1 Cor 16:13 (NIV) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Jesus, as I look at the four principles in this verse, You are helping me receive them in faith. You helped me allow You to teach me Biblical principles about being on my guard. Now, let me allow You to expose me to the truths about standing firm in the faith.

Jesus, empower me and train me in how to stand firm. Help me let nothing move me. Empower me to always give myself fully to the work of the Lord, because I know that my labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58). Jesus, when I start wondering how long should I stand; is there a moment when I should retreat, give up, give in, or surrender, help me to stand firm. No matter how bad it looks, help me to stand firm; but, help me always realize that determination, commitment, resolve, or faithfulness CANNOT come from me; they must flow into me from You. Teach me that my labor is IN the Lord; it is not FOR the Lord. Jesus, You are doing the work in me, for me, with me, and through me; teach me that my job is to yield to it.

Jesus, help me to be patient until the Lord’s coming. Help me see how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. Let me too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near (James 5:7-8). Help me not stand in Your armor with frustration, anger, fear, doubt, and a lot of improper motives. Help me see that patience is the attitude You want to give me. Make it clear to me that the victory doesn’t always come immediately; that it can take A LOT of patience for me to win. But, if I give in to other attitudes, I will suffer while getting to the place of victory.

Jesus, help me to stand firm and hold to the teachings that have been passed on to me, whether by word of mouth or by letter help me to yield to Your words (2 Th 2:15). Help me have control over what I am thinking about while I am standing there in the full armor of God. If my thoughts are constantly going over Your words in the Bible, then I will stand with power. But, if my mind wanders off of Your words, my armor will keep me from getting killed. However, it will be quite a knockdown, drag out event. That isn’t the way I want to stand. Help me to keep the thoughts of my mind and the feelings of my heart under Your control.

Jesus, You have been speaking to me through many different sources. You have been leading me to the right people and away from those who are not speaking Your truths. You are helping me get taught the right things so I can stand firm in the faith; and, I thank You for that.

1 Cor 16:13 (NIV) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Jesus, You have been teaching me Biblical principles about standing firm in the faith. Now, I ask You to help me allow You to expose me to the truths about being a person of courage.

Jesus, You are faithful as a Son over God’s house. And I am Your house, if I hold on to my courage and the hope of which I boast (Heb 3:6). Jesus, You are God; You operate, function, and accomplish things on a God-sized, supernatural level. When I get into Your armor, help me have it on with Your courage. I am about to go to war against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Help me be ready with Your courage.

Jesus, the weapons You and I fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Cor 10:4). Help me keep in mind that I am not fighting using an armor that is dealing with just human issues. You ARE moving me into the solutions to human issues; but, the cause of all these problems is coming from a negative supernatural power. Help me get ready for divine power to demolish strongholds. Help me do this by allowing You to empower me with Your courage.

Jesus, when they see my courage and they realize that I am an unschooled, ordinary person, let them be astonished and take note that I have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). Jesus, I am always the weak link in the relationship with You. Help me not allow Satan to cause me to start looking at myself. Keep me from being convinced that I am an unschooled, ordinary person. Let this armor, this battle, and me, as a warrior, be locked inside You. Help me realize that Jesus-courage and Jesus-training only has to do with You. Let me always consider what You can do with this full armor of God.

Help me base my life on the fact that I have been with Jesus; You are making me the most schooled, unordinary person known to mankind. Since it is up to me to accept this fact in my heart and mind, empower me with Your faith in this fact.