Carter Conlon | Daily Devotionals

There's something rising in the heart of believers in Christ that is telling us that something in our time is not right. It's not right that evil is getting the upper hand. It's not right that good is being called evil and evil is being called good. It's not right that our children are falling prey and victims to ungodliness even in their schools. It's not right that our families are under attack, as if somehow a husband, a wife, and children is a deficient thing in society.

We might not be the biggest person in the kingdom of God, but by the living Christ in us, you and I need to take a stand. We need to allow Christ to make a difference in us and cause our voices to count for things that are eternal. Let's not allow the army of darkness to taunt the armies of the living God and the integrity of our God any longer. It's time for you and I to stand up and, in the power of Christ within us, make a difference.

It's time to pray.

In the land where we focus on ourselves, it can get pretty hungry there. The Christian life is meant for so much more, and when we focus only on our own needs, we start to starve. That's what happened to the son in Luke 15. He became so hungry that he wanted to eat the food that was given to pigs. He looked for somebody to give him something, but everybody around him was just as selfish, and nobody gave him anything.

If you're spiritually starving today, don't keep looking for nourishment in the same place that made you empty. Come back to the Father's house where there is nourishment, and plenty of it. And not just nourishment: there's love, there's forgiveness, there's empowerment, and there's a commission that will make your life worthwhile, because God has destined you for a purpose in this earth. Find that purpose today. Talk to God.

It's time to pray.

Be very sure today that God has a purpose for your life. Be very sure that there is an authority that comes with that purpose. Words of wisdom, words of knowledge, gifts of the Holy Spirit, abilities to speak and do things that you could never have done in your own strength, and direction you never could have found through natural ability or reasoning.

Be very sure that the power of God will become yours. Be very sure that when you walk into a room, the power of God will walk in with you. Be very, very sure that people will start asking you for a reason for the hope that is within you.

God will find you, empower you, strengthen you, change you, use you, and put a new song in your heart. Walk today in the purpose that God has given you. Don't be afraid of it. He loves you. He has a calling on your life.

It's time to talk to Him about it, because it's now time to pray.

The pathway to God's power leads often through loneliness. Think about Esther, taken out of her natural family and brought into a place that was unfamiliar to her. Then came a moment when the king had not called for her for 30 days. The calling of God came to her at a time when she felt distant from the king.

Many believers today know what this feels like. There are seasons when God seems quiet and His presence does not feel as near as it once did. Yet those moments do not cancel His purpose for our lives. Learn today to trust God in the lonely places. He's still working even when you cannot see it. The pathway may be difficult, but His hand is still upon your life.

Join with us every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at itstimetopray.org, where people from all over the world are gathering together saying, "God, we need a spiritual awakening."

It's time to pray.

Be very, very sure of one thing today. Just as the prodigal son once did, if you head towards God, God will get to you before you get to Him. Be very, very sure that He loves you. Be very sure today that He wants to forgive you. Be very sure that He wants to embrace you and take the stain of your failure upon Himself. Be very sure that He wants to cleanse you, to change you, to transform you. He wants to call you a son. He wants to call you a daughter and send you out to do what your life was supposed to do right from the very beginning.

Don't stay far away any longer. Don't stay away because you're afraid of rejection. God won't reject you. He'll embrace you. He'll cover you. He'll forgive you. He'll empower you. And then He'll send you. Get up right now and head towards God.

It's time to pray.

God can make old truths new to our hearts. He can send His word and set people free. He can heal the brokenhearted. He can open the door to those who are captive. He can correct the pathway of those who have deviated from the truth. He can give clarity to those whose minds are confused. He can give strength to those who are weary and give resources to those who are poor. This is simply who God is and so much more.

Let's pray that the Lord gives us the grace and wisdom to reach people who have settled for a path for their lives that's not sufficient. It's not what God has called them to be or where He has called them to go. You see, my brother, my sister, the coming of the Lord is very, very soon. It's up to you and I to share the truth that God has revealed to our hearts and not hold back in a single thing.

Pray that God would give you courage today.

Remember, to get this courage, it's time to pray.

In Luke 15, Jesus told the story of a son who left his father's house and wasted his inheritance living for himself. When he finally returned home, his father embraced him, covered him with a robe, put a ring of authority on his finger, and put shoes on his feet.

Now those shoes speak of something important. God has a pathway for you, a plan for your life, a journey He's going to take you on into somebody else's struggle. Be very, very sure that you will not walk there alone. You will walk into that place with God by your side and being your strength. There's no giant that can stand and no prison door that can stay closed when you move with God's power into somebody else's battle.

Now God has a journey for your life. Be willing to go everywhere that He's calling you to be sent.

It's time to pray.

The son in Luke 15 finally came to himself. He did not fully understand his father's house, but he knew it was better there than where he was. He was starving, and in his father's house there was nourishment and plenty of it. You see, his sin of selfishness had found him out. His neglect of what he was called to do had left him spiritually starving.

Maybe you're a child of God and you're saying, "What's wrong with me? Why am I so unfulfilled? Why am I spiritually starving all the time?" Do like the prodigal son once did. Get up and head home to the heart of your father. You may not fully understand everything about his house, but you do know in your heart that there's something more there for you. No matter where you've fallen or what you've done, when you head home, the embrace of God will meet you long before you find it.

It's time to pray.

When you take up your cross, you will find that some people will turn against you. It's almost as natural as breathing. When you go all in for God, there will be a force of hell that comes against you to stop you. You can set your watch by it. Actually, you can be sure of it.

I always call Judas an unfortunate necessity in our redemption. Without Judas, there would have been no cross, and without the cross, there'd be no redemption. There are seasons when opposition doesn't make any sense. There are moments when betrayal deeply hurts, yet God is still working His purpose.

Trust Him today, even though the road might be difficult. He's able to use what was meant to stop you to move you actually closer to His calling.

Join with us every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at itstimetopray.org, where people from over 200 countries are gathering together and saying, "God, use my life for your glory."

It's time to pray.

In Luke 15, a son asked his father for his inheritance. He wanted freedom, forgiveness, the feeling of knowing what belonged to him, but he took it and went far away from his father's heart. He spent everything that he had on himself.

You know, there's a point of healing, a point of learning, a point of growing in grace, but there is also a point of maturity as well, where you and I understand that if any of us would be the disciple of Jesus Christ, we must deny ourselves, take up our own cross, and follow Him. There comes a time when life can no longer be only about what I want.

I want to encourage you today to get up from the land of self-focus and begin to live for what matters to God the Father. He loves us, yes, no doubt, but He wants to use us to bring others into the same understanding of His love.

It's time to pray.