PRAY OCTOBER – Today praying for Hope

PRAY OCTOBER
31 Days of Scripture, Reflections, and Prayers to bring us closer to the move of God in our midst
Day 14: Prayer for Hope
Scripture: Romans 15:13“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Some thoughts on experiencing Hope.
I have always been a hopeful person. Always embraced the possibility. At times these aspirations for hope have been great. Though I confess that the defeat when things didn’t exactly work out the way I had hoped for I didn’t stop hoping. Part of this is because I am a dreamer, I dream always of peace, contentment, big things taking place, blessings too many to count.

In recent years my blank pages have been filled with being an expectant visionary. Not just receiving a vision of what is to be but living in the expectation that it will happen. I fully believe and live by Romans 8:28 “all things will work out, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose that is found in Christ the Lord.”

Lately it has been tough, the things that I have hoped for seem so distant: a full church, a fruitful business where the excess funds are put into ministry and mission, happiness, joy, peace, stability, more and more people receiving Jesus as Savior, making the mission to go into the world and spread the Gospel and so much more. I know that we are dealing with a lot in the present time and situation, but this is also warned in scripture “as present danger.”

This morning during a very long time of personal, worship, prayer, and personal reflection I thought about some key points about hope.

Hope doesn’t ignore reality – it acknowledges it but it also should cause us to focus on God’s presence and power to redeem it. We can’t just pray for change we must be willing to leave that which we are trying to change from. This is also a form of redemption.

Hope should cause us to trust in God more than anything. Even in the toughest times of life I still have the hope that I/we will get through whatever it is that is dragging us down believing that God is “working all things together for good” (Romans 8:28)
Hope should be the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised he would send a comforter – have we received that comforter, advocate, guide in our lives?

We must seek God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit if we desire to know a power-driven hope. Be careful not to find hope in the things of the world, in people, or even in ourselves, because we will often be left disappointed!

Here is my prayer for today – that in my life and yours I will encourage you to hope in God. To trust in God, to be filled with joy, peace, and a hope that overflows to those around you. No matter what we face may we become confident that God’s hope is alive and active.

Prayer: God of hope, fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in You, so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In hope there is perseverance. We persevere because of hope. In Jesus name – we pray – Amen