“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NAS
What does it mean to abound in hope? To abound means, to have in abundance, to overflow, to excel, to be excessive. How do we abound in hope? By the power of the Holy Spirit.
How powerful is the Holy Spirit? With God the Father and Son, He is God Almighty! And the same Almighty Holy Spirit of God, that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, dwells, lives, and operates in us if we’re ‘born again’ of the Spirit! Through the power of God, we are not just ‘hope-full’ people – we are continually, without ceasing, overflowing and pouring out, abounding in HOPE – all of the time and everywhere we go people!
Filled with not some, but ‘all joy and peace in believing’, we have the faith to understand and know that God is ABLE. That gives us, as the word HOPE is defined in the Bible – joyful, confident, expectation, knowing that in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can rejoice in hope … and rejoice always!
Is it unrealistic to believe that we can filled with abounding confident, joyful, expectation all of the time? NO! Because our confidence, joy and expectation are in God Himself, He is our HOPE. If we look at our circumstances, whatever they may be, filled with this HOPE, we can.
Perhaps you’re struggling with a lack of joy, a lack of confidence, and a lack of expectation in what God can and will do today. Perhaps you have been feeling a little or a lot, dis-heartened and hope-less. If that is the case, it is a privilege to pray for you right now:
Now my dear friend, may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing … SO THAT YOU WILL, NOT MIGHT, ABOUND IN HOPE … BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT … MAY YOU EXPERIENCE TODAY AN OVERFLOWING, EXCESSIVE, ABUNDANCE OF CONFIDENT, JOYFUL, EXPECTATION WITH ASOLUTE CONVICTION THAT OUR GOD IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY, ABUNDANTLY ABOVE WHAT WE’VE ASKED OR IMAGINED.
MAY YOU HAVE HOPE IN SUCH ABUNDANCE, THAT IT WOULD OVERFLOW OUT AND THROUGH YOU TO YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, CHUCH, CO-WORKERS, AND COMMUNITY … AS YOU POUR OUT TO THE GOD OF HOPE AND ARE FILLED!
Find more prayers and devotions at the National Day of Prayer Task Force website.
God of hope, fill us with all joy and peace
in believing, so that we will abound in
hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
You have caused us to be born again to
a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead; therefore,
we hope in what we do not see.
This world is not our home or reality,
but the Lord is our Rock,
our Truth, our certainty.
God of hope, we pour out our praise
and are filled with Your powerful presence.
We pour out repentance of sin and are filled
with forgiveness and righteousness.
We pour out pain from the attacks of the
enemy—anxiousness, fear, anger—and You
fill us with courage, assurance, and love.
We pour out our needs, the desires of our
hearts, and are filled with Your Kingdom
provision and purpose.
We pour out our hearts for our nation, for
the people and places, relationships and
responsibilities the Lord has established: the
Church, Family, Education, Business,
Military, Arts, Entertainment, Media, and
Government. May all who live, serve, and
steward in these be filled with Your purpose,
wisdom, strength, and truth.
Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon
us, as we have hoped in You.
In abounding hope, anchored by our hope
in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!
It’s time to embrace Resurrection as a Lifestyle and let its truth shape how we live every day. Let us pray that Christ’s resurrection power flourish in us and flow through us as we embrace self-distrust, sacrificial discipleship, and spiritual determination.
by Greg Baker
The following column appeared in the online edition of the Des Moines Register on Easter Sunday 2025.
Over 2,000 years ago, the most powerful person in the world was Ceasar Augustus, who ruled with absolute power over a growing and dominating Roman Empire.
Yet while Caesar ruled from a massive palace in Rome, another king entered this world – not born in a palace, but rather in a feeding trough in a distant region of the Empire. No mere Caesar, this second king would be called King of Kings, all powerful, Son of God. Yet his time on earth would be marked not only by his humble birth (celebrated today at Christmas), but even more so by his humble ending, which we celebrate at Easter.
Christmas and Easter show us the story of this King, Jesus, who does not match our understanding of how to rule. Christmas and Easter tell us that true power and leadership are found not in domination, but in service and sacrifice.
This Easter, let reflect not only on Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and victory in the resurrection, but also on the incredible model of leadership Jesus provides. Christ’s perfect example of servant leadership is needed more than ever in our country today. We desperately need it in our homes, businesses, schools, and capitols.
Jesus was not the savior hero, the Messiah, that the Jewish people wanted. He was not the Messiah they thought they needed. They were looking for a political warrior. They were looking for someone who could overthrow Rome and deliver them from their political woes.
This is the Easter story. It is a story of a King fighting to be the leader the people needed, even when they did not want it – or even want Him, for that matter.
As a result, the very people who should have recognized their savior … missed Him. Herod the so-called “king of the Judea” missed Him. Rabbis and scribes missed Him. Even among the Pharisees, Israel’s most religious sect – no one knew God’s Word and its prophesies better – most missed Him.
People missed recognizing their Savior, because they were not looking through the correct lens. They missed Him because they were looking in the completely wrong direction.
They missed what we so often miss today: Jesus was and is the leader people need. Jesus’ eyes were not on what the people wanted; His eyes were on what they needed most.
A good leader does not give the people what they want, especially when so often what we want is not good for us. A good leader gives the people what they need, no matter what it costs them.
“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom to many” – Mark 10:45.
A good leader leads people to what they need, even when they do not know they need it or even do not want it. A good leader always holds true to the best interest of others, even at the expense of His own.
This is the Easter story. It is a story of a King fighting to be the leader the people needed, even when they did not want it – or even want Him, for that matter. It is a story of an all-powerful King paying the ultimate cost, literally laying down His life to give them what they needed, as they shouted, mocked, beat, and crucified Him.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” – John 10:11.
Jesus knew that mankind’s biggest problems were not political, but spiritual. People needed rescue from sin and death, and only He could provide it.
As a good leader, or what the Bible calls “a good shepherd,” Jesus focused on the mission at hand. He did not let the politics of His age, nor his own interests, change His direction. He stayed the course, all the way to the Cross.
Because of Jesus’s focus and leadership, sin and death were defeated. On Good Friday, we celebrate the defeat of sin in Christ’s perfect sacrifice. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate His victory over death through His resurrection. And through both His death and resurrection, we celebrate the hope of eternal life in Him.
We are so incredibly blessed through the shepherd leadership of Christ. And His model is the leadership our world desperately needs today in our homes, schools, businesses, churches, and government. We do not need to elect another Republican or Democrat; we need to elect a shepherd, a leader willing to do what the people desperately need, no matter the cost to the leader’s life, fortune, or reputation.
We need this not only from our leaders, but from ourselves. We can begin by coming under Christ’s Lordship and modeling it into our homes. This Easter, as you praise your risen Savior, reflect on what kind of leader you are, and commit to following the path of Christ!
Greg Baker is executive vice president of The FAMiLY Leader and the founding director of its Church Ambassador Network.
1 Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected,
O most afflicted!
2 Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee!
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee;
I crucified thee.
3 Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered;
the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered.
For our atonement, while we nothing heeded,
God interceded.
4 For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation,
thy mortal sorrow, and thy life’s oblation;
thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion,
for my salvation.
5 Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee,
think on thy pity and thy love unswerving,
not my deserving.
Joel told the people that the plague of locusts which was ravaging the land was a sign of the coming judgment. So, the time to repent was now. And the fruit of repentance would be restoration. Then and now, repentance is the first step toward renewal and kingdom blessing. Read and listen to more here.
Throughout American history our colleges have been repeatedly blessed and transformed by intense seasons of spiritual awakening. Read more here. Sign up to adopt a campus.
The Super Bowl hype has ended, the game is completed, and a new team has been crowned champions for a season, but who will win the Imperishable Crown?
Second Corinthians 4:18 says, “For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Whatever the earthly value of any awards, they are passing away. The Apostle Paul tells believers that we compete for “an imperishable crown.” This crown is unseen for the moment, but will be very real and eternal in the ultimate analysis.
As God’s word commands, let us pray for our public officials according to God’s word, with confidence that God will be glorified and in hope that our nation might be blessed with good leadership — both from the incoming administration and from those that will succeed it. Read more here.
Lord, we praise You first as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are
the first and utmost authority in heaven and earth as well as in our hearts
and homes. In honor and prayer, we celebrate those who hear Your call on
their lives and obey You even in great sacrifice or the shadow of death, but
our worship belongs to You alone.
Thank you for the life and sacrifice of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and all
who stood with him for righteousness in a righteous manner. May we never
engage in or excuse sin for the sake of a cause in the name of Christ.
We pray now for all who You have called to serve in our government from
our President to Congress, throughout the White House and the Capitol,
in the courts across our country, and all You have established with
governmental authority in our states, cities, and districts. We pray they will
seek You always and serve under Your authority, anointing, and
appointment. Preserve and protect them from any earthly agenda
whispered by the enemy that leads us into wickedness apart from Your
Word, will, and ways. We commit to pray fervently for them and serve
beside them to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with You.
Deliver us from evil, as You engage and equip us to stand together and
fight the good fight, spreading Your gospel and making disciples
throughout our days.
Please guide and guard their hearts, families, and staff as You strengthen
these leaders to stand and serve, knowing Your Word will guide them, Your
lovingkindness will hold them up, and Your comfort and courage will
delight their soul.
May they lead as You lead them. In the mighty and matchless name of
Jesus we pray, Amen!
-National Day of Prayer resource
