It’s easy to look around and feel behind.

They got the job. 

They found the relationship. 

They bought the house.

They are figuring out life…and you may be wondering: “did I miss my turn?”

But Psalm 139:16 says, You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (NLT) What does that mean? It means that God is not pacing you against anyone else around you. He’s guiding you on a timeline that’s wise, intentional, customized, and filled with purpose. 

You’re not late. You’re not behind. You’re being shaped by a God who loves you. 

Here’s one thought for today: God’s Not comparing your timeline to anyone else. And you don’t have to either. 

If you need a moment to breath and trust His timing again, we have a guided prayer for you below:

Shame has a way of convincing you that you’re too far gone or just out of reach. Making you believe that you’ve messed up at least one too many times for God to want you. Shame looks like…

Replaying old mistakes

Feeling permanently stuck in a pattern you can’t break

Internalizing negative thoughts so much that you start saying, “I am bad” instead of “I did something bad.”

Shame gets loud and tries to drown out this truth: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. Let’s personalize that- While I was still a sinner, Jesus died for me.”

Jesus didn’t wait for you to fix yourself. He doesn’t love you because you got it together. 

He loved you first. He loved you at your worst. 

And He loves you now. 

Take this thought with you today: God’s love for you isn’t based on you. It’s based on His character and His character doesn’t change. If you want a prayer to help quiet shame, pray this with us:

You don’t need a new year, new month, or new job to start over. Sometimes you just need a reminder: new isn’t as far away as it may feel. Lamentations 3:23 says that God’s mercies are “new every morning.” Think about where you’re struggling, where you’re longing for a fresh start, where you’re looking for forgiveness. Now think about how far away tomorrow morning it. 

Every sunrise is proof that God hasn’t given up on you. There’s forgiveness, God’s love, and mercy waiting for you every morning. 

So, no. You haven’t missed your chance. God hasn’t changed His mind about you. You can begin again, today, with God. 

If you want one takeaway here it is: God is known for new beginnings. When you’re ready to start fresh, we have a prayer waiting for you below:

Feeling inadequate can be paralyzing. Maybe you’ve said one of these things lately…

I’m not talented enough. Not spiritual enough. Not confident enough. Just…not enough. 

But over and over in the Bible, God chooses people that we would never pick to be influencers for Him: shepherds, fishermen, the overlooked, insecure, and unqualified. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 says that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Meaning this: your weakness is the very place that God shows off His strength. Your weakness doesn’t disqualify you – it actually qualifies you to be used by God in a significant way. 

Take this one thought with you today: God uses your ordinary to show off His extraordinary. If inadequacy has been keeping you stuck, we have a prayer for you below:

Are you a fan of “new?” New things can be exciting and unsettling at the same time. Is there anything new in your life? New school, new job, new relationship, new responsibilities, new challenges? Everything new brings a certain… uncertainty. Sometimes the hardest thing about anything new is the fear of facing it alone.

In Exodus 33, God invited Moses to do something new and wildly outside of his comfort zone. Moses is unsure and anxious. He goes back and forth with God a couple times but each time, God assures Moses, “I will be with you.” (v.12) 

God may be sending you somewhere new but He’s not giving these instructions from a distance. He goes with you. 

So, if you’re stepping into something new today like a conversation or decision, God walks with you. Not standing behind you, pushing you forward or yelling from a distance. God goes with you. 

If you want to pray before stepping into something new, we have a guided prayer for you below:

Growth rarely feels comfortable. Growing pains are called growing pains for a reason! Either literally or figuratively, growth is stretching and sometimes slow or frustrating. When growth happens in a difficult season, you can wonder, “is anything good actually coming from this?” 

James, one of the authors in the Bible, tells us that followers of Jesus can have joy whenever you face trials because these tests can strengthen your faith and actually produce perseverance. God doesn’t waste a single moment in a difficult season. (James 1:2-4)

When we avoid difficult things in life, we might be avoiding something God is leading us towards. He uses these things to form you into who He’s calling you to become. When you go there with Him, be confident He’ll create in you resilience, character and faith. Take this one thought with you: God uses challenges to shape something good in you. 

If you’re feeling these growing pains with God, we’ve created a prayer for you below:

It seems like prayer can mean different things to different people. You might think it’s a confession. Something that you do to clean up before coming back to God. Your prayers sound like a continual, “I’m sorry,” to God, and that might get old after a while. Maybe that’s why you procrastinate praying or have stopped praying altogether. 

There’s one book that has more prayers than anywhere else in the Bible: the Psalms. And when you read the Psalms, you might be surprised by what you see. Brutal honesty. The writers hold nothing back and bring everything to God. 

Joy. Anger. Fear. Doubt. Confession. Hope.

Psalm 62:8 invites you to “trust in Him at all times; pour out your hearts to Him; for God is our refuge.” 

Pouring out your heart means your whole heart. Are you just letting God see your filtered or polished parts? God isn’t impressed by pretending, and it’s probably exhausting for you. Be encouraged by this one truth today: God wants your honesty, not religious pretending. If you want help praying honestly, join us in the guided prayer below:

Have you noticed how much time you spend trying to change certain unwanted behaviors? There’s probably something you’re trying to work on yourself right now. Maybe you’ve been working at starting or stopping something for a long time. Our strategies typically sound something like, “try harder, do better, just break the bad habits and start new ones.” 

God’s strategy, though, is not any of these things. It goes deeper. God says in Ezekiel 36 that He will “give His people a new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 36:26). Meaning, before any actions can change, your heart has to change. Before new habits start, your spirit needs to be made new. 

Thank goodness spiritual growth isn’t about self-improvement. It’s about letting God transform you starting with what’s most important. If you let Him, He will reshape what you love, what you want, and who you’re becoming. 

Here’s your one takeaway today: God works from the inside out. If you want to invite God into this deeper, heart-level change, we have a prayer for you:

It’s easy to think God is disappointed with you. Especially when (not if) you’ve fallen short again, said you would change and haven’t, or feel stuck in old habits you can’t break. Shame might be what you’re feeling. Shame has a way of convincing you that God’s posture towards you is crossed arms and angry eyes. 

But Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation means no guilt. So please don’t think that God is standing over you shaking His head. He’s with you and offers You his grace. Grace means forgiveness of your shortcomings: past, present, and future. And speaking of future, grace means a future full of hope. Be reminded of this one truth today: God has grace for you.

We tend to call something a blessing when it makes life easier. But what if that’s too small a definition? Be open to a blessing in the form of change, responsibility, or growth that you didn’t ask for but desperately need. God often blesses in ways that stretch us. And we can be thankful for this because when He does, our faith deepens and our character forms. Romans 5 says, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”

So here’s your one takeaway: Some of God’s greatest blessings will stretch you before they settle you. If you want to pray about seeing God’s goodness even when life feels messy, we have a guided prayer for you below:

Have you ever wondered what Jesus sees first when He looks at you? Here’s the good news up front: it’s not a problem to be fixed.

In Mark 2, a paralyzed man is lowered through the roof by his friends. They’re desperate to get him to Jesus so that He could fix their friend. But instead of fixing the physical need, Jesus first speaks to his deepest spiritual need. Jesus said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Those words shocked everyone. 

Jesus eventually healed this man physically, but He didn’t start there. Jesus understands that each of us are not problems to be fixed, but people to be restored. He doesn’t see us as a project, and He doesn’t reduce you to your struggles. How do you see yourself? You are more than your bad decisions, struggles, and sins. Be encouraged with this one thought today: Jesus sees more than your behavior, and He forgives you. If you want to pray through this with us, we have a prayer for you below: