Read: Acts 2:5-38, Acts 3:1-13

Now that we have established that the Great Commission was not just for the Apostles but for us all, let’s walk through how we can live out Acts today. To do this, each day will be dedicated to a letter in the word ACTS. So we begin with the letter A, which we will use the word Audacity.

As believers, we are called to emulate the courage of the apostles. They had the audacity to believe in the power of God and share Him with others. When the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with new tongues, the people marveled and called them drunk. But Peter, with unwavering courage, proclaimed that this was the work of God and preached with power, calling those who were there into repentance. Their courage should inspire us to boldly share our faith.

Peter also had the audacity to believe in the power of God and to share it with others in Acts Chapter 3, when he healed a lame man. The man expected Peter to give him money, but Peter gave Him a better gift when he said, “Silver and Gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” This moment would lead the lame man and Peter to give God all the glory, helping others come to know that the power of God in the name of Jesus is the real deal.

Now, imagine the profound impact we, as believers, can have if we follow the apostles' example. What if the person who is on the street begging for money or resources had an encounter with the audacious believer reading this devotional that changed their life forever? Do you believe in God enough to pray for the person? To share with the young troubled teenager how God saved your life? Your faith and courage can have a life-changing impact on others.

These questions are not just to encourage you, but to motivate you to take the next step in your walk with God. We are called to be audacious in sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we come in contact with. As believers in Christ, we cannot be fearful but must be audacious in sharing the love of Jesus. The Lord is sending you to be His ambassador on the earth. So whether you’re in the grocery store, at your school, or at your job, be audacious in sharing the love of Jesus.


Reflection Questions:
Have you ever felt God leading you to do something bold for Him?

What held you back or pushed you forward?

Why do you think it’s important for believers today to have the same kind of audacity Peter had?

What might that look like in your school, community, or ministry?

Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee.”

What do you already have that God can use to bless or impact someone else?

Read: John 14:25-26, Acts 1:4-8, Acts 2:1-4 & 38-47

Before we go any further, it is essential to level-set on why we need to live out Acts and why you can do so. First, let's go back to what Jesus told His disciples in the Gospels. In John 14:26, Jesus informs his disciples about the helper God the Father will leave with them, which is the Holy Spirit who leads them and guides them into all truth and brings back to their remembrance the things in which He (Jesus) told them.

In Acts chapter 1, Jesus would again share with the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit by telling them that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they would be His witnesses in all the earth (Acts 1:8). In Acts chapter 2, that promise is fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. From that moment forward, the disciples… now Apostles would proclaim the Good News of Jesus like never before, marking the birth of the New Testament church. They would go on to heal the sick, cast out demons, baptize people, and help people come into the knowledge of Jesus.

So why should we continue to live out Acts? Because that is what Jesus' disciples did. The mandate to live life boldly for Jesus has not stopped, and we, too, are called to live boldly in the authority that Jesus has given us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is not just a suggestion, but a call to action, a call to live boldly for Christ.

The Great Commission was initiated when the disciples received the charge, and they set the example for what we are to do as believers. Understand that this charge is not just for those who hold the titles Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Bishop, or any other church title, but for all believers. It is up to us to continue to live boldly for Christ, learning from the example of Jesus and what His chosen Apostles did with the charge He gave them.

Reflection Questions:

The book of Acts shows believers who acted on their faith immediately.

What’s one small “act” you could do this week to live out what you believe?

How did the apostles’ actions impact the people around them?

What kind of ripple effect happens when believers live out their faith?

Read: James 1:22-25, Matthew 28:18-20

One of the most essential verses for believers in the Bible is not just to be hearers of the word but doers (James 1:22). As simple as that God-breathed verse is, if we are not careful, we will find ourselves doing the opposite of what it implores. What does this look like?

Attending church week after week and never changing. Going to every Christian event held in your city or region, but never being inspired to move or act as the hands and feet of Jesus yourself. Listening to your favorite preacher, Christian podcast, etc, but never awakening to the fact that you have been given the same access and authority to share the gospel. Ultimately, we become mere consumers of Christian media.

Now, understand that we have been saved by grace, and not by works, meaning that it isn’t about doing to be saved. But as a person who has received salvation through Christ Jesus, it should awaken you to doing for the Lord. This could mean volunteering at a local shelter, sharing the gospel with a friend, or participating in a mission trip.

This brings us to the beautiful book of Acts, which outlines what Holy Spirit-filled believers did by understanding the command God gave them through the Great Commission and the purpose of this bible plan. The book of Acts recounts the events immediately after Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension, and serves as a blueprint for New Testament believers and the church today. Over the next few days, we will explore what it means to live out the Acts and how you can do so today.


Reflection Questions:

In what ways can I move from being only a hearer to a doer of the word?

What would change in your community, school, or church if more people lived out their faith daily?
 

Read: Mark 14: 32-42

Jesus observed the Passover meal with His disciples. That evening, He predicted His death, a betrayal by one of His disciples, disowning by another, and abandonment by all (Mark 14:18, 24, 27, 30). What grief and sorrow awaited Him!

He and His disciples sang a hymn, walked toward the Mount of Olives, and then to the Garden of Gethsemane. Can you imagine how that walk must have felt to those who had walked beside Him, through thick and thin, for three long years? They plodded along—pained, perplexed, perturbed. When they reached their destination, Jesus asked them to sit nearby while He prayed. But He asked Peter, James and John to come with Him.

Privately, Jesus told His inner circle that He was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mark 14:33–34). He again asked for prayer. Then He went a little farther down the path. He went alone. He fell to the ground, asking God the Father to take the cup of death away from Him. But, the Scriptures affirmed that this was not possible; they predicted that God’s Servant would be despised, rejected, stricken, afflicted, and pierced (Isaiah 53:3–5). Knowing all of this, Jesus sought to do the Father’s will.
 
Boris Pasternak, a Russian poet who won the Nobel Prize for his novel, Doctor Zhivago, wrote that in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus “renounced / Omnipotence and miracles / As if they had been borrowed things, / And now He was a mortal among mortals.”  
Jesus returned to find His closest friends asleep during His hour of need. This happened not just once, but three times! How weak, how mortal they proved themselves to be. Yet, it was for their sake, and ours, that Jesus chose the cross.

The path through the garden of Gethsemane is an intimate look at the prayer life of the eternal Son of God. Jesus’ willingness to serve showed the depth of His love for the Father, and the depth of love God has for us. Jesus went to the cross so that our sins might be forgiven. He showed us what it looks like to trust and obey God completely, without reservation.

 
Lord, when I face challenges, help me pray like You did: “Abba, Father. . . . Not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36).

Read: Philippians 2:8

The Lenten journey leads us down a road lined with palm branches and up a hill called Golgotha. Along the way, we witness the depth of Christ’s humility and the cost of our redemption. The cross is not merely a symbol of suffering—it is the place where love chose to bear the weight of our sin.

As we walk this road, we bow low in repentance, but we also lift our eyes in gratitude. Christ’s obedience, even unto death, opens the way to life. Lent prepares us to stand at the foot of the cross with reverence and to rise with hope as Easter draws near.

Reflection Question:  
How does the humility and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross shape the way you walk through this season?

Prayer:  
Lord Jesus, as we walk the road toward Your cross, humble our hearts. Help us grasp the depth of Your love and the cost of our redemption. Lead us through sorrow into hope, and prepare us for the joy of resurrection. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 64:8

Clay is beautiful when it is pliable, but when it dries, it becomes brittle and easily broken. Our hearts can feel the same—rigid from fear, cracked from disappointment, or misshapen by the pressures of life. Yet clay in the hands of a patient potter can be softened again. It can be reshaped. It can be made new.

Lent is the season when we return to the Potter’s wheel. Christ, the Living Water, moistens the hardened places of our souls. He works gently but purposefully, forming us into vessels that reflect His grace. The Potter does not discard the clay—He transforms it.

Reflection Question:  
What part of your life needs to be softened or reshaped by the Potter’s hands?

Prayer:  
O God, our Potter, soften the places in us that have grown rigid or weary. Shape us according to Your will. Restore what has cracked and renew what has been distorted. Make us vessels that reflect Your grace. Amen.

Read: 1 Corinthians 15:22

God’s answer to our brokenness is not to stand far off—it is to enter the dust Himself. Jesus steps into our world with all its frailty and sorrow. He becomes the Second Adam, taking on the full weight of our humanity so that He might lift us from the dust of death into the life of God.

Christ does not simply patch up what was damaged. He restores what was lost. He breathes life where death once reigned. Lent reminds us that Jesus meets us in the very places we feel most undone and brings resurrection where we least expect it.

Reflection Question:  
Where do you sense Christ stepping into your “dust”—your weakness, your need, your longing for renewal?

Prayer:  
Jesus, You entered our dust so that we might share in Your life. Thank You for meeting us in our humanity and restoring what sin has broken. Help us trust Your redeeming work in every part of our lives. Amen.

Read: Genesis 3:19

The story of humanity takes a painful turn when sin enters the world. The dust that once held promise now bears the weight of brokenness. Lent does not hide this truth—it invites us to face it with humility. The ashes placed on our foreheads are not meant to crush us, but to awaken us to our need for God’s mercy.

Sin dries us out. It cracks the places meant to hold life. But even in the words spoken in Eden, God’s grace is already stirring. The One who formed us from dust refuses to leave us in it. Lent is the season when we name what has gone wrong so that God can begin to make it right.

Reflection Question:  
What part of your life feels dried out or cracked and needs God’s healing touch this season?

Prayer:  
Merciful Lord, we confess that sin has marked our lives and distanced us from Your design. Meet us in our honesty. Turn our ashes into hope and lead us toward Your restoring grace. Amen.

Read:  Genesis 2:7

Lent begins by taking us back to the very first touch of God upon creation. Before we ever stumbled, before sin ever scarred the world, God shaped humanity from the earth with deliberate care. Dust became something sacred when God breathed His life into it. This season invites us to remember that our identity is rooted not in our failures or our fears, but in the hands that formed us.

When life feels scattered or fragile, Lent calls us to remember that God has always worked wonders with dust. What He shapes, He cherishes. What He breathes into, He sustains.

Reflection Question:  
Where do you need to remember that your life began in God’s hands and still rests there?

Prayer:  
Creator God, You formed us from the dust and breathed Your life into us. As we begin this season, remind us of our sacred beginning. Restore our sense of belonging and renew our trust in Your care. Amen.

Read:  Luke 4: 1-13

Lord God, by Your Word, fill me with your life-giving Spirit

Pray: God, connect with me here, as I seek you in Your Word.

Begin with focus and openness to see what God has for you.

Read: the selected section of Scripture slowly. Take note of intriguing words and phrases and read them a second time.

Reflect: on what strikes you as you read. Think through what God is communicating to you at this point in your life.

Respond: to the passage. Speak to God directly about what's on your mind and heart. Look for ways to live out what you've uncovered.

Read:  Luke 9:28-29

The Lord chose three disciples to testify of Him because the things of God must be testified and made known (II Corinthians 13:1). Peter, James and John were the privileged three, whom the Lord chose to be close to Him, understand His purposes and testify of Him. Yet, on two occasions when Jesus took them with Him to pray, they slept (Mark 14:32-41/ Luke 9:28-32)!

It appears that these three disciples were unable to fully appreciate and internalise God’s ways initially. However, later they became wonderful testimonies of God. As they learnt to pray with Jesus, they understood and participated in the things of God and be one with Him in His concerns. They were then able to testify of Him.

How is it with us? Do we spend time with God in prayer, participating in His concerns?

It is only when we are transformed through prayer that we can truly testify of Jesus to people and help them experience His salvation (Hebrews 5:7-9).

Time with God will transform us. Stephen was transformed (Acts 6:15). Moses was transformed (Exodus 34:29-30). As we spend time with God, sharing His concerns, we will be transformed. It will be seen. We will not be able to hide the glow. God will be testified through us.

Thought to ponder

Are you longing for a deep intimacy with God or is your prayer time more of an apology?

Read: 
Mark 14:32–42

Read the Passage and Pray: Mark 14:32–42

Reflection:
● What do you learn about God’s nature and character from this passage?
● What do you learn about mankind from this passage?
● How is this passage an example of ultimate surrender?
● What does it look like for you to wake up each day and say, “Father, not my will be done, but your will be done”?
● The victory on the cross was won in the garden the night before. What does that mean for us as we seek to follow Jesus?
● What is your application this week?
● Spend time praying that God would prepare your heart to hear from Him this Saturday at the conference.

Read: 
Mark 10:35–45

Read the Passage and Pray: Mark 10:35–45 

Reflection:
● What do you learn about God’s nature and character from this passage?
● What do you learn about mankind from this passage?
● How is Jesus’ style of leadership countercultural?
● What does servant leadership look like at home, at work, in the church, and in the community?
● How is servant leadership related to our theme of surrender?
● What is your application this week?
● Spend time praying for the speakers at this year’s conference.

Read: 
Mark 4:35–41

Read the Passage Mark 4:35–41 and Pray: 

Reflection:
● What do you learn about God’s nature and character from this passage?
● What do you learn about mankind from this passage?
● Name a time when you felt like the disciples who said in verse 38, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
● What do we learn from this passage about how we deal with the storms in our lives?
● The disciples wanted Jesus to be a piece of cargo in the back of the boat; Jesus wanted to be the Captain of the ship. When do you tend to put Jesus in the back of your boat?
● What is your application this week?
● Spend time praying for those around you who are going through a storm right now.

Read: 
Mark 9:23, Ephesians 2:10

Read Devotional:

Below you will find a Bible Study that will help us prepare and lead up to the No Regrets Men's Conference on Saturday February 7th.

The biblical definition of surrender involves yielding oneself to God's will and authority. It signifies a relinquishing of personal control and trusting in God's sovereignty and plan for our lives. Surrender is not about defeat; rather, it is a choice to let go of our own way, allowing God to lead us and aligning ourselves with His purpose. In short, to surrender is to accept the reality that we are not in control.

For our studies each week, we will focus on the Gospel of Mark, which could be called the "Gospel for Men," as it is action-packed and moves quickly. The study is designed to be done individually, but can easily be used in a small-group setting as well. Each week, we have provided a passage for you to read and several questions to reflect personally or discuss with a few others.

Read: Mark 2:1–12

Reflection:
● What do you learn about God’s nature and character from this passage?
● What do you learn about mankind from this passage?
● This is, first and foremost, a story of male friendship. What are some of the benefits of going through life with a small band of brothers?
● In this story, the man’s mat is a picture of our brokenness, pain, grief, hurts, and disappointments in life. What is your mat? How could others help you with this?
● Who are some people around you that you could be a mat carrier for?
● What is your application this week?
● Spend time praying about who God wants you to invite to the conference this year.

Read: 
Psalms 20:4, Philippians 4:13, Jeremiah 29:11

Read Devotional:

Wow, finally a new year! I feel very encouraged and ready to hit it.

The truth is that each person starts the year differently, so I asked some of my friends how they feel when a new year arrives, what things they do and if they are up for something. These were some of their responses:

- "To be honest, I don't set many goals for myself because I know I'm not going to meet all of them, but I feel happy to finish a year and be alive."

- “Sometimes I feel good, other times I don't give it much importance, it all depends on how the year ends. I do have goals, I start with approximately seven. "

- "Usually, I wait for the new year in a reflective way, I do an analysis of what I want and how I feel at the moment."

- "When I start the year I feel that I have the responsibility to fulfill everything I want and to create habits that help me to improve myself."

- “I don't think I'm good for this. A new year has arrived, I still want to do the same as always."

Do you identify with any of these responses? Each one of them have a common factor: They all set at least one goal. Whatever your attitude for this new beginning is, it's important that you also have goals to make this year a meaningful one. Goals help us build on something, creating discipline and responsibility along the way. What things do you want to do? Set goals that you know you can reach, but that challenge you at the same time.

As long as we are alive, we'll always have the opportunity to change and improve, so take advantage of it. One time, a friend told me that he had no goals, that he was going to let everything go with the flow. Do you think he's going to have a meaningful year? The possibilities are slim. Things don't just happen, we have to make them happen.

God didn't bring you to this world to live without meaning, He wants to see you grow, improve yourself and achieve what you want. He is already very clear about the plans he has for you. Our goals in life may change, but God remains the same, always ready to strengthen us and help us achieve anything under His will.

Activity: Make a list of 10 goals that you want to achieve this year, from the simplest to the ones that involve most work. Identify what habits you need to develop to achieve them.

Read: 
Philippians 3: 13-14, Romans 8:28, Galatians 5:22-23

Read Devotional:

Latin American mothers usually buy souvenirs to send as gifts to all their relatives whenever they go on a trip. The funniest thing of all is that they use their bags to transport all of that, too, regardless of the amount of space!

Have you ever been that passenger?

Although it might be funny to think about, the reality is that it can be a bit uncomfortable at times. There are so many things for others to fit into the suitcase that you end not having much space for what you really need.

The same happens with the suitcase of our life. We are dragging baggage filled with things from previous experiences. We carry many objects that make the suitcase heavy, and even worse, that take away space for what we really need to carry.

What should we remove to make room? It may be a past situation that has hindered us from trying again. Perhaps it is doubt that does not allow us to move forward, or hurtful words toward us that we have kept in our hearts.

It's important to know that we are not obligated to carry these things, since they don't belong to us,. They belong to the past. How about we leave them there?

We need to make room for all the good that God wants to give us this year! Those new experiences and lessons, those new people, those new achievements ...

To have a blessed year, it's necessary to make room for blessings. I know it's hard to hope for the best when we look back and remember all of the bad things that happened, but remember that God can make everything work for the better. Today is a new opportunity to live differently, to live by faith and not fear, to accept, let go and move on.

Let's carry a suitcase full of hope, love, joy, peace, patience, and dreams. Let's leave behind what has only been a burden, and observe how God helps us fill up with what is really worth it. I‘ve already packed my suitcase for this trip, what are you waiting for?


Activity: Think about three things you've been carrying for a long time that have been dominating you. Give them to God and ask Him to help you not let these burdens remain a part of you.

Read: 
Genesis 1:1-4, John 1:9-14, John 8:12

Read Devotional:

Christmas is here! It’s time to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ—the Light of the World!

In the first act of Creation in Genesis, God spoke and light was immediately separated from darkness. But it wasn’t long before Adam and Eve chose to sin, and God’s presence, His light, was separated from man. At that moment, the redemption story had to be written: The need for light to shine through darkness was no longer just night and day, but life and death. God’s greatest desire was to be in relationship with us, so He sent a Light to guide us out of our darkness and back to Him.

This is Christmas: “The One who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world!”

God’s only Son was born so that with the forgiveness of sin, we could be reconciled back to Him. The separation that kept us in darkness was overcome by Jesus’ light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

No matter where you are today, and no matter what you’ve done, the Savior of the world has come! For YOU! Let His light shine on all the dark places of your life and restore what has been lost in the darkness. The Light is here, and He has declared that you never have to walk in darkness again. Receive His love and experience Christmas like never before!

Prayer: Father, thank You for preparing a way since the beginning of time for us to be close to You again. Thank You for sending Your Son to be born, and to die, so I could live! Today, as I celebrate Christmas, help me have a deep appreciation of Your love for me and the Light You have brought into my life. I praise You for making it possible for me to never walk in darkness again!

Read: 
Matthew 2:1-12, Acts 15:7-9, Colossians 3:11

Read Devotional:

In Joseph’s dream, the angel revealed that the birth of Jesus would fulfill centuries-old prophecy and end the separation that had existed between God and man since the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Joseph learned that Jesus would be “God with us.” How easy it can be to forget this truth!
We read in Exodus, long before the birth of Jesus, that Moses had to wait for God to speak to him on a mountaintop or through a burning bush. At that time, mankind did not have constant access to an intimate relationship with God. Sometimes, it can be easy to slip into this old mentality of communicating with God. How often do we still ask for our own burning bush, wishing for an explicit, tangible sign or a clear word from Him? Even as Christians, we can start to believe God is far away when it feels like we’re waiting and waiting to hear from Him.
We need to remember that Jesus has bridged the gap between us and God. He is God’s answer to our desire for a burning bush or a mountaintop conversation with Him. We don’t worship a distant God who doesn’t want to speak to us. Jesus has restored our relationship with Him and made a way for us to daily approach His throne with boldness.
This Christmas season, find comfort in knowing that God is with you. He hears your prayers, and He is for you. If God can mend our broken relationship with Him, think of what He can and will do in our lives and on our behalf!

Prayer: Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus, that He made a way for me to be close to You again. Thank You for desiring relationship with me so much that You sent Your only Son to die in my place. Father, give me boldness to seek You in prayer and worship, knowing I have access to You again through Jesus. Thank You for giving me confidence that You are always with me, that I am never alone.

Read: 
Matthew 1:23, Isaiah 7:14, Exodus 3:4, Hebrews 13:8

Read Devotional:

In Joseph’s dream, the angel revealed that the birth of Jesus would fulfill centuries-old prophecy and end the separation that had existed between God and man since the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Joseph learned that Jesus would be “God with us.” How easy it can be to forget this truth!
We read in Exodus, long before the birth of Jesus, that Moses had to wait for God to speak to him on a mountaintop or through a burning bush. At that time, mankind did not have constant access to an intimate relationship with God. Sometimes, it can be easy to slip into this old mentality of communicating with God. How often do we still ask for our own burning bush, wishing for an explicit, tangible sign or a clear word from Him? Even as Christians, we can start to believe God is far away when it feels like we’re waiting and waiting to hear from Him.
We need to remember that Jesus has bridged the gap between us and God. He is God’s answer to our desire for a burning bush or a mountaintop conversation with Him. We don’t worship a distant God who doesn’t want to speak to us. Jesus has restored our relationship with Him and made a way for us to daily approach His throne with boldness.
This Christmas season, find comfort in knowing that God is with you. He hears your prayers, and He is for you. If God can mend our broken relationship with Him, think of what He can and will do in our lives and on our behalf!

Prayer: Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus, that He made a way for me to be close to You again. Thank You for desiring relationship with me so much that You sent Your only Son to die in my place. Father, give me boldness to seek You in prayer and worship, knowing I have access to You again through Jesus. Thank You for giving me confidence that You are always with me, that I am never alone.

Read: 
Isaiah 53:3-5

Read Devotional:

Jesus came to earth to give us the gifts of acceptance, peace, healing, and forgiveness, but those gifts were not cheap. We could never afford what Jesus came to provide, and gratefully, we don’t have to. God now accepts us, not because of our own good behavior, but because Jesus paid the price by experiencing the greatest rejection on our behalf. Jesus chose to die to cover our sin, conquer death, and bring us life.
The prophet Isaiah called our sins “transgressions” and “iniquities” - essentially our crimes and our wickedness. Those sins created a debt we could never repay, but Jesus, in His perfection, could. As Jesus chose to be born into a world where He would be bruised and crushed, He brought us peace and healing.

The prophecy in Isaiah 53 portrays God’s great exchange: Jesus’ life for all of ours. Jesus knew the cost of Christmas, and He embraced it so we could embrace Him and the eternal life He made available for us. As you celebrate this season, don’t forget: We can only be forgiven, healed, and set free because Jesus chose Christmas.

Prayer: Jesus, I can never thank You enough for paying the price that covered my debt. I would truly be lost without You. I worship You as my Peace, my Healer, and my Savior! Thank You for choosing Christmas. Help me to receive all You came to give me, and help me then share those gifts with the world around me.

Read: 
Genesis 3:15

Read Devotional:

Did you know the first promise God ever made was about Christmas? In Genesis, we read that when Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, mankind was separated from God’s presence. Sin robbed us of innocence and made us unclean. Because He is holy and perfect, God cannot be in relationship with what is unclean. This separation broke God’s heart because He loves us more than we could ever know. God immediately formed a plan for our reconciliation with Him. From the very beginning of human existence, Jesus was going to be a part of the story.

God let Satan know that day what he had coming. He said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” (Genesis 3:15) Somewhere along the line, among Eve’s offspring, there would come a Savior who would forever rid Satan of his power to separate God from man. Satan would try to stop Him, but the Savior would crush his head. There’s no coming back from that!

Christmas marks the beginning of God’s process to restore our relationship with Him through a New Covenant. The world waited thousands of years for God’s promised Savior, and then, finally, He was here. The One who would forever defeat sin and death became God with us.

As we enter this Advent season, focus on the fulfillment of God's first promise. Recognize that God is true to His Word, and meditate on the truth that He loves you so much that He sent His perfect Son to be born into a sinful world so that He could have a relationship with you.

Prayer: Father, I’m amazed that Your first response to our sin was a promise that it would not keep us apart forever. Thank You for choosing from the very beginning to send Jesus to make a way for us to be in relationship with You. As we approach Christmas this year, give me a deeper revelation of what You accomplished as He came into the world. Let me experience the joy You felt when Jesus was born and the fulfillment of Your promise was set in motion.

Read: 
Luke 11:9-13

Did you know that God wants to answer your prayers? When Jesus died on the cross, God tore the veil from top to bottom. This opened the way so that through a relationship with Jesus, we can approach the throne of grace and bring our needs and our requests before the Lord.

God wants to answer your prayers. Jesus instructed His disciples repeatedly: ask and keep asking, seek and keep seeking, knock and keep knocking and the door will be opened to you. God will meet your needs.

Scripture also communicates what happens when our prayers are answered. In the book of John, we see Jesus saying (to paraphrase), “Our joy is made full and the Father is glorified in the Son every time a prayer is answered” (John 14:13, 16:24).

Think about that. Because of our relationship with Jesus, because of what He did for us on the cross, we can approach our Heavenly Father through Him. When we pray through Christ, and God answers our prayers, the Father is glorified through the Son.

God shows up through answered prayer, showing that He is Provider, He is Protector, He is Healer, He is our Wonderful Counselor. There is not an issue we are facing in our culture right now that prayer cannot address.

Also, prayer fills us up with joy when God answers those prayers. Every church ought to have people walking in the door every Sunday sharing freshly answered prayers of what God has done in their lives. If that happened, then our faith wouldn’t just be in the wisdom of men. Instead, as the Apostle Paul says, it will be in the power of God.

God wants to answer your prayers … so keep praying.

Read: 
Mark 11:24-26

How can we know if we are praying effectively? By getting our lives positioned properly with the Lord.

That begins with a relationship with Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” He is the mediator between God and us. He alone can take the holy hand of God and the hand of sinful man and bring us together because He is God in flesh and He died for us on the cross.

So if you want prayer to be answered in your life, then you need to surrender your life to Jesus Christ.

Next, remain in close fellowship with Him. Stay clean and close. Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask what you will and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

We need to get right with the Lord—we have our hearts right with the Lord—and we need to get right with one another. Jesus said in Mark 11 “When you pray, forgive if you have anything against anyone” (verse 25).

So we get our hearts right and then we pray in faith trusting that God—as faithful as He has been in the past and as faithful as He is in His Word—is going to be faithful again in the situation that you are dealing with.

So get right with the Lord and then begin to pray in faith and watch God work on your behalf.

Read: 
John 14:13-14

Do you ever think of the battle in which you have been chosen to participate? Scripture says, “Put on the full armor of God and then pray always at all times for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6)

To do so, we need to pray in faith. Jesus said in Mark 11, “When you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone” (verse 25). He also said, “When you pray, believe that you will receive what you’re praying for.”

In James 1, we see, “If you don’t pray in faith, don’t expect your prayers to be answered” (verse 7). And Hebrews says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6).

So when we are praying, we need to believe that our God is able, He is willing, and He cares—just as He says in His Word. He is likely to answer our prayers when we pray in faith.

So how do we pray in faith? Look at the faithfulness of God in the past and look at the faithfulness of God in His Word. As you are reading God’s Word on a daily basis, it will build faith in you.

Also, before you start asking God for anything, spend time thanking Him. It says in Philippians 4:6-7, “Instead of being worried about anything, instead in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

So if we spend time thanking God for his faithfulness in the past, it helps build in us a strong faith to begin to trust Him and pray in faith for the future.

Before you wrap up today’s devo, may I encourage you to invest a few minutes in listening to a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “Warrior,” a song he wrote for WAR ROOM at Watch Here