Jesus, each day this week You have been working on those things that are keeping me from being able to resist those things that are hurting me. You have been training me through the Bible and helping me experience renewal. Teach me that, that will help me be able to resist through renewal. Now take me through that progressive training and help me see what You have accomplished in my life so far.

Jesus, starting with day one of this week, show me what I need to always be aware of that God has worked into my life. Show me that it is vital that I spend time appreciating and praising Him for providing me with such wonderful truths and blessings.

Rom 7:22-24 (NIV) For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my MIND and making me a PRISONER of the law of sin at work within my MEMBERS. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this BODY of death? Jesus, help me see that on the first day of this week, I discovered that my body has had the power to make me a prisoner to its drives, urges, cravings, impulses, and passions.

Jesus, since something had to change or I would remain under its control for the rest of your life; but, I didn’t know what needed to be done. I thank You that You helped lead me through important Scriptures that empowered me to start winning over my body.

Jesus, teach me that God won’t do anything about my body controlling me unless I want Him to change my behavior. Rom 7:15 (NIV) I do not understand what I do. For what I WANT to do I do not do, but what I HATE I do. Teach me that through my salvation, You gave me a WANT to do the right things. And, You gave me a HATRED for doing wrong things. Show me that if I hadn’t prayed and asked You to help me yield to that “want” and “hate,” I wouldn’t have qualified for the next step of healing and power from You.

Acts 1:8 (NIV) But you will receive POWER when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus, help me see that once I asked You to empower me to yield to the WANT and HATE attitudes from You, I had to ask You to help me allow the Holy Spirit to empower me to change. Teach me that wanting the right things is good; but, that still leaves me being controlled by my body. Show me that I needed You to help me yield to the Holy Spirit that lives inside me.

Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Jesus, teach me that the Holy Spirit is willing to empower ME to put to death the misdeeds of my body. But, I have to do it. That is why I asked You to help me know how to put to death the misdeeds of my body.

Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Jesus, You told me in Act 1:8 that the Holy Spirit would provide me with power. But, it wasn’t until I found out in Romans 8:13 that I am the one who is responsible for defeating my body that I see why I need that power. You taught me how to unite my determination, resistance, and commitment with the power of the Holy Spirit through faith in Him.

Rom 8:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Jesus, You taught me to believe the Holy Spirit is empowering my actions. My faith is in the Holy Spirit as I start making my body do those things the Bible tells me to do. But, since this is all new to me, help me understand that You made arrangements for me to have time to practice, be trained, get better at applying Biblical principles, and make a lot of mistakes without sinning.

Eph 2:8-9 (NIV) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. Jesus, teach me that this is Your solution to me being a beginner in Spiritual procedures. You not only forgave me of my past sins, You forgave me of my present sins, and my future sins too. God knows I am new at being a child of God who is learning how to operate in the spirit realm. So, He gave me grace with Him. Jesus, I thank You for that grace.

Jesus, help me understand that I am still doing damage to myself, other people, and God’s plan. But, help me see that grace keeps it from being counted against me as sins. You see my “want” and “hate” attitude and know I am trying to do the best I can. You don’t want these misdeeds of my body separating me from You. Help always realize that You know I am going to need You to help, heal, and empower me all the way to victory. So, make it clear to me that You are applying grace to my situation so I can move on to the next level.

Rom 8:13 (NIV) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Jesus, help me understand that Your blood is covering all those things I say and do that would typically be sins. Help me understand that as long as I pray and ask God to empower me to keep WANTING to do the right things and keep HATING doing the wrong things, all my “sinning” is considered to be a misdeed. But, help me see that these misdeeds are hurting me, those around me, and God’s plans.

1 Cor 6:19-20 (NIV) Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is IN you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Jesus, it’s great that Your salvation has done all these wonderful things. And, it’s great that You gave me the power of the Holy Spirit to empower me to resist the misdeeds of your body. But, I am ask You to teach me a procedure that brings all these things together. Teach and empower me to honor God with my body.

Rom 7:24 (NIV) What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be FULLY MET in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:3-4 ).

Jesus, You taught me that God is giving me grace that makes all these benefits I am receiving to be free gifts. You taught me that You forgave me of all my past, present, and future sins. You taught me that Your sacrifice on the cross turned my sins into misdeeds. And now You are teaching me that I have a perfect record with God. The big question is, what am I going to do with all this? Help me join You and win over my body. Help me not just sit down, relax, and try to feel good about a life that is hurting me and others because I have a perfect record with God.

Jesus, teach me that “fully met in us” is talking about salvation AND sanctification (spiritual growth). Teach me that the first part of “fully met in us” is through salvation: the righteous requirements of the law are FULLY MET in me during my grace period. If I join You and press forward into spiritual growth, You and I will take my perfect record with God and use that time for training and empowering me to stop hurting myself, other people, and God’s plan.

Jesus, help me understand that sanctification is the phase where You and I take all the provisions of God that I have been studying and praying about and using them to change the behavior of my body.

Jesus, teach me that the second part of “fully met in us” is through sanctification: the righteous requirements of the law might be FULLY MET in me, who does not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. This is where You are teaching me more and more how to yield to the Holy Spirit’s power and training. I still WANT to do right and HATE doing bad. So, I am joining You in taking control over my body and starting to make it do right, good, and righteous things.

Rom 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Jesus, You taught me that if I read and study the Bible as being God’s book, I will receive the messages in it as creation power. You are teaching me how to accept its words as speaking truth into me. When it says something, You are showing me that it isn’t just information, it is creating faith in me so I can believe it put its meaning into the elements of my life. You are helping me believe it spoke transformation into me.

Rom 12:10 (NIV) Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.  Rom 12:18 (NIV) If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Jesus, help me see that You want me to realize that in learning how to BY the Spirit YOU put to death the misdeeds of the body, my behavior improves with myself, other people, and God. My family, my friends, my business associates, my clients, strangers, my marriage, and even my enemies will experience Your life through me.

Jesus, You are teaching me to see how powerful the Word of God has already been by saving me. I am already a walking miracle. Help me see what You have already done in my life. Let that fact help me believe in You and the Bible for my future.

Rom 10:8 (NIV) But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: Jesus, help me see that many Christians use these two tools of mouth and heart for salvation and then wonder how to handle all the other needs in their life. You are introducing me into the process of going back to the requirements of salvation and justification and applying those tools to other aspects of the Bible. That is going to change a lot of things in my future.

Rom 10:9 (NIV) That if you CONFESS with your MOUTH, “Jesus is Lord,” and BELIEVE in your HEART that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Jesus, join me in taking out time to look back at my life and see how powerful these two tools have been in bringing me salvation and justification. Show me how much Christianity has change the direction of my life and let it impress me. Show me where I would be now, if I hadn’t confessed and believed. Show me how my future can be greatly enhanced by these tools.

Rom 10:10 (NIV) For it is with your heart that you believe and ARE justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and ARE saved. Jesus, help me realize that when I used these two powerful spiritual tools, I was born again as a child of God, became a member of God’s family, and a citizen in His eternal kingdom. Let this show me how powerful these tools are. Help me see how miraculously these tools work. Let that help me trust them to provide me with many Biblical principles.

Jesus, Your training and all the prayers I have prayed to You have brought me to a dynamic spiritual place. This is where I can get very actively involved in the sanctification process. Help me understand that I will now be able to get the wonderful things in the Bible to move into my heart, mind, and life. As You help me become more trained, equipted, experienced, skilled, and mature, You will use these studies and prayers to help build a foundation with You that will grow me into a spiritually successful child of God.