Carter Conlon | Daily Devotionals

In the book of Acts, there were 120 failures in an upper room, praying and waiting on God. When God came, He filled them with the Holy Spirit and they became His battle plan in the New Testament. They stood out in the public square without weaponry, without a plan, but they had in their hearts the presence and power of God. They were speaking about Jesus, not about themselves. It was not about anything they had strategized. It was all about Jesus Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit. Thousands that day saw it and turned to God.

Now many of the 120 suffered for it, but they brought the gospel to us and to the whole known world. And so, you don't need to be mighty, noble, strong, or wise. All you have to do is to say yes to God's battle plan. Study the history of how God works.

And remember, it's time to pray.

Luke 9:23. Jesus said, "If anyone would be my disciple, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." When we first come to Christ, we have a tendency to focus almost uniquely and solely on ourselves. It's about my freedom, my addictions, my needs, my everything. We're babes in Christ, but there's a point of healing, learning, and growing in grace. There's also a point of maturity as well.

At some point, you and I are expected to escape ourselves and become involved in what the kingdom of God is all about. You see, It Is No Longer About Me. It's about the families that are being broken. It's about the addicted, the depressed, and so many without hope.

Ask yourself today, have I escaped the things that once held me, but failed to escape myself? Fight for somebody else. Talk to God.

It's time to pray.

I once met a missionary who had served for almost three decades in a war-torn country. He came home with certificates, medals, and accolades, but he ended up stuck in his basement and wouldn't come out. He had had a church wounding from almost 40 years earlier, and he had never forgiven the people who had done it. He knew what to do and would not do it. He had covered it all with activity, but eventually the bitterness came to the surface and ruined what should have been wonderful years.

You and I represent a kingdom of forgiveness and the One who went to a cross so that we could be forgiven. It is a kingdom that we are called not just to be ambassadors of forgiveness, but we're called to forgive ourselves. If there's somebody that you need to forgive, don't let bitterness steal your inheritance.

It's time to pray.

There comes a point where we stop coming to the house of God asking, "What's in it for me today?" And we begin to ask a different question: "God, give me something today for somebody else. Give me courage to go into that place and speak to those people. Give me victory in my own life so I can take that victory to others and say, 'Listen, I want to tell you what God has done for me, and he can do it for you.'"

This is the point of spiritual maturity, when we begin to understand that the victories God gives us are not meant to stay or stop with us. They're meant to become a testimony that helps others find hope.

Ask God today to make your life a blessing to somebody else. And join with us every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time at itstimetopray.org. People from all over the world are praying together saying, "God, bring us out of our wilderness and use our lives today for your glory."

It's time to pray.

Galatians 6:7, Paul the Apostle says, whatever a man sows, that's what he's going to reap. Whatever seed you put in the ground, that's the harvest that you're going to reap. If you plant corn, you're certainly not going to grow watermelons.

There's a day coming when you may need somebody to come and help you. You may be as low as you can go and say, "God, please send somebody to help me." But the question is now, where were you when somebody else was saying, "God, send somebody to help me?"

The Bible says in the measure that you give out for the sake of others, it's going to come back to you. Don't stay on your side of the Jordan because you found a comfortable place to live. The Lord has given you an assignment. Go today and be a helper to somebody else. If you're not sure how to do that, ask God.

It's time to pray.

You and I are living in a crisis time in this world. I personally believe that this world is launching its final assault against the lordship of Jesus Christ. You can read about that all throughout the scriptures. There are some particular chapters like Matthew 24 that deal almost exclusively with this moment. Paul the apostle talks about it in the books of Timothy and Thessalonians. I encourage you to take time and read those books and study them.

You and I are seeing this rising of lawlessness in our generation. We're beginning to realize that there is no real hope for peace, for reconciliation, and there's no hope for true justice according to the Word of God. You and I need the strength of God like never before so that we can be a light set upon a hill. We need to stand. We need to be bold. We need to show this generation that our Lord Jesus Christ is the only hope for peace in our world. In order to have this strength, remember, it's time to pray.

Numbers 32:23 says, Be sure your sin will find you out. When Moses spoke these words, there was a group of people who were considering not going with their brethren across Jordan and helping them establish their home in the promised land. They were actually very comfortable where they were. This would have been the sin of selfishness, self-focus, knowing what to do and then choosing not to do it. It wouldn't have been hidden. It would have been known.

You can hide everything that's going on in your heart with activity. You can come to church regularly, but ultimately sin will find its way out through your character. Whatever it is that you and I choose to embrace, that's actually what we will become. We can't selectively choose from the Word of God what we want to obey and ignore the rest without a consequence.

If today you know what God's asking you to do, do not put it on hold. It's time to pray.

In the book of Esther, the king had not called for Esther for 30 days. Her relationship with the king was not at its pinnacle when the call of God came, yet that was the moment that God chose to use her.

Sometimes we imagine God can only use us when everything feels perfect. We think He can only call us when our faith is strong, our prayers are passionate, and our spiritual life feels effortless. But God's calling is not dependent on our feelings. Quite often He calls us when we feel the least qualified to do what He's calling us to do. His purpose remains, even in seasons when we feel weak, distant, or uncertain.

It was never about us. It was always about the plan of God and the sake of others. If God could use Esther in an unlikely season, He can use you too. Trust Him today and answer His call, and ask Him today what that calling is. Talk to Him about it.

It's time to pray.

Judges 6:13: And Gideon said to him, "Oh my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?"

This is the question that so many people are asking today. If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened? Where are all His miracles? Where's the power of God?

Gideon was embracing unbelief and hopelessness, simply trying to survive. Yet the word of God came to him with authority and power. God was about to show Gideon that his future would not be determined by his fears, but by God's purpose for his life.

When questions arise in your heart, bring them honestly before God. But don't stop believing that your life has a divine purpose. Trust today that the Lord is still able to do in you what He's always done through others.

My brother, my sister, it's time to pray.

John 5:4 tells us, "For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water." Every once in a while, a messenger would come down and stir the water in a pool that offered healing. It would cause people to believe that they could be healed. Whoever got there first experienced the healing of God.

And as I think about that, the cry of my heart is very simple. God Almighty, stir the water again. When I speak to people who are suffering from depression, stir the water in them to believe. Let the word of God stir them to believe that they can be healed. Let faith arise again in their hearts, and in many hearts also that have grown weary from waiting.

Ask God to stir your heart today with fresh faith and to use your life to encourage someone else who's laying there waiting for hope beyond hope. God Almighty, have mercy on this generation. Stir them through my life.

It's time to pray.