victory in this.

Guide us in our decisions.

     Even in what we see

                  as small choices

      are never insignificant.

 

But the king said to Araunah,

"No, but I will buy it from you

                   for a price.

I will not offer burnt offerings

   to the LORD my God

               that cost me nothing."

                    2 Samuel 24. 24

(What are we offering to God today,

not as an obligation,

not to appease Him,

        but out of love for Him?

Our leftovers or extras

           or our hearts?

We never know how

  God will use our offerings

  and those things we sacrifice

     (including our pride)

               for His Kingdom,

but He always does.

This patch of ground David bought

  eventually became the site

where Solomon built the temple.)

O LORD,

To You we lift up our eyes

    and set our hearts

    first thing in the morning

to worship You in this day.

Reveal to us

    how we can be faithful to You

in all that we do

and how to navigate

         the hours before us

                  in Your name.

Help us not to see sacrifice

    as what we give up,

but in bringing You glory.

 

I call upon the LORD,

who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

                   2 Samuel 22. 4

(Who do we call?

When we call upon God,

               cry out to Him,

    commune with Him,

    abide in Him,

God changes everything in us.

We see God differently.

We see our circumstances

           with a new heart.

Through prayer and praise,

God reveals His strength to us,

   His provision, protection

                   and Presence.

In Scripture, particularly in the Psalms,

      our enemies are anything we fear,

      both real and imagined.)

O LORD,

We stand in what we see

        as an impossible situation.

Help us to see and know

   that You are the one

   who brings about the victory,

even in what would be

         overwhelming to us alone.

Help us to

  not just see Your fingerprints,

  but to seek You.

And praise You,

   even before the outcome.

          

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heavens and earth.

                   Psalm 121. 1-2

(When the tough gets going,

the tough are already

         relying on His strength.

God never promised

         a paved highway,

but "Do not be afraid.

       I am with you."

He leads us in ways

      to draw closer to Him.

How in the world can we

      keep going on the steep parts?

Not on our own.

God provides His strength.

    Take one step

        and then another rises up.

This hill workout

   is not defeating us,

   but equipping us

for a panoramic view.)

O LORD.

This place is hard.

This hill is steep.

Draw our eyes to You.

Bring Your glory to it.

Help us to not miss

    Your wonders along the way.

And even in the struggle,

   empower us to be faithful

   in helping others

         to walk with You.

You alone

     are our help.

You are the Almighty One.

www.nightlytea.blogspot.com

 

He said to them,

"Cast the net

     on the right side of the boat,

     and you will find some."

So they cast it,

and now

   they were not able to haul it in,

because of the quantity of fish.

                      John 21. 6

(Do we argue with God,

     I already tried that

            or that is impossible?

Or respond to His leading,

     try the other side.

"Follow Me in this,"

be faithful,

and now

     watch what God does with it.

There is always

             a profound difference

   between doing it on our own

and when we "fish" with Him

         -- whatever that may be.

Sometimes tangible,

   and sometimes bearing fruit

   far beyond our lifetimes.)

O LORD,

Please order our day.

Guide our hands and thoughts

       and our work.

Not that we would be successful,

    but Your glory may be revealed.

Help us to be faithful

             in the work You have given.

Empower us to write Your name

                   all over it.

 

Although the doors were locked,

Jesus came

     and stood among them

     and said,

            "Peace be with you."

                    John 20. 26

(His peace

      is not an absence of hardship,

but His Presence

      right in the midst,

               right here with us.

His peace

         cannot be explained away,

and is never dependent

               on circumstances

     but His steadfast love.

Where are You, O Lord?

        Right here with you.)

O LORD,

Help us to stake our lives

      on Your love and peace

to navigate us through

          the storms,

          the miry bogs,

     and even the favorable.

That we would know You more.

That we would bring Your name

            to unlikely places.

That we would live differently

              in great peace

   because we know You.

May Your peace reign in us

   so that others might see You

                        livestream.

Your peace is not impervious

  to difficulty

        but responsive.