Day 5: Restoration
“Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope, even today I declare, that I will restore double to you.” Zechariah 9: 12
Restoration: [res-tuh–rey-shuh n] noun
- a putting back into a former position, dignity, etc.
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something that is restored, as by renovating.
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the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment. the replacement or giving back of something lost, stolen, etc.
The Garden of Eden. A place of joy, fellowship, righteousness and purity. It was the ultimate place to easily develop a lifestyle of ThanksLiving — until it wasn’t. Man gave away the blessing of Eden by believing a lie of Satan. God waits to restore His blessing to man when he believes the truth of the Gospel. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. But God comes to replace, renew, revive, rebuild, re-purpose, recycle, and restore.
I love to watch home restoration shows where the designer comes in and restores a home not only to the beauty and purpose that the builder had in mind for it originally, but also often even better than what was first imagined. As we take a closer look at this theme, we see that restoration is what God imagines, yes, plans for us.
Double Blessing
But wait- not just restoration, check the verse above–restore double. The Hebrew word for restoration is shuwb, which means to return, to go back, to turn away from sin, to turn back to God. Restoration only comes through God and the power of His Word. According to the definition, our responsibility is to turn from sin, and turn to God. Speak His Word into your broken places, and let the ThanksLiving lifestyle of restoration begin.
Pray For Restoration
Restoration for Relationships: Dearest Father, because of our sin, we have many broken, damaged relationships. First and foremost is our relationship with You. Thank You that by accepting Jesus’ death on the cross, our relationship with You is restored. We pray for Your healing in strained relationships with our spouses, parents, friends, coworkers, in-laws and siblings. Your specialty, Lord, is bringing dead things to life. Please restore our relationships. We give thanks for Your goodness and healing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Restoration for Hearts: Father, we give thanks that You provide restoration for broken hearts. Our hearts have been shattered because of our choices, the choices of others, sickness, death, and job loss. Your Word promises that You use ALL things for our good. Please restore our hearts to health so they will beat only for You. We thank You, Father. Amen.
Restoration for Minds: Heavenly Father, we thank You for healing of our minds. Help us to think correctly so we may act correctly. Our minds have been influenced and damaged by lies we have been exposed to by the enemy and by our own choices. Please restore our minds so we will love You with all our hearts, souls and minds. Thank You that You have given us sound minds. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our minds be pleasing in Your sight, oh God, our Rock and our Redeemer.
It is God’s will that you be restored in every area of your life. Go boldly forth to the throne of grace and ask God for the restoration that was provided for you at the cross 2000 years ago. Let restoration be part of your ThanksLiving lifestyle this year.
More Restoration
Prayer of Restoration a specific prayer by Mary Kane
Scriptures for a Sound Mind an article by Joyce Meyer
Comment
Please leave a comment below in the Comment section on what God teaches you today about restoration.
restoration. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. https://dictionary.reference.com/browse/light (accessed: November 18, 2014).
Hebrew definition taken form:
“Hebrew Lexicon :: H7725 (NKJV).” Blue Letter Bible. Sowing Circle. Web. 19 Nov, 2014. <https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7725&t=NKJV>.
by Mary Kay Kane
all rights reserved. copyright 2017
I love this theme of restoration. No matter how decrepit we have become, God is ready to make our souls and spirits new again. Might I add that He can also help us to renew our bodies too. We are body, souls, and spirits. Yes, we age, and with age can come some deterioration, but I also believe that as we cooperate with God to keep our bodies in shape to do His work, He will help us to change our eating habits and to do the exercise that we are able to do.