Carter Conlon | Daily Devotionals

We live in a world that's like a magnet. It's pulling people down into a place of despair. It's pulling them down where they think they won't be able to get out. They can't change their thinking, and they're beginning to be filled with rage. We have a lot of college students like this. They can't tolerate a contrary opinion, and they're being pulled into this mire.

It's imperative to know who Christ is. Abide in the strength that He freely offers to all of us. If we want it, it can be ours. All we have to do is reach out to God and ask. 

Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 PM EST at itstimetopray.org. People worldwide get together and say, "God, give us the strength that you died to give us." 

It's time to pray.

Amid a rapidly unraveling society, we must be prepared for the challenging times we face. The apostle Paul talked about a surge of lawlessness in the last few days. Presently, we're witnessing lawlessness pervading our streets, schools, homes, and society's structures and voices. 

The disregard for rules and the rejection of absolute truth have become prevalent. Everyone seems eager to create their truth, with the loudest voices temporarily holding the moment's truth until someone louder emerges. It's an incredibly confusing and difficult era in which we now find ourselves. 

To navigate this tumultuous time, we must anchor our lives in the gospel's truth and establish our ways on God's promises. We need to seek stability from God, not only to survive but also to make a positive impact in this confusing world. 

To do so, remember it's time to pray.

1 Samuel 17:25 says, "So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely, he has come up to defy Israel, and it shall be that the man who kills him, the king, will enrich him with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father's house exemption from taxes in Israel.’”

When religion departs from the presence and power of God, all it can offer to the people is wealth, status, and power. If you're listening to any voice offering you that in God's name, you are listening to one that has lost touch with God’s genuine power. When you hear that voice, run for your life: it's leading you away from Christ. Not only is it dangerous for you to listen, but it is frightening to imagine that speaker's future. 

There is one clear way to know the difference. 

It's time to pray.

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”

To trust in God, we must first know who He is and what He says. Spending time in His Word allows us to comprehend His heart and the promises He has made to us. He promises never to leave or forsake us. He promises to give us abundant life. He promises that no weapon formed against us will prosper and that we can condemn any accusation that rises against us.

These promises are our inheritance. The Word of God assures us that we're cleansed through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The devil cannot accuse us of past failures or hinder us from fully embracing God's future for us. Trust in God with your whole heart. Put your complete reliance on Him because He cannot lie. He can be trusted. 

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

In John 15:4–7, Jesus says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

The strength required to navigate the challenges of our current circumstances can only be attained through a deep connection with Jesus Christ. This strength comes from internalizing God's truth within our very being and being empowered by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. It enables us to rise above the struggles of this world and walk confidently on a firm path. 

Even as the systems around us tremble, we will not be shaken. As we abide in Christ, our hearts must stay grounded in truth. We must possess an unwavering faith in God. 

Remember my brother, my sister, it's time now to pray.

In  John 16:33, Jesus said, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace." 

In this world, you will have trouble. As Christians, we may face difficulties and challenges that test our faith. However, take heart, for Jesus has triumphed over this world and its power to bring us down. Before knowing Christ, we lacked the strength to resist the downward pull of darkness, sin, and despair. With Jesus Christ dwelling in us, these troubles cannot overpower us. Problems may arise, but we're already victorious through the love of Jesus. Nothing can separate us from Christ's eternal love and peace. 

Join us on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM EST at itstimetopray.org. People worldwide gather to praise God and pray for the strength only He can give. 

It's time to pray.

I once addressed a group of men in a football stadium and delivered a simple message. In Christ, you are already in the end zone. Before the game even starts. Spike the ball, start dancing, and declare victory because He has won it for you, and you are now in Him. Yes, we will face opposition, but we will not be overcome. Jesus declared, "I have overcome this world."
 Every kind of violence, persecution, depression, accusation, and mockery was thrown at Him, yet He defeated them all and rose by God's power on the third day. We're now seated at the right hand of God in Christ Jesus fully loved, victorious, and received by God. Therefore, we're more than conquerors through Jesus Christ. This world can feel free to throw at us whatever it wants, but it will not bring us down because we have the risen Christ within us. It's time to pray.

In the gospel of Luke 4:18–19, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

I wish you a Happy New Year, and I want to advise you on how your new year can indeed be happy. Follow down two more verses from what I just read, and Jesus says, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

If you want to have a happy new year, the best way I know is to let Jesus do what He came to do in your life. Don't hold back. 

It's time to pray.

Exodus 3:7–8 says, "The LORD said, ‘I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them.’" 

On this New Year's Day, let's look at the moment in which we’re living. The increasing downward spiral is very troubling. We all see this spewing of hatred, violence, and division. Isn't it time we came together to pray for our nation? 

We must know that we're not praying to some distant, cosmic entity that isn't interested in the things of this world or willing to intervene. God is willing to deliver us. We need to stand in the strength of God with His confidence and begin to call out for a nation that has truly lost its way. Now, that would be a truly happy New Year. 

It's time to pray.

Matthew 7:24–26 says: "Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." 

I am determined in my heart to walk with the real Jesus. I'm determined to let His value system become mine. If He says I should love my enemies, then I will love my enemies. I will forgive those who have cursed me if He tells me to forgive them. I will not set my judgment above the Word of God. 

God promises that when the winds beat on my house, and the rains and the floods come, my house will stand because it's built upon a rock. I believe in His Word.

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