Ask the Father

[Jesus said], "You didn't choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you could go and produce fruit and so that your fruit could last. As a result, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you." (John 15:16 CEB)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise Jesus for choosing us to carry on part of his work on earth. Thank God for the honor and privilege to serve him through Emmanuel College.

Today's prayer topics:

• In the war we are fighting for Emmanuel College, there have been many prayers offered over meetings and conference calls that later produced much fruit and significant results. Thank you for praying.
• Pray for a very important conference call today to be saturated with the presence of the Holy Spirit.
• Ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to give us favor with all the participants, to create fertile ground for successful solutions, and to plant seeds of hope that one day bear fruit, lasting fruit of full economic recovery and a debt free campus.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

If You Follow Jesus

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." (John 8:12 NLT)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise Jesus for allowing us to exchange death for life everlasting.

Today's prayer topics:

• If we follow Jesus, it's like seeing in the dark - no stumbling, no fear. Pray for us at Emmanuel College to follow him closely, walking in the light.
• Pray for our students to know Jesus and to follow his light that leads to life.
• Pray for our faculty, staff, students, and graduates to generously share Jesus, illuminating darkness and leading others to life without fear.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

Never Be Hungry

Jesus replied, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35 NLT)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise Jesus because he is more than enough - end of story.

Today's prayer topics:

• If Jesus is the bread of life, then why do we often have an insatiable hunger for peace in our lives. Pray we not allow trouble into our souls, creating false hunger that Jesus has already satisfied. Jesus is our peace.
• If Jesus is the water of life, then why do we often struggle with an unquenchable thirst for security. Pray we stop lusting after earthly treasure, which is a thirst that cannot be satisfied. Jesus is our treasure.
• If Jesus is the bread and water of life, then why do we as Christians often behave no differently than pagans and unbelievers in matters of the heart. Forgive us, Lord, and may we drink deeply and eat heartily, filling ourselves with you.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

Prepare the Way

A voice of one calling: "In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill make low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5 NIV)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise God for sending Jesus over 2000 years ago, and the world celebrates still.

Today's prayer topics:

• Pray for the glory of the Lord to be revealed through his work at Emmanuel College that people may know there is a God who loves endlessly and works wonderfully among his children.
• While in the wilderness, God instructed the people to prepare for a better day when God's power would dramatically change everything. Pray for us at Emmanuel College to prepare our hearts and minds for the day rough ground and rugged places are smoothed out.
• May prayer and devotion to the Lord inspire us to construct a clear pathway through a barren landscape, and pray for the elimination of valleys of despair and mountains of debt along the way.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

Far Beyond

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." (Isaiah 55:8 NLT)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise God who is above and beyond anything we can imagine.

Today's prayer topics:

• Pray we trust his view of the battlefield, whether mine, yours, or the one for Emmanuel College.
• Pray we tune-in his thoughts and adjust ours to his, appropriately God-sizing our expectations.
• Pray we do not settle for our limited imagination of what is possible, but expand our ways to include his.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

We Can Know

No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. (1 Corinthians 2:11-12 NLT)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise God for giving us the Holy Spirit to comfort, to guide, to inspire, and to do what seems impossible to us.

Today's prayer topics:

• Pray we utterly and completely reject the world's spirit that kills the faith of many and limits their thoughts to mere human possibilities.
• Pray we know God's thoughts through the work of  the Holy Spirit, empowering us to be used to accomplish more than we think we are capable of.
• Pray we operate in the Spirit more and more, opening doors to the wonderful solutions God has for Emmanuel College.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.

By His Spirit

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT)

Today's praise topic:

• We praise God for knowing how to love us in ways that stimulate our faith, providing for our needs. 

Today's prayer topics:

• Pray for God's plan for Emmanuel College to be clear to each person who plays any part, no matter how small or how large.
• Pray no obstacle or challenge looms larger in our imaginations than the trust we have in our all-powerful, all-knowing God.
• Pray for Spirit-inspired thoughts to stimulate our imaginations, separating what is humanly probable from what is Spirit-possible.

Never give up unless its praise we give up to God; never give in except to give in to him.