Devotional

October 04, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Ask for help to solve!

These days I was at home absently playing with a Rubik’s Cube. I shuffled it all and after that I wanted to fix it again. Turns out I’m a denier tidying Rubik’s Cube and I always use an app that passes me all the way to tidying up. I usually use it just because I want to keep the cube tidy on my shelf after messing it up, so I’ve never had a problem. That day, God spoke to me through a Rubik’s Cube. Our hearts are like a Rubik’s Cube How many times have we messed up our whole life? We make decisions that are not God’s will, we act on impulse, we sin, we don’t repent, and this is repeated until we find ourselves in a mess that we created without knowing what to do. When we find ourselves like this, we try to fix everything by ourselves, and it seems that every time we try, it gets even messier. That’s exactly what the Lord spoke to me about. Like the Rubik’s Cube, we mess up our hearts, and every time we try to go back and fix it, it seems like the situation only gets worse. There […]

devotional expert-god love-of-god mess

September 27, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer: return to your First Love

There is a term widely used to define those people who have just started to walk their path in faith: “First Love”. The use of this term is due to the fact that these people are extremely excited and euphoric about all this, in a gigantic level of passion for Jesus. We talk so much about these people and say things like, “wow, it’s so beautiful when we’re in first love”. But we forget that our life with God shouldn’t change after a while. It turns out that the more “time as Christians” we have, the more we limit our passion for Jesus. We have lost the enthusiasm of “wanting to preach even to a pole” and we are limiting ourselves to living only in that small space that we find to love Jesus, but not do absolutely everything for Him. We have to return to our first love and cry out to the Father to help us to be extremely in love with Him again. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want […]

devotional first-love love-of-god prayer

September 20, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Furious ocean

There is an ocean known for its fury. Its waters close to the coast are calm and serene, but when looking further away, it is possible to see its agitated waters that run from one side to the other. Few are those who venture, sometimes men, women and even children, taken by their courage in the deepest waters. It is said that those who are completely submerged never return. And indeed, why would they return? When diving into these waters, they are taken by peace, an inexplicable peace. They are taken to adventures that would never be taken, but mainly, they live what without that Raging Ocean, they would never live. Rumors about the ocean are spread by those who observe from afar, not daring to go a little further than the waters that reach their waists. Otherwise, they would be with those who have gone deeper. The ocean For a long time, I heard the text of Ezekiel 47 about the torrents of water, being compared to our relationship with the Lord. Instead of an ocean, the chapter talks about a river, in which the Prophet is carried deeper and deeper to a point where he could only swim […]

devotional dive ocean

September 13, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

A Prayer for Rest

How many times have you closed your eyes tightly, breathing deeply and crying out for the Father? Maybe because you couldn’t take it anymore or maybe because you were already one step away from giving up. The Lord says there in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Lord wants to give you rest, but the first step is yours: draw close to Him, trust the Father. Let’s pray for this rest and surrender to God everything we need. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that you have given us today. Father, on this day, we want to give you all the worry, fatigue, sadness and anguish that have taken over our hearts. We ask that you take care of these things, over which we have no power. Holy Spirit, […]

devotional prayer rest

September 06, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

The Priority of a Child

The book of John chapter 1, verse 12 tells us that those who have believed and received Jesus have the right to become children of God. When I think of my parents, I have the habit of giving them total priority, because often in the rush of everyday life, we can’t spend much time together. But when we have that free weekend or holiday, I put them ahead of every appointment, because they are my priority. During this week the Lord led me to reflect on this. We are children of God. This is our identity which was designated by the Father himself. But have we given Him due attention? Me and the father I once saw the following reflection: imagine that God is by your side physically, every day, from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep. Your day goes by and He is there doing everything with you at ALL times. He’s trying to talk about something, about how you should do something, or he’s just wanting to talk about random everyday topics. However, every time He tries to speak, you completely ignore Him. I can imagine how much it must hurt to be ignored […]

devotional paternity priority

August 30, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer: Be still my soul

“Be still my soul”. This has been a prayer that we have been crying out more every day. We need our soul to be quiet, hear the voice of the Father, take a deep breath and feel the peace that exceeds all understanding. However, many times we don’t talk to the Father about it, we suffer alone, we feel that grip in the heart, that restlessness in the soul and we don’t even think about crying out to the Lord, but today, pray with me, cry for the peace of the Lord in your life. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord our God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that you have given us. Father, we have felt so much restlessness in our souls and so many times we have allowed ourselves to go through this alone, without crying out to You. But on this day, we take a step further, […]

devotional peace prayer

August 23, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

To Be vs. To Do

In our minds it is common to always think in a meritocratic way: “do it to deserve it”. We end up having that same mindset when it comes to God and the way He loves us. We believe that certain sins, considered more serious, such as corruption, murder, adultery, among others, can alter God’s love. There’s an excerpt from one of Max Lucado’s books that says: “God’s love never ceases. Never. Though we spurn him. Ignore him. Reject him. Despise him. Disobey him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish his love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it any more than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn’t love us less if we fail or more if we succeed. God’s love never ceases.” Unconditional love When we realize that God’s love does not increase or decrease, regardless of whether we have fallen back into sin or not, it is in the least shocking. We get so used to loves that move according to what we do or how we act, that we forget that God is not a man. He doesn’t love in the limited way that we do. He doesn’t change either, he doesn’t […]

bible devotional heart identity

August 09, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer: God’s Will

It is a fact that we love to plan for the future, I, in particular, for a long time had the habit of looking ahead and thinking “if this happens, I have a plan, if that happens, so do I”. Many of us have great difficulty letting go of control of our lives, but the Lord invites us to surrender it to Him. In Jeremiah 29:11 it is written, “For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” The Lord has good plans for us and we have to start handing over the direction of our days to Him, trusting in His Good and Perfect will. I invite you to do that today with me through this prayer. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, we thank you for this breath of life that […]

devotional expectation god love-of-god

August 02, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Vine or Fig?

In the Bible, plants have great meanings. Several parables and stories of Jesus take place around this part of creation. From all these events several teachings are taken that can guide our lives. There is one in particular that is narrated in Luke 13. History Jesus told a parable that said the following: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, but it has not been bearing fruit. He then went to talk to the one who took care of the vineyard so that he could cut it down, after all he had been looking for figs for three years and could not find it. The winegrower replied, asking him to leave it there for another year. He would fertilize and care for that tree, and if, in a year, it remained without fruit, it would be cut down. Where are you planted? A fact that recently caught my attention in this parable was that the fig tree was planted in the vineyard, among the vine trees. I did a little research and opinions are very divided. Some say it’s normal, others say that the fig tree needs the soil to be in certain conditions to bear […]

devotional fig heart place

July 26, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Everything for the Glory of God

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 Our days are usually pretty full. We do thousands of tasks. We work, study, exercise, among many other activities. It happens that we often treat certain tasks, because they are not ministerial, as if they are unimportant and as if we don’t need to dedicate ourselves to them in the same way as we serve in our ministries. It is about everything we do From eating, to getting up or eating, we must do EVERYTHING for the Glory of God. It’s not an easy task, in fact, it’s a change of thinking about life that implies new habits. In praying before something, or thinking “I’m not doing this for myself, nor for people, but for the Lord”. It is about doing everything with excellence, as for the Lord and with love, so that we can manifest the Glory of God through each attitude, each smile or function performed, whether at work, when relating to our families or in our daily routines. I wanted to invite you to pray with me right now, asking that, through each of our attitudes, we […]

devotional faith gods-glory-2 peace

July 19, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer: Change the hearts

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.” Ezekiel 36:26-27 We have lived in times when hearts have hardened. Recently I was in the intercession room before a service and a brother started to pray saying “Forgive the ‘nos’ that you Lord will hear today”. I immediately remembered the passage at the beginning of the text, and I would like to pray with you about it, so that the hearts of stone become hearts of flesh. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Gracious God, we thank you for this day of life and the opportunity to be in Your presence. So many people have said “no” to You, have despised You. We cry out for a special […]

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July 12, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

What are you doing with what God has given you?

I would like to start by asking you a question: what have you been doing with the talents the Lord has given you? Maybe at that moment you’re thinking that He didn’t give you any talent, that you don’t have any gifts or anything like that. For a long time I looked at myself and thought, “Why did the Lord give me this talent? How can I serve Him with this?” But recently God taught me that He uses ALL the gifts and talents He gives us for His work. On our side, we just need to allow it. Talents are not just artistic Many times we really think that we don’t have a talent from the Lord, just because we don’t know how to sing, dance, or play an instrument. Most of the time we think that our aptitudes always need to be linked to the artistic side, but this is not always the case. Personally, I’ve tried everything. I took singing lessons, piano lessons, danced, acted, but none of it was really what God had planned for me. Sometimes we are so focused on what we think, that we don’t look at reality and slowly bury our true […]

devotional god talents

July 05, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

You must bear fruit

As Christians, the greatest mission that Jesus left us is very clear: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.“ Matthew 28:19-20 As we are called the Bride of Christ, we must BEGET spiritual children for the Kingdom of God. The Fiance I once heard a preacher saying the following phrase: “The Lord says He is not barren, but the bride has not entered the secret room.” Honestly, this sentence was something extremely striking in my walk with Jesus. Many times we stop bearing and we think that the Lord has stopped giving us the fruits, but that only happens because we don’t relate to the Bridegroom. We have such superficial relationships in our daily lives that we think this will be enough for the Lord, but it is not. We have to relate to Him daily. How can we be intimate with someone we don’t talk to? Or do we even know? Our relationship with the Father has […]

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June 06, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Waiting for the Bridegroom

Our life is made of meetings, those remarkable, those not so much, some good and some bad. The meeting with the first job, with the person you love, the first day at school or at the college you dreamed of… Anyway, these are meetings that mark our journey, but today I want to talk to you about one in particular. The Parable of the Ten Virgins Jesus begins Matthew 25 with a parable, where He talks about 10 women, who were waiting for the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and the other five were foolish. It turns out that the bridegroom took a long time to pass and they all fell asleep. At midnight, a cry was heard declaring that the bridegroom was passing by: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (v.6) The foolish ones began to ask the wise women for some of the oil as theirs had run out and they had not bought any more. However, the wise could not give of their oil. After all, it wouldn’t be enough for everyone. When the foolish ones went to look for oil to buy, the bridegroom passed and together with the wise ones He entered […]

devotional expectation god lamps

May 30, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer: God’s Plans

Many times the Lord gives us promises and shows us His plans for our lives, but as time goes by we seem to lose faith that they are really going to happen or that they are in fact true. I encourage you to pray with me today, so that the Lord will renew hope in your heart, and that you will remember all the plans He told He has for your life. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer Lord my God and Father, we thank You for this day of life, for Your goodness and also for Your love. Father, bring to our remembrance the plans and promises You have given us. Renew our hope for them to happen in our lives. May we walk by faith, trusting You and believing Your Word never fails. The days have been bad, but we know that You Lord is faithful and just to fulfill what You have promised […]

devotional god plans

May 23, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Choose your priorities wisely

Currently, we have many priorities: work, studies, personal projects, among others. But have you ever stopped to think about YOUR priority? Are you prioritizing things wisely? God and wealth Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 The “treasures” that Jesus talks about in the above passage are not just money or possessions, but can be anything that is really important to us: desires, work, studies, personal projects, etc. It refers to what can even take the place of God in our lives. Concerning these things, the Lord directs us not to “store up”. After all, the Bible itself says that everything is fleeting. The truth is that we have to focus, first of all, on what produces results for eternity. Also in that same chapter, Jesus says in verse 33: But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. […]

devotional priority

May 16, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prophesy Life

In Ezekiel 37, we are told a curious story: the Lord led the prophet to a valley of dry bones. And then in verse 3 a short dialogue is narrated. Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I replied, “Lord God, only you know.” Ezekiel 37:3 Ezekiel’s response was basically a “Thy will be done”, and that’s what happened. Then the Lord commanded the prophet to prophesy life on the bones. There was no hope there, but still, the prophet began to prophesy life over that valley, and the situation reported in verses 7 to 10 happened. So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked, tendons appeared on them, flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and breathe into these slain so that they may live!” So I prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they […]

devotional life prophesy

May 04, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

What love is that?

There are people who dream of a super declaration of love, after all, this is a feeling that constantly affects our hearts, not only in romantic matters, but in general. It turns out that we often don’t think we’ve already received the greatest declaration of love we could ever receive. The incomprehensible love “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 We forget that He SO loved us. And we often say phrases like: “nobody loves me”. Jesus’ Sacrifice was so strong, so painful. Every pain He suffered, every drop of blood shed, was for me and you. And yet, many times we don’t surrender before Him when we remember that sacrifice, we talk like if it was just a small fact. So today let’s pray that the Father will bring us close and turn our heart of stone into a heart warmed by His love. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to […]

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April 26, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer for peace

During this time that we have lived, it has been difficult to feel peace. There are so many wars, fights among other circumstances that have caused us anguish and afflictions. Of course, we cannot hide from these situations, after all, the Lord told us that we would go through difficult times, but He also advises us in His Word to take heart (John 16:33). Through Philippians 4:7, we can believe that in Jesus we receive the peace that transcends all understanding. In Romans 5:1, the apostle Paul says that, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, on this day I invite you to pray with me for that peace that is promised in the Holy Scriptures. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer Lord my God and Father, I thank you for this opportunity to be in your presence, for this breath of life that you have given us […]

devotional peace prayer

April 18, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

The Secret Place

You’ve probably heard of the expression “secret place”. When we are children we have places that we consider safe and hidden, and when it comes to our life with God it is not much different. God, me and the Secret Place When we go to the Bible the Lord is very clear to us: But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:6 “Going into our room” and praying is our Secret, the place we have to develop intimacy with God. It is also our Safe Place where we can rest and be ourselves. Before the Father we can show our worst side, because we know that He will take care of our wounds. In the Secret Place we can open our hearts The Word says: But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16 That is, Jesus also had his moments in the Secret with the Father. When Christ went to Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-36), he was sad and distressed. The moment was near when He would face the cross. He withdrew from […]

devotional secret-place

April 11, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer for wisdom

Wisdom is about looking through God’s eyes and acting as such. This is a gift that we should all have. We understand its importance when we search the Scriptures and see that Solomon asked for it in his life. On that day, I invite you, as King Solomon did, to ask God for wisdom. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be my pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, we thank you for this day, for another breath of life that you have given us. Father, on this day we ask You to give us wisdom to act in accordance with Your will and what You would do. During our days, we have to deal with many situations and make many decisions that we don’t know how to proceed, but we ask You Lord to give us wisdom so that we can live according to Your will every day. Holy Spirit, You are welcome into our lives to help us […]

devotional prayer wisdom

April 04, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer for Missions

The Lord was very clear to us when He told us in Matthew 28:19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19 This commandment is for everyone, but not everyone has the call to evangelism as the apostle Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:11. On this day I invite you to pray together with me, for those who have this mission: to preach the Gospel throughout the world. Remembering that you don’t need to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be my pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord my God and Father, I thank you for another day and for this breath of life that you have given us today. We thank You for those who have given their lives to the mission of sharing Your Word throughout the world. Father, we ask you to come and take care of their lives, the walks they take daily. May the Lord […]

devotional missions prayer

March 28, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Prayer for forgiveness

Every relationship has a risk, as the people who go through our lives can hurt us or generate some kind of mark on our hearts. Just as we too will surely fail someone at some point. Glad there is forgiveness and reconciliation. However, we often find it difficult to forgive and we carry resentments with us. But today the Lord invites you to change that situation. Let’s pray together in this regard! Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. Feel free to speak your own way. Prayer “Lord, our God and Father, we thank you for another day of life, for another opportunity to live in Your presence. We’d like to start by asking forgiveness for our sins, for the things we do every day that don’t please You. For our flaws that sometimes we are not even able to see. Holy Spirit help us to realize where we have gone wrong and what needs to be changed in our lives. Father, at this moment, […]

devotional forgiveness prayer

March 21, 2022·Ana Julia Luiz

Fresh start with God

Every day there is something new in our lives: a new outfit, a new routine dynamic or some new event that surprises us. Sometimes everything changes little by little, a little step each day and, when we realize it, our life is totally different. Closing cycles “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:” Ecclesiastes 3:1 Often cycles need to be closed and God wants to bring something new to our days, but we don’t want to. In Ecclesiastes the Lord tells us that there is a time for everything. There is a moment when certain things come to an end. Cycles are difficult things to close, difficult to let go of, but on this day the Lord invites you to surrender the seasons of your life to Him because He has something much better for you. Therefore, I would like to invite you to pray with me on this matter. Remembering that you don’t have to repeat the prayer exactly as I’m going to leave it here, because each of us has a specific way of communicating with the Lord. But if you want to accompany me, it will be a pleasure. […]

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