Be with the Father

Morning Connection

Be with the Father - Part I

Be with the Father

A guide for Word and Prayer with your head, heart, and hands

This guide provides tools and structure to help you engage with God through your head, heart, and hands. However, conversations with people don't function linearly, so if your mind wanders to pray about something else, let it. There is no shame. That's how conversations with a real person unfold. Allow this guide to be a help rather than a law for you. You will not get through all of it every day nor do it perfectly, and that's okay. If you have never been trained on how to use it, some of it will be very overwhelming, and that's normal. Learning new tools on your own is unnatural. I meant for this to be learned with a guide.

I. Connecting with Your Father (Approx. 20-30 minutes)
Do ONLY this if you are short on time.

Open Loops & To-Do's: ↗
During your time with God, it's common to have stray thoughts and to-do lists. Use this space to quickly jot down those random to-do ideas so you can revisit them later, freeing you to stay focused on God.

Illumination Prayer:

Holy Spirit, illuminate my heart to see Christ, understand your Word, and respond rightly to it (Eph 1:16–22; Psalm 119:18).
The Psalm of the day is based on the date of the month. Use the buttons below to see the options for that day. Quickly skim through them to see which one fits your heart for that day. No matter what you're going through, this helps warm up your heart and gets it grounded in God and not your circumstances.

*Pro Tips: Don't study or get stuck on confusing verses. Move along and pray what you understand. Also, limit to 5 to 10 verses to pray through. This is not exhaustive if you want you can return to that same Psalm the next day until you finish it. Some Psalms can be over 100 verses, so don’t feel obligated to finish. The goal is to engage your heart and pray.

Daily Dose of Identity 💊

Read the identity for the day. If you need more truth to meditate on, click "Next" to cycle through them.

Heart Check-in

First clear your heart out so you can actually show up for this time. Ask your Father, 'What am I feeling and why?' After identifying your emotions and why, entrust these situations and/or repent to your Heavenly Father, for He cares deeply for you (1 Pet 5:7; Isa 30:18).

Click on as many emotions that you are feeling. If you feel stuck on identifying some of these core emotions (Many only feel one or two), look at this emotions wheel chart and it may help you diagnose where your heart is currently at. For each emotion you feel, you will see what your soul needs as well as warning signs when that emotion is being hijacked by the flesh and the ultimate destination if that emotion isn't dealt with in a healthy and biblical manner.

📄 View Emotions Wheel Chart
⚠️ The Trap (Warning Sign > Danger Zone)
✨ Your Soul Needs (From God and/or others)
Content adapted from Jeff Schulte and Chip Dodd

Essential Daily Prayers

Follow this path through the Lord's Prayer framework.
1
Identity & Glory
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."
Anchor your identity in the truth that you are God's adopted child and that you can approach your Father, and He wants to hear from you (Heb 4:16). We all tend to replace God with these common idols and give our glory to creation instead of the Creator (Rom 1:21–23). Go through this list and redirect your heart's worship to find these God-given needs in Him.
Significance/Power: I release the need to be special and instead delight in making Your name great!
Security/Control: I surrender my fear of outcomes and instead trust Your sovereign hand and loving heart.
Approval: I turn from needing to be understood and approved by others to receiving the assurance that I am fully known and loved by you.
Comfort/Pleasure: I turn from clinging to earthly escapes and instead find my true rest and delight in You.
2
Kingdom & Will
"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."
Pray for the culture of His Kingdom and His will to rule in every sphere of your life (Heart, family, work, etc.) What would it look like if I were entirely surrendered to your will today?
3
Provision & Trust
"Give us this day our daily bread,"
Make all your needs known to God and trust Him with them.
4
Forgiveness & Grace
"and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Repent of your sins, receive God's forgiveness, and extend grace towards those who wronged you.

When we pray, "Forgive us our debts," many of us get stuck. We haven’t been taught how to actually repent. Instead, we try to pay for our sins in the "penalty box" of shame, we try to outweigh our bad deeds with good works, or we simply excuse the behavior.

None of these lead to freedom. If you skip a step in repentance, you miss out on restoration. To truly bring your heart before God, use the CARS method:

C – Confess Your Sins

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us." (1 John 1:8-9)

We reject grace when we deny our sin. The first step is talking to God. He already knows what you did, but He wants relationship, not just data.

  • Be Specific: Don't be vague. Call the sin what it is. Voice it out.
  • Check the Roots: Bad fruit (behavior) comes from bad roots (false beliefs about God, self, or others). Don’t just try to change the fruit or blame your circumstances. Difficult circumstances don't cause sin; they expose the heart. Ask God to show you the root belief that led to the behavior.

A – Accept God’s Forgiveness

This is the step most people miss, which opens the door for the sin to return. If you remain in guilt, you will eventually return to the sin to cope with the shame.

  • Believe the Message: God commands you to confess, but He also commands you to believe He is faithful to cleanse you.
  • It is Relational: "As far as the east is from the west, He has removed your transgressions" (Psalm 103:12). Do not continue to carry what God has already cast away.

R – Request Power from the Spirit

Willpower is not enough to stop the cycle. You need a power source outside of yourself.

  • The Exchange: Praise God for His forgiveness, but admit you cannot change alone.
  • The Spirit: As Paul writes in Romans 8:13, we put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill the space where that sin used to live.

S – Share

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed." (James 5:16)

We confess to God for forgiveness; we confess to others for healing.

  • Drag it into the Light: Sin grows in the dark. Sharing it with a trusted believer helps you feel the gravity of it and breaks its power.
  • Strategize: Ask for prayer and accountability to help you walk out your repentance.
5
Protection & Strength
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Consider what your day will be like and where you need God to deliver you from evil. Pray that He would give you strength to kill your sin and become more like Jesus.

Workship & Mission:

As I work today, show me how to worship you with my work with my wholeheart, whether big or small, working unto you and not unto man (Col 3:23–24). Give me opportunities to go out of my way to love and be a witness for you today.

Today:

What are 3 things under my control that I can accomplish that would make today a success? (Ask for God’s help)
1
2
3
1. Guided Prayer 2. TRUTH Bible Method 3. Midday Check-In 4. Evening Debrief

Mid-Day Check-In

TRUTH Bible Study

TRUTH Bible Study
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TRUTH Bible Study

🧠 Future Research / Parking Lot

As you study, you may encounter theological questions or "rabbit holes" that pique your curiosity. Write them here to research later. This allows you to stay focused on the primary goal: connecting with God through His Word right now.

T - Text and Theme: 🔗

Identify the author's central focus and purpose. Analyze the surrounding context, conduct word studies, and consult cross-references to fully grasp the original intent.

More Guidance

Resist the urge to ask, "What does this mean to me?" Instead, strive for the Gold Standard of Authorial Intent: "What did the author intend to communicate to the original audience?"

To do this, you must cross the "River" of time and culture. Identify the genre, examine the surrounding literary context (the paragraph), and consult cross-references to ensure you are not isolating a verse from the rest of Scripture. Summarize the author's fixed meaning in "Their Town" before trying to bring it into "Our Town."

R - Revelation of God:

Thank God for what this passage reveals about His character, desires, and what He does. (Read through again, looking for this)

More Guidance

Before you look for application, you must look for awe. Use this space to document the "Revelation of God" by asking not "How does this help me?" but "Who is He?"

Identify specific traits—is He the Warrior, the Shepherd, the Judge, or the Father in this text? Note how He interacts with the brokenness of humanity. Your goal is to see the King clearly, because we cannot become like Him (transformation) until we see Him as He is (beholding).

U - Understanding of Self:

Confess the brokenness of our nature (Sin) while affirming the truth of who God created us to be (Identity).

More Guidance

Scripture acts as a mirror, not a window. Its purpose is not just to show you history, but to show you yourself. In this step, look into that mirror to see your true condition. We are often tempted to read as the "Hero" who just needs a little advice, but the text usually reveals that we are rebels who need forgiveness or frail creatures who need a Shepherd.

Depending on the passage, the "Mirror" will reflect different aspects of your humanity. Look for:

My Fallenness (The Sinner)
Most texts expose a "Fallen Condition"—a bent toward sin or self-reliance. Ask: "What specific brokenness in my heart does this passage expose?" (e.g., Do I share the Pharisees' pride? Do I share the Israelites' grumbling?)
My Identity (The Saint)
The text often corrects how we view ourselves. Ask: "Who does this passage say I am?" (e.g., Am I living like an orphan when the text says I am a Son? Am I trying to earn love when the text says I am already chosen?)
My Nature (The Creature)
Sometimes the text highlights our human limitations, not just our sins. Ask: "Does this text reveal my frailty?" (e.g., Am I trying to control the future like God? Am I weak and in need of rest?)
Genre Guidance:

Click the genre you are reading for specific diagnostic questions:

If reading a Story (Narrative)
Resist the "Hero Complex." Do not assume you are David, Moses, or Paul. Locate yourself in the doubters, the grumblers, the fearful, or the desperate. Ask: "Where do I see my own struggle in this character's failure?" or "Where do I lack the faith this character displays?"
If reading a Command (Epistles/Law)
Every command implies a problem. If the text says "Do not be anxious," it reveals that our fallen nature is prone to distrust. Ask: "What brokenness in my heart makes this specific instruction necessary?"
If reading Poetry (Psalms/Wisdom)
Look for shared emotion or roles. Ask: "Do I share the Psalmist’s despair, or have I become numb? Do I share his delight, or have I become cynical? Am I acting as the 'Wise Son' or the 'Fool'?"
T - Treasure Christ:

Identify how this passage points to Jesus' death on the cross, His resurrection, or His final return.

More Guidance

In the previous steps, you beheld the holiness of God (R) and the brokenness of your own nature (U). The gap between them is too wide for your moral effort to cross. In this step, we stop trying to be the hero and start treasuring the Savior. We ask: "How does Jesus solve the problem exposed in this text through His life, death, and future return?"

Every text ultimately points to the Gospel—the good news of what God has done in Christ. Look for these two horizons:

1. The Finished Work (Looking Back at the Cross)

How does this passage point to the price Jesus paid?

If reading the Old Testament
Look for the shadows of the Cross. Is there a sacrifice, a suffering servant, or a deliverer who saves the people from judgment? (e.g., Jesus is the true Passover Lamb who was slain so death would pass over us.)
If reading the Gospels
Look for the mission. Jesus didn't just come to teach; He came to die. How does this scene move Him closer to Calvary? (e.g., Jesus heals the leper to show He is willing to touch our uncleanliness and take it upon Himself.)
If reading the Epistles
Look for the merit. Every command we obey is only possible because we have been justified by His blood. (e.g., We forgive others only because He absorbed the cost of our debt on the tree.)
2. The Final Hope (Looking Forward to the Restoration)
How does this point to the End?

How does this passage point to the day Jesus makes all things new?

  • Does this text describe a brokenness (sickness, death, injustice) that Jesus will ultimately destroy when He returns?
  • Does it promise an inheritance or a kingdom that we are waiting for?
H - Humbly Listen and Respond:

Jesus, what are you saying to me in light of what I just studied? Pause and listen.

More Guidance

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." – John 10:27

Jesus may speak to you through verses, thoughts, or pictures. Take your time and wait on him. Don’t be discouraged or anxious about not hearing his voice. God has ALREADY spoken to you through His Word. But God may want to say more. We are just creating space to listen. This practice, like all areas of Christian maturity, is something that is cultivated over time and should be tested by the Word and the community (1 Thess 5:20–21).

Midday Reset

Midday: The Reset (Approx. 15 minutes)

Reconnect with the Father

1. Heart Check-in

First clear your heart out so you can actually show up for this time. Ask your Father, 'What am I feeling and why?' After identifying your emotions and why, entrust these situations and/or repent to your Heavenly Father, for He cares deeply for you (1 Pet 5:7; Isa 30:18).

Click on as many emotions that you are feeling. If you feel stuck on identifying some of these core emotions (Many only feel one or two), look at this emotions wheel chart and it may help you diagnose where your heart is currently at. For each emotion you feel, you will see what your soul needs as well as warning signs when that emotion is being hijacked by the flesh and the ultimate destination if that emotion isn't dealt with in a healthy and biblical manner.

📄 View Emotions Wheel Chart
⚠️ The Trap (Warning Sign > Danger Zone)
✨ Your Soul Needs (From God and/or others)
Content adapted from Jeff Schulte and Chip Dodd

2. Weekly Fighter Verse

Meditate on this week's Fighter Verse, and you can practice typing it below to internalize and memorize. (If you have your own memory verse you're working on, that's fine too!) The goal is to really marinate on each word or phrase. Ask questions about it. Pray it. Hide God's Word in your heart (Ps 119:11).

Psalm 90:12
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
3. Intercession

Pray specifically for your family, friends, work/school, nation, and global needs.

Entrust all of these matters to Him, for He cares deeply for you (1 Peter 5:7)

Evening Debrief

Evening Check-in

Reviewing your day with God

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise" - Ephesians 5:15

📖 Proverb of the Day
Grow in wisdom every day. Look at the proverb of the day. Don't feel pressure to read the entire chapter, but meditate and pray about a few pieces. As Billy Graham said, "I read five psalms a day to get along with God, and one proverb a day to get along with man."
Read Today's Proverb →
Entrust all of these matters to Him, for He cares deeply for you (1 Peter 5:7)