Confident In Hope

CONFIDENT IN HOPE

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Remind me who I am.

I am loved. I am known. I belong to you.

Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

To come to know God better and to grasp who we are in Christ, we need more than books to read and truths to believe. We need special wisdom and insight from God. Of course, learning things about him requires intellect, a good memory, and perhaps motivation. But to know him requires something altogether different: attentiveness, humility, curiosity, willingness, and space. When we begin to open space in our hearts and minds, we are flooded with understanding. The hope that God has given us—of resurrection, renewal, restoration in and through Christ—breaks into our present and becomes a reality that we can hold on to with confidence.

• Consider the individual in your life you know best. With that person in mind, how would you explain the difference between knowing things about that person and knowing that person?
• Reflect on your daily and weekly routines. How are you doing at opening space to allow God to flood your heart and mind with wisdom and insight about him? What differences do you see in your spirit and relationships when you do make space?
• Take a moment to quiet yourself in God’s loving presence. Ask him to open your eyes and heart to the ways he wants you to live more fully into the truth that he has given you a confident hope you need not fear—his promise of resurrection, renewal, and restoration of all things. What did God bring to mind?

Oh, Father, my heart longs for you. I want to know you better every single moment of each day. Please give me wisdom and revelation of who you are and how you love. Please give me power when I am weak and incapable of overcoming obstacles. Please enlighten my heart with the hope to which you have called me. And bring to mind someone in my life who needs encouragement so I can share your Word and love. Amen.