Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness. 27The churning inside me never stops; days of suffering confront me.

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. 2For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?

“If I have walked with falsehood or my foot has hurried after deceit— 6let God weigh me in honest scales and he will know that I am blameless—

if I have concealed my sin as people do, by hiding my guilt in my heart

Lord God my Father,

Give me strength to deal with life as it is, give me Peace to keep my focus on you alone. Protect me from evil desires and keep my heart close to you. Purify my life so I may honor you with all thoughts.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”

“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter, 3as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, 4my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies.

Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? 21It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds in the sky.

“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”

Lord God my Father,

You are too great for me to understand but your ways are restful. Keep me from struggling to understand your plan but keep my desire to follow you strong. Keep me from understanding your wisdom but allow it to rest on me, keep my thoughts in your will.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

in the face of the darkness light is near.

Ten times now you have reproached me; shamelessly you attack me. 4If it is true that I have gone astray, my error remains my concern alone. 5If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and use my humiliation against me, 6then know that God has wronged me and drawn his net around me.

I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed. 3I hear a rebuke that dishonors me, and my understanding inspires me to reply.

Lord God my Father,

You are the light, hope and delight that puts everything in it’s place. Help me to follow you only and not listen to any of my own thoughts. Without you, my decisions are weak, you are my strength. Keep me under your peace and protect me from understanding on my own.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, 13so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?

Then Job replied: 2“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! 3Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin and buried my brow in the dust. 16My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes; 17yet my hands have been free of violence and my prayer is pure.

My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; 21on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend.

Lord God my Father,

No matter my frame of mind, you are my Lord. Protect me and encourage me in your will to rest only in your Truth. Help me to reveal your way in all I do so your hope is apparent. Keep me from acting on my own. You are my strength, hope and future.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you 6and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides.

though I called on God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! 5Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. 14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. 15If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. 4You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! 5If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

Lord God my Father,

Speak to me and make me see my ways, restore me to your design for me. I am a sinner and unworthy, I need your Truth to restore my soul and heal the wounds of my past. Cause me to wear your way well and allow your comfort to encourage those around me. Help us to surrender the struggles that bind us and rest with you, bring stillness to our thoughts. Keep me from listening to others unless you are in them and following you completely.

In Jesus name i pray,

Amen

Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.

“But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? 29Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. 30Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?

“What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, 18that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?

Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand. 4His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?

Lord God my Father,

Protect my thoughts and keep me from questioning your plan, help me to accept all that you are without a desire of my own. Help me to accept your test with your Peace as my strength. I can never understand you, only surrender to your way and experience what you allow me to.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.

I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

“We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”

Lord God my Father,

Give me the heart of Job, cause me to lift my family and bless it, asking for your protection and blessing as well as strength in times of struggle. Satan is always looking for an opportunity to harm me, but my life is in you. Help to gain all my strength from your Truth and allow your Peace to grow from it.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it was called Babel

Lord God my Father,

Keep me from advancing myself but allow me to express only glory for you in all my desires. Keep your Peace my most important focus and help me to share it well with others so your Hope overwhelms the struggles of the day.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Lord God my Father,

I wish to live in such a way that you look with favor on me, show me how to run from my sin nature and rest in your way, help me to do what is right in your eyes. Keep me close so I don’t wander or become restless. Help me to show the wicked, your peace that heals us and help me to do your will at all times.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Lord God my Father,

Restore my emotions to how they were designed, give me your Peace that sets all thoughts right. Remove my rebellious desire so I can be obedient through your peace.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen