Carter Conlon | Daily Devotionals

There is new life in Jesus. There's freedom in Jesus. There's divine purpose. What God is doing in your life will not be rescinded. It will not be turned back. Nobody will have to go and lie down by the pool of paralysis again. What a promise.

The man at Bethesda did not leave healed only to return to the same place next week. God gave him a new future. The same is true for everyone who encounters the power of God. Christ does not call us out of bondage so we can return to it again. He calls you today into freedom, into purpose, into a brand new life. Leave behind what needs to be left behind and walk forward today with God.

Join with people from over 200 countries around the world every Wednesday night at itstimetopray.org, 7 p.m. Eastern Time. We are believing God for an end-time spiritual awakening that is ushered in by Christ's presence in a victorious army.

It's time to pray.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity 38 years. John 5:5.

This poor man was there at this pool, hoping for healing for 38 years, hoping beyond hope every day, coming every day, crawling, hoping somehow that the healing he'd heard about in somebody else's life could eventually become his. Day after day he waited for the stirring of the water.

There are people today who feel exactly the same way. They've been waiting for a long time. They've watched God touch others and wondered, will my day ever come? Yet Jesus walked directly into that place and He saw this man. He knew how long he had been there.

Never, ever believe that God has forgotten you because your answer has taken longer than you'd hoped or expected. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ and trust today that He still sees you, He still loves you, He still wants you.

It's time to pray.

Romans 1:16, Paul says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.

What kind of people is God looking for today? The answer is clear. He's looking for people who are willing to go public, people who are willing to say what God says, how God gives it to them, doing God's will, God's way, for His honor first and then for the sake of others.

For the sake of our children, our families, our towns, our cities, the addicted, the afflicted, the nobodies, the nothings, the radicalized, the immoral, the casual saint, we must now be unapologetic about the power of God. We don't have to know the Greek and Hebrew, folks, to do this. We just have to know the name Jesus and be willing to go public with it and with his power emanating from our lives.

I'm willing to be counted. Who wants to go with me?

It's time to pray.

That is my prayer now. God, it's time for You to act. It's time for You to take Your right hand out of Your bosom once again and show Your power to another generation.

You and I are living in a time when so many are hurting, so many are struggling, and so many are waiting again for the stirring of the water. I don't want to settle for a powerless presentation of Jesus Christ. I want to see His name honored again in this generation. I want to see Him working with power among the people.

Let this also become the cry of your own heart. Ask God to reveal His power, His mercy, and His presence through you to a generation that desperately needs Him once again. They're waiting for the touch of God. Let it be your life that God chooses to use.

It's time to pray.

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water. John 5:3-4.

The picture of Bethesda is a picture of our generation. A great multitude was waiting for something that they could not do for themselves. They were blind, they were lame, paralyzed, and desperate for a miracle.

Today, there are multitudes waiting again. They're searching for freedom, healing, peace, and a purpose in life. They know there must be something more than the life that they're living.

Now God has never been indifferent to human suffering. He sees every wounded heart, every hidden struggle, every silent cry for help. When Jesus arrives, hopeless situations become opportunities once again for His glory to be revealed.

Never underestimate what God can do. Talk to Him.

It's time to pray.

If you feel the Holy Spirit stirring you, it's time to say, "God, I've been addicted long enough. I've been depressed long enough. I've been down long enough. I'm done with this. I'm getting up and I'm coming home."

There comes a moment in every life when enough is enough. A moment when we stop making peace with what has kept us down and start responding to the voice of God that's calling us to life. The man at Bethesda could have stayed where he was. He'd been there for 38 years, but Jesus called him to get up.

Maybe today is your day to stop agreeing with defeat. Maybe today is the day to stop settling for less than what God has for your life. Hear His voice today.

Join with people from over 200 countries around the world every Wednesday night at itstimetopray.org, 7 p.m. Eastern Time. We are believing God for an end-time spiritual awakening that is ushered in by Christ's presence in a victorious army.

It's time to pray.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6.

There's still a multitude waiting today for the moving of the water. They're waiting for something to happen that only God can do. Many are carrying wounds, battling depression, fear, hopelessness, and despair. They've heard about miracles, but they're still wondering if God will ever move in their own lives.

The answer has never been found in a place or a program. The answer is still Jesus Christ. The same God who spoke light into darkness still shines His light into human hearts today. When His presence comes, darkness loses its power and hope begins to rise.

Ask God to make your life a testimony of this reality today. Somebody needs to hear it.

It's time to pray.

Matthew 5:14. Jesus said, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

You are that light, chosen by God to be placed in a prominent place. There has to be a church, someone, somewhere, that is able to stand for God and with God, whose life says to those who are hopeless and lost, "This is the way to victory."

There has to be someone who's willing to declare, "This is who God is, this is what God does, this is what faith produces, and this is what freedom looks like," simply by how they live each day as a witness for Christ.

You are the light of the world. Pray that God would make you into what you're supposed to be.

It's time to pray.

For 38 years, the man at the pool of Bethesda believed that his miracle was somewhere out in front of him. If he could just get to the water first, if he could just move a little bit faster next time, if somebody would finally help him. Then Jesus came. He no longer had to crawl to the water. The water had actually come to him.

Many people spend their lives waiting for something outside of themselves to change before they believe that God can work in their lives. But when Jesus comes, everything changes. The Word of God comes near. Hope comes near. Strength comes near. The answer is no longer somewhere in the distance.

The Savior today is standing right in front of you. Stop looking in the wrong places and begin to realize that the Christ before you is able to provide everything that you need. Come to Him right now. Right now. Come to Him today. He wants to bring healing into your life.

It's time to pray.

It's time not to fight. It's time to stand. It's time to speak. It's not time for you and I to nurse our wounds. It's not time for us to sit at home and worry about our struggles and all of our own trials. We all have individual problems. We're all going to have them until Christ returns.

I want a bigger vision than myself. I want to see God working. I want to see the heart of God satisfied. I want to see people come to Christ as Savior. I want to see those who are on the edge of giving up find a reason to live.

There comes a moment when you and I stop focusing on ourselves and start focusing on the burden of God. Would you ask Him today to lift your eyes above your own struggles and to give you a vision that is bigger than yourself? He's right here with you throughout all your problems. He will keep you. It's now about other people. We need God to do what only God can do through us. It's time to pray.