Open the Eyes

And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. (Isaiah 35: 5 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Thank God for the "aha" moments in life inspired by the Holy Spirit awakening us to new possibilities and greater opportunities which are often as dramatic as blind eyes opened and deaf ears hearing.

Pray today:

• For planning and preparation currently underway to implement Building a Path Towards Success, a program to engage freshmen each year to help them navigate the first year of college and develop skills for success in life.
• For the Building a Path program personnel who will serve as instructors, mentors, advisers, and administrators, for quick and substantive assimilation of the program curriculum, for a very successful inaugural year for the program next fall. 
• For more of our students to achieve their academic goals and persist to graduation, for each of them to find and fulfill his or her God-given purpose in life.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Coming to Save You

Say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you." (Isaiah 35:4 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• There are many enemies, some created by our own fears and faults, but no matter their origination or intent, God is able to save us.

Pray today:

• For students on our campus who struggle with problem behaviors like missing class, failing to do assignments, postponing study and neglecting other academic disciplines, for them to understand these are self-created enemies, for them to conquer with the help of God.
• For The Bridge early alert system designed to intervene in the life of these students, for the personnel who work with The Bridge program to be able to identify the students who need help, for them to be effective in helping these students change damaging behaviors.
• For every student in academic distress to find hope in God, for them to discover his willingness to help them change, for them to quit focusing on fear of failure, but instead, to focus on the Savior who will enable them to overcome.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Honor and Praise

O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. (Isaiah 25:1 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• God be praised for the plans he has for us, wonderful plans he will accomplish through his power and with our faith and obedience.

Pray today:

• For the Campus Preview event tomorrow, for prospective students and their parents to attend in larger numbers than expected, for them to hear and obey the voice of the Lord.
• For the Campus Preview program and schedule to be implemented well, for admissions personnel to be effective in sharing the Emmanuel story.
• For the students and parents who need to plan now to attend the final two Campus Preview events on March 17 and March 24-25, for them to make their plans to visit campus and to follow-through.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Good Reputation

Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. (Hebrews 11:2 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• May our faith be evident in the lives we live, and through that faith, may our reputation of being Christ-followers be paramount.

Pray today:

• For Emmanuel College to become better known for the high quality graduates produced, for more alumni and friends to tell our stories of faith, learning and living.
• For educators, employers, pastors and others to influence prospective students to learn more about Emmanuel, for our people and our processes to be extremely effective in reaching out to more and more prospective students who enroll in ever larger numbers.
• For Emmanuel College to not only reach its enrollment goal of 982 next fall, but to exceed it by enrolling more than 1000 students. 

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Faithful to the End

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. (Hebrews 3:14 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• So easy to become jaded by the weariness of battle, not hard to lose the passion of our first love, but don't lose heart, for if we are faithful to the end, our inheritance is abundant and sure.

Pray today:

• For the Emmanuel staff, faculty and administration as we work through the tedious nature of building budgets for the next academic year.
• For those who must implement new strategic initiatives in the next academic year, for insight and wisdom in hiring, decision-making, managing, and leading.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

In Due Time

"God blesses you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep now, for in due time you will laugh." (Luke 6:21 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• God's timing is perfection in action. Wait for it, but while you wait, work!

Pray today:

• For the Emmanuel family to be hungry for more of God, for them to be full of the Holy Spirit, for them to look to Jehovah-Jireh, the one who provides.
• For students, staff, and faculty to seek God instead of seeking solace, to look to the Lord not for peace of mind, to pursue the Father not joy, and in so doing, solace, peace, and joy all come.
• For students who are struggling academically as they approach mid-term on March 1, for them to work instead of weep, for them to try harder instead of giving up, for them to learn from their mistakes, to achieve more, and to laugh and enjoy all the emotions of success.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

God Blesses

Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said, "God blesses you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours." (Luke 6:20 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Don't mistake challenge, poverty, and crisis as always some sign of God's disfavor. Sometimes it is his greatest pleasure to bring us through these, and as such, we become stronger and more faithful to do what he's called us to do, but at a higher level and with greater effectiveness.

Pray today:

• For the Emmanuel family to face discouragement with persistence, for them to know peace despite loss, for them to manage lack with faith and hope.
• For staff and faculty to know without a shadow of doubt that current conditions are not permanent, that God blesses the poor when they trust in him.
• For all who love Emmanuel College to find comfort because God opens the treasures of his kingdom to his children, for them to see that sometimes our greatest need has nothing to do with money and everything to do with faithfully serving the Lord.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Enlarge

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. (Isaiah 54:2 NIV)

Today's meditation:

• Sometimes the intuitive action must yield to the counter intuitive, and the result? It's called a miracle.

Pray today:

• For benefactors to be drawn to Emmanuel College to help expand our mission, for them to invest in the development of new academic programs, in new methods and delivery systems, and perhaps even in additional locations.
• For their eyes to be opened to what God is doing at Emmanuel, to see that we are a people of purpose, a people on mission and determined to serve the Lord.
• For them to understand that part of God's plan for Emmanuel is to enlarge our ministry and expand our influence while simultaneously eliminating our debt.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Double Portion

Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. (Isaiah 61:7 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• No matter where you start or where you are, God leads his children to their destiny which despite circumstances is always the place of blessing and joy.

Pray today:

• For prosperity to come to Emmanuel College in God's timing, for a double portion - the first portion to pay the debt in full and the second portion to launch the College into a new and remarkable era of service to the church, the nation and the world.
• For miracles among our students who find their purposes in Christ, for miracles of healing and wholeness, for miracles of salvation and Christian growth, for miracles of mind and spirit that exchange the disappointments and dysfunctions of the past for a future of everlasting joy.
• For miracles among our faculty and staff who find their purpose pouring their lives into our students, for miracles of good health and peace of mind, for miracles of spiritual, professional and financial blessing.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Festive Praise

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair (Isaiah 61:3a NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Focusing on what we lack produces emotions of sadness and despair, but focusing on who is with us more than what is before us, transforms uncomfortable emotions into joyous celebrations and festive praise even as we navigate the difficult.

Pray today:

• For believers who gather for Sunday services today, for genuine worship in the presence of the Lord, for praise to rise from the consuming passion in our hearts to love and serve the Lord.
• For chapel services on campus to always point to Jesus, for festive praise to saturate our worship, for stimulating messages that call us to God's Word, for sincere prayer and communication in the Holy Spirit to relieve our stress and replace it with joyous blessing.
• For the College's spiritual life leadership team, for them to have wisdom, for discernment and knowledge in the Holy Spirit to guide every decision, for their plans to be the plans of God, for praying first to become their automatic response. 

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

The Lord's Favor

He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. (Isaiah 61:2 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Let's be clear, the enemies of God are the spiritual forces in the unseen world arrayed against the followers of Jesus, not so much the people they manipulate, people who need Jesus, and here's a sobering thought: the only Jesus they may see is the Jesus in me.

Pray today:

• For events sponsored by the Emmanuel College offices of Advancement and Admission like the gathering in Wilson, NC today, for a large gathering of alumni, friends, and prospective students.
• For this event and others like it to engage people to support the College through prayers, finances, and recruiting, for students to be drawn to inquire and enroll. 
• For the favor of the Lord to rest upon Emmanuel College, for the Lord's favor to enable our mission and expand our reach throughout the region, the nation, and around the world.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Released

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. (Isaiah 61:1 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• As Great Commission Christians, ours is to share the good news of the Gospel to those enslaved and bound by sin, that the brokenhearted take heart and the poor want no more.

Pray today:

• For the Emmanuel College Board of Trustees, for their meeting on campus in two weeks, for preparations to be completed without undue physical and emotional stress, for wisdom and spiritual discernment to pervade our discussions and decisions.
• For guidance in the management, reduction, and elimination of the College's debt, for focus beyond financial challenges to the opportunities to be seized, for release from what holds us back or slows us down, for the advancement of the Kingdom of God through the good health and vitality of Emmanuel College.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Lord, lead us

"O Lord, God of my master, Abraham," he prayed. "Please give me success today, and show unfailing love to my master, Abraham" . . . Before he had finished praying, he saw a young woman named Rebekah . . . the daughter of Bethuel, who was the son of Abraham's brother Nahor . . . "Praise the Lord, the God of my master, Abraham," he said. "The Lord has . . . led me straight to my master's relatives." (Genesis 24:12, 15, 27 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Working hard in the face of a difficult task is good, but praying first gives God an opportunity to show up which is better.

Pray today:

• For God to lead our search committees to find the right people to fill open employee positions for next fall, for us to find them, for them to find us, for prayers on both sides to result in God's confirmation.
• For faculty positions to be filled with people who love the Lord and are skilled at teaching, for staff positions to be filled with people who love the Lord and possess the qualities needed to support our students and faculty.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

The Harvest

If they sow in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit they will gather the harvest of eternal life. (Galatians 6:8b GNB)

Today's meditation:

• To reap, we must sow and to sow requires effort and hard work, but the results are up to God.

Pray today:

• For the Campus Preview recruiting event at Emmanuel College on February 27, for our admissions team to be continuously energized to share the Emmanuel experience, for prospective students to be drawn to these events by the Holy Spirit.
• For a great harvest of students to enroll next fall and in the years to come, for them to be drawn to Emmanuel from all points of the compass, for EC personnel to faithfully sow the seed of hope and opportunity, for the Spirit to bring an abundant harvest. 

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Faithful Love

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Be thankful for those who love us, who consistently pray for us, but even more, give praise and honor to the Lord whose goodness is faithfully expressed to us by his constant presence and his enduring love.

Pray today:

• For the alumni and friends of Emmanuel College to faithfully pray for us, to promote the College wherever they go - to prospective students who may one day enroll and to those who have means who can support the College financially.
• For alumni and friends gathering in Wilson, NC this Saturday, February 18 where the EC Lions basketball teams will compete, where youth groups from several churches will gather, where we will have opportunity to share the Emmanuel experience with these youth.
• For safe travels to and from the event, for strong attendance, for great fun and fellowship, for God's higher purposes to be achieved.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Crops Burst Out

Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy! (1 Chronicles 16:32 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• There are nations that cannot feed its people while we in America live in a land of plenty. Give thanks for the blessings we enjoy while helping those less fortunate through our praying, giving, and going.

Pray today:

• For our new Diversified Agriculture major to prepare our students to help improve the food supply through Ag Science, to enhance distribution and production systems through Ag Business, and through Ag Missions to teach principles of growing crops and managing livestock in places of the world where food is scarce, but where they become self-sustaining.
• For students to hear about and be drawn to our Ag program, for over 200 students who have expressed interest in the program, for our Ag faculty and admissions personnel to have wisdom in recruiting these students, for 25 new Ag students to enroll next fall.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

The Lord Reigns

Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice! Tell all the nations, "The Lord reigns!" (1 Chronicles 16:31 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• On this Lord's Day may we worship with abandon and be glad. Rejoice in the Lord!

Pray today:

• For EC Serve to be a voice to the nations, declaring God's sovereignty, sharing God's love, and performing works of mercy and compassion.
• For potential EC Serve trips to Haiti and the Cherokee nation to develop if these destinations are where he wants us to go, for every obstacle to be removed and clear passage opened before us if it is his will.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

In the Power of God

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Our talents are important and God-given, but what's more important is submitting them to the authority of the Holy Spirit, going where he leads and using them at his command.

Pray today:

• For the College's Office of Advancement, for the fundraising plan, for the personnel who implement the plan, for our commitment to rely upon the Holy Spirit.
• For our ability to communicate the needs of the College, for our messages to be clear, for our messengers to be inspired and led by the Holy Spirit.
• For many to hear the messages about need and opportunity, for people who have never heard our message to hear it now, for people to be moved by the Holy Spirit and to respond in obedience in their praying and in their giving.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Bring Your Offering

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. (1 Chronicles 16:29 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• If our vision was not limited by flesh, if we could see what really happens in the spiritual realm during worship, then fewer of us would enter his presence with restraint and apathy, while more of us would fall before him, broken over our sins, awestruck by his holiness and splendor.

Pray today:

• For our weekly chapel services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for the worship to be genuine and full of God's presence, for students, staff and faculty to bring their offerings of praise before the Lord.
• For those who speak in our chapel services to be effective communicators, to have inspired and relevant messages, to be led by the Holy Spirit.
• For students, staff and faculty to be confronted with scriptures, songs, words and testimonies that challenge and change us for the better, that move us to fulfill God's purposes, that modify our behaviors and actions to be less like the world and more like Jesus.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Glorious and Strong

O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. (1 Chronicles 16:28 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Whether we are the senders or the ones sent, never take for granted the privilege we have of declaring the Lord among those who do not know him.

Pray today:

• For EC Serve as an outreach ministry of Emmanuel College, for the EC Serve trips to various nations to declare the glory of the Lord, for those sent to be effective in their service and witness, for those to whom they are sent to be receptive, accepting the message and ministry.
• For the missions concentration of the Diversified Agriculture major, for many students to enroll in Ag Missions who minister through EC Serve while students, and who minister in short-term and long-term missions outreach after graduation.
• For Emmanuel College to be effective in telling the nations of the world that our God is the Lord, glorious and strong.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

But the Lord made . . .

The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling. (1 Chronicles 16:26-27 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• His dwelling in us produces strength and joy in us, and where he dwells, he creates what pleases him, and in turn, it pleases us.

Pray today:

• For the creation of new solutions at Emmanuel College, for ideas we've never thought of before, for creativity to implement what we've dreamed of that seems out of reach.
• For new academic majors that meet the needs of 21st Century students, for new methods of teaching and learning that help more students succeed, for new delivery systems that expand our reach and mission.
• For the courage to attempt the new, for open minds to consider the possibilities, for personnel who are not content with business as usual but are willing to be used by God to be catalysts for changing what is ineffective into what is productive and successful.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Most Worthy

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. (1 Chronicles 16:25 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• The God we reverence and praise, the God who is most worthy, the God we respect and fear is the one who says to us, "Fear not for I am with you."

Pray today:

• For the launch of Virtuosi, the new honors program at Emmanuel College that begins next fall, for those who will be recruiting students to this program, for them to be successful in marketing, in conversations, and in follow through.
• For the students to enroll who would benefit from Virtuosi, for reaching our goal of 22 in the program in the first year, for the program to attract high ability students year after year.
• For the faculty who will administer Virtuosi, for them to have wisdom, energy and stamina, for all the planning to come together perfectly in implementation.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Tell Everyone

Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. (1 Chronicles 16:24 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Stop. Think. What amazing things has God done for you? Even if you're in the middle of a crisis right now, don't let it block your view of all God has done for you. Tell everyone!

Praise and pray today:

• Praise and thank the Lord for all the hard-working people in the Emmanuel family who make good things happen, for students, staff and faculty, for trustees, for benefactors, for alumni and friends, and pray for more to join their ranks, to be determined, to never give up.
• Praise and thank the Lord for all the answered prayers, that as thousands have prayed, God has answered by sending us students and new employees as needed, by providing money and other resources in his perfect timing.  Pray for more praying because prayer works!
• Praise and thank the Lord for all the unexpected miracles we didn't pray for specifically, but God brought to us anyway to bless us, to increase our faith, to cause us joy, to help us hold fast to him, and pray for miracles to continue, knowing God is with us.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Each Day Proclaim

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. (1 Chronicles 16:23 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Our silence is deafening at times, but when you think of all the Lord has done for us, how can we be silent? Proclaim good news today.

Pray today:

• For the prospective students who attended the Love Being a Lion preview day this weekend to follow through and apply for admission, for them to engage with our admission counselors, for them to invite their friends to do the same.
• For record-breaking numbers of students to visit Emmanuel College at the next Campus Preview on February 27, for interest in the College to run high, for our admissions personnel to plan and implement an effective preview program.
• For the goal of 1000 students enrolled next fall, for that goal to be continually in our prayers, for our actions to support that goal, for alumni and friends of the College to promote the College to those around them.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Seek Him

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him. (1 Chronicles 16:11 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Around the clock, 24/7, may we be aware that God is with us, that his presence surrounds us, that his strength is ours if we faithfully reach out to him.

Pray today:

• For the prospective students in our admissions database to find God's will in their lives, for the ability of our admissions team to guide and help them, for those God is calling to Emmanuel to hear his voice clearly and to obey.
• For challenges we are having with the management of the database technology to be resolved quickly, for communication systems to work effectively, for more students to learn about Emmanuel and express genuine interest in attending.
• For enrollment to exceed 1000 students next fall, for increasing enrollments in subsequent years, for the expansion of our reach and mission.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Rejoice

Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord. (1 Chronicles 16:10 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• Joy in the middle of distress is both perplexing and exhilarating, but joy it is because of who he is, our Lord and Savior, the focus of our worship, the center of our attention.

Pray today:

• For the 31 students at Accelerant last weekend who submitted applications for admission, for 21 of them who are interested in enrolling next fall, for all of them to seek and find God's will for their lives, for those who should enroll at Emmanuel to follow-through and persist.
• For 54 additional students of all ages who expressed interest in Emmanuel by signing up for more information, for God to bless them and protect them as they navigate high school, for them to hear the voice of the Lord clearly as they make plans for their futures, for many of them to enroll at Emmanuel to prepare for what God has for them in life.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

Sing His Praises

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. (1 Chronicles 16:9 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• When praying for the next miracle, it is always good to remember previous ones and to offer praise and thanks for what God has already done.

Praise God Today:

• For our students and the potential within them, for our faculty and staff and their commitment to developing the potential in our students, for record-breaking enrollments that bring us more opportunities each year.
• For our alumni and friends who have stood with us through good times and bad, for their prayers and intercession for the College, for their faithful and generous donations that have sustained us, for telling others about Emmanuel and sending us supporters and students.
• For divinely inspired collaborations that have produced successful outcomes, for the effectiveness of EC Serve, for favor with our creditors, for great progress thus far in the reaffirmation of accreditation process with SACSCOC and in our bid to be full members of the NCAA Division II, for God's ever-abiding presence through every storm of difficulty. 

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!

They Were Amazed

Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. (Acts 12:16-17 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• When God answers our prayers with a miracle, we sometimes use words like "unbelievable" and "incredible", but after all, it's what we were praying for, which reveals the mercy of God who often answers weak faith with power. 

Pray Today:

• For God to respond to our prayers with the miraculous, for the elimination of the College's debt, for 1000 students enrolled next fall, for outreach that circles the globe.
• For our prayers to be bold, relentless, and faith-full.
• For the College's mission to be invigorated and expanded with new academic programs, new outreach ministries, new and creative methodologies.

Pray First in every circumstance, challenge, and choice. Always Pray First!