Prayer Closet Devotionals

Have you ever experienced troubled water in your life? If so, you are not alone. God is for us and if we seek him he will answer us.

Psalm 25

Of David.

1 In you, Lord my God,

    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you

    will ever be put to shame,

but shame will come on those

    who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,

    teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my Savior,

    and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,

    for they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth

    and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

    for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right

    and teaches them his way.

10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful

    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

11 For the sake of your name, Lord,

    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?

    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.

13 They will spend their days in prosperity,

    and their descendants will inherit the land.

14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;

    he makes his covenant known to them.

15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,

    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 Relieve the troubles of my heart

    and free me from my anguish.

18 Look on my affliction and my distress

    and take away all my sins.

19 See how numerous are my enemies

    and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,

    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,

    from all their troubles!

We may not know the reasons for our heartaches and struggles in this life, but the wisest choice we can make is to trust our heavenly Father. As God's children, we can take heart in knowing that our pain is not wasted.

Living your life for Christ cannot be modeled better than through the life of Paul. I invite you to take a deeper look into his life during our time together. I pray it inspires you to live a life pleasing to God.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Philippians 3:7-10

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

LUKE 6:46-49

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you (Jesus’ Commands & Teachings)?Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Jesus will always help us and comfort us during the good and bad moments of our lives. He will help you find the answers you are seeking. 

FLOODS  = Trials

1 Peter 1:7

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

A life lived with Jesus is a life well built! 

JESUS IS THE ROCK: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 

"According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

In Matthew 7:24-27 we hear the same teaching only said a bit differently:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

fool·ish adjective

(of a person or action) lacking good sense or judgment; unwise.

Proverbs 9:6 “Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.”

Those who call Upon Jesus

We want to be those people who call upon the Lord and hear his commands. We need to build our life upon the foundation of Jesus.

Romans 10:9-10

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Once we are saved through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we receive the Holy Spirit as our helper. 

Ephesians 1:13-14

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Jesus, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Does your life reflect the living will of God?

Is your life a testimony of your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ?

Our Foundation in Jesus yields the Fruits of the Spirit found in Galations 5:22-23

LoveJoyPeaceForbearanceKindnessGoodnessFaithfulnessGentlenessSelf-Control

In our original scripture of Luke 6 we read “You call me Lord, Lord” What is Jesus saying when he says, “You call me Lord, Lord”? We find an answer in Matthew 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophes

How is it that we test our salvation? What are the things we should look for? In this message we will go through a checklist together using scripture as our guide.

Our promise is in Jesus. He says to us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

John 8:31-46

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Contentment isn't governed by external circumstances and flows from an inner attitude. We find our contentment in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 139:1-4

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Philipplians 4:4-23

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.21 Greet all God’s people in Christ Jesus. The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 22 All God’s people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Drifting is a slow process and sometimes hard to spot. Learn how to be steadfast in the teachings of Jesus and the rewards you'll receive for running the race.

Revelations 2-3

To the Church in Ephesus

2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

To the Church in Smyrna

8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.

To the Church in Pergamum

12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:

These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.

14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

To the Church in Thyatira

18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suf

Podcast Transcript

Hello and Welcome. I am Samantha Carberry and you're listening to prayer closet devotionals. I invite you to spend this time with me learning about God and building your faith through encouraging words and the truth that only God can bring through His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus taught us that it is imperative to rise early and use the quiet of our morning to pray and be with God. When we do this, our relationship with our Heavenly Father grows stronger and his voice becomes clear. Be sure to leave a review and share this with your friends. Let's get started.

Hello and Welcome, good morning to you! Today marks the 24th podcast episode of prayer closet devotionals. And I did want to take just a quick moment to thank everyone who is taking time from their busy day to listen to these podcasts and these messages from God.

I am just in awe of how he is working in my life and through me and reaching into the lives of other people. The podcasts so far have been listened to over 650 times. Now I have definitely a core group of you who are faithfully, clearly faithfully, listening and we are reaching into Canada, we are reaching into Ireland, and I just noticed tonight that we have listeners in Israel so you are listening... I am just... I am so humbled to have you here with us. I don't know who you are. But you are so loved by God and you are so loved by me.

So, welcome!

That's just some exciting news. I knew that God was going to do some things with this. But you just don't know what he'll do. And I felt like that needed to be stated. I just pray that people clearly continue to share this podcast, not for myself, but for you and for everyone who needs to hear the Word of God. So just Amen. Thanks be to Jesus. How amazing is that? So that was just kind of my hallelujah moment.

So, we're gonna get started with a devotional from Jesus Calling. And these are from Jesus's perspective.

Trust me, in the midst of a messy Day. Your inner calm, your peace and my presence need not be shaken by what is going on around you. Though you live in this temporal world, your innermost being is rooted and grounded in eternity.

When you start to feel stressed, detach yourself from the disturbances around you. Instead of desperately striving to maintain order and control in your little world, relax and remember that circumstances cannot touch my peace.

Seek my face and I will share my mind with you. Open your eyes to see things from my perspective. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid. The peace I give you is sufficient.

The scriptures that go with this are:

John 16:33. And it says,

I have told you these things so that in me, you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.

Psalms 10:54 says,

Look to the Lord and His strength, Seek his face always.

Lastly, John 14:27

Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

We thank you, Jesus for the peace that you offer us. If only we'll reach out our hands and we'll take it. You have overcome the world already. And although we are here, living in this world, you have already won. Let us all have peace, that you have a plan and a purpose. And in many ways, we're just along for the ride but you love us. I pray that all of us today find that peace.

Alright, so in these 24 days, I have found myself every morning in the Word. And I want to be very, very transparent with my listeners. Up until these 24 days, I was very sporadically in the Word of God.

I would sometimes open the Bible app on my phone and read the verse of the day or, sadly, a lot of what I received was through other people, you know, such as church on Sunday, or maybe I tune into another sermon. I kind of found myself to be more of a "sermon hopper". I don't know if that's a term but it is now!

And

Jesus calls us to be complete in testimony and in deed. If you confess Jesus Christ is Lord, then your life should reflect your boldness.

Matthew 16:13-18

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

Matthew 26

The Plot Against Jesus

26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. 12 When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

The Last Supper

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.”

22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”

23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”

25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”

Jesus answered, “You have said so.”

26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, sayi

Often we try to find solutions to our problems without seeking advice from our Heavenly Father. Seek Him with all of your heart and He will provide.

Psalm 25

1 In you, Lord my God,

    I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you

    will ever be put to shame,

but shame will come on those

    who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,

    teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my Savior,

    and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,

    for they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth

    and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

    for you, Lord, are good.

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right

    and teaches them his way.

10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful

    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

11 For the sake of your name, Lord,

    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?

    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.

13 They will spend their days in prosperity,

    and their descendants will inherit the land.

14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;

    he makes his covenant known to them.

15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,

    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 Relieve the troubles of my heart

    and free me from my anguish.

18 Look on my affliction and my distress

    and take away all my sins.

19 See how numerous are my enemies

    and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;

    do not let me be put to shame,

    for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,

    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

22 Deliver Israel, O God,

    from all their troubles!

Psalm 86

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;

    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,

    for to you do I cry all the day.

4 Gladden the soul of your servant,

    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

    listen to my plea for grace.

7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

    for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

    nor are there any works like yours.

9 All the nations you have made shall come

    and worship before you, O Lord,

    and shall glorify your name.

10 For you are great and do wondrous things;

    you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,

    that I may walk in your truth;

    unite my heart to fear your name.

12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

    and I will glorify your name forever.

13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;

    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent me