This 5-day devotional draws directly from Christian Fellowship Church🔹Pastor Scott Cheramie's sermon “According to His will - 2026-06-29” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
When You Pray, You're Not Alone
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever wondered if your prayers actually go anywhere? You say the words, you mean them — and then silence. It can make you question whether anyone is really listening.
Today's Scripture "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." — 1 John 5:14
Reflection Here's something worth sitting with today: prayer was never designed to be a negotiation. It's not about finding the right words to twist God's arm or convince him to do things your way. Prayer is communication — honest, open conversation with a Father who is already leaning in to hear you.
Think about the difference between scheduling a meeting with a CEO and walking into your dad's living room. You don't need an appointment with God. He's not behind a secretary and a waiting list. He's right there, ready for you to climb up and talk.
The confidence 1 John describes isn't arrogance — it's assurance. Because of Jesus, you have direct access to God. Every prayer you pray reaches him. He is aware of your situation. He is attentive to your cry. Not one word you speak to him falls unheard.
That changes things, doesn't it? You're not shouting into the void. You're talking to someone who sees every tear, knows every fear, and cares about every detail of your life.
Today's Step Take sixty seconds right now and simply say, "God, I know you hear me." Let that truth settle before you ask for anything.
A Closing Thought You are never more heard than when you pray. Start there — and let everything else follow.
Not My Will, But Yours
Tuesday — When It's Hard
Be honest: has God ever said no to something you desperately wanted? Maybe you're still waiting on an answer that hasn't come. That's one of the hardest places to be.
Today's Scripture "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." — Luke 22:42
Reflection Jesus didn't pray a polished, put-together prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He prayed an honest one. He told the Father exactly what he wanted — please, if there's any other way, let there be another way. And the Father said no.
That's a hard thing to sit with. If Jesus himself received a "no," then you and I will too. And those no's don't always come with explanations. They don't always make sense. Sometimes God's answer feels like silence, or like he's asking you to walk through the very thing you begged him to remove.
Here's what's true, though: God is more concerned about your character than your comfort. That's not a cold truth — it's actually a deeply caring one. He sees things in you and for you that you can't see yet. He knows what's needed to shape you into who he created you to be.
The struggle with unanswered prayer is real. You're not wrong to feel it. But you're in good company — Jesus felt it too. And he still chose trust.
Today's Step Think of one prayer that hasn't been answered the way you hoped. Can you honestly tell God how you feel about it — and then, even in the uncertainty, whisper, "Not my will, but yours"?
A Closing Thought Honest prayer is still prayer. Bring God the real version of where you are today.
Three Ways to Pray More Aligned
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
So if prayer is about lining up with God's will rather than bending his arm — how do you actually do that? It's easier said than lived.
Today's Scripture "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans." — Romans 8:26
Reflection Here's the good news: you don't have to figure out God's will entirely on your own. He's given you two powerful guides.
The first is his Word. Scripture is the clearest window into what God values, what he promises, and how he works. When you're not sure how to pray, open the Bible. God will never lead you in a direction that contradicts what he's already written.
The second is his Spirit. Romans 8 says the Holy Spirit actually intercedes for you — praying on your behalf when you don't even know what to ask. You don't have to have the perfect words. Sometimes you just have to show up and be honest, and let the Spirit carry the rest.
Practically, this might look like: starting your prayer by reading one verse and letting it shape what you say next. Or sitting quietly for a moment before you speak, asking the Spirit to guide your words. Or journaling what you're praying so you can look back and see how God answered.
Prayer doesn't have to be formal or long. It just has to be real and directed toward him.
Today's Step Before your next prayer, read one verse from Scripture and let it become the starting point of your conversation with God.
A Closing Thought You don't have to pray perfectly — you just have to pray. He'll meet you there.
Peace in the Middle of the Storm
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Imagine someone going through a season where nothing is working out the way they planned — a job loss, a strained relationship, a health scare. They pray. They pray again. Things don't change. But something in them does.
Today's Scripture "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry." — Psalm 34:15
Reflection Picture someone who has been praying the same prayer for months. They've been honest with God about their frustration. They've cried prayers, not just spoken ones. And the situation hasn't shifted the way they asked.
But slowly, quietly, something else has shifted. They've stopped trying to control what they can't control. They've started trusting that God sees what they can't see. They've found — to their own surprise — a kind of steadiness in the middle of the uncertainty. Not because the storm stopped, but because they stopped fighting the storm alone.
That's what Psalm 34:15 makes possible. When you know God's eyes are on you — that he sees every hard moment, every sleepless night, every question you're afraid to say out loud — it changes the way you carry it. You're not invisible to him. You're not forgotten. His ears are attentive to your cry.
God answers prayer in three ways: yes, no, and not yet. We tend to only want yes. But sometimes the no or the not yet is where the deepest growth happens — where trust becomes real, not just theoretical.
Today's Step Today, remind yourself: God sees this. He hears me. He is working even when I can't see it.
A Closing Thought You don't need the storm to stop to have peace. You just need to know who's with you in it.
Carry This With You
Friday — Carrying It Forward
The week is ending, and the weekend is ahead — with all its noise, busyness, and the ordinary weight of life. Here's what's worth taking with you.
Today's Scripture "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." — Hebrews 4:16
Reflection This week, we've been sitting with a simple but life-changing idea: prayer isn't about getting God to do things your way. It's about learning to see and trust what he's already doing.
That's a shift that takes time. It doesn't happen in one week of devotionals or one good sermon. It happens in the daily practice of showing up — honestly, humbly, and with confidence that he hears you.
Hebrews 4:16 is a beautiful invitation to close the week with. It says you can approach God's throne with confidence — not because you've prayed perfectly, but because of what Jesus has already done. You have access. You are welcome. And when you come, you find mercy and grace for whatever you're facing.
Going into the weekend, you'll probably face moments where your will and God's will feel like they're pulling in different directions. That's okay. That's where trust gets built. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to keep coming back to him.
Pray this weekend. Not to change his mind — but to align yours.
Today's Step Write down one thing you're trusting God with this weekend. Lay it down, and let it be his.
A Closing Thought You are heard. You are seen. And you are never left to face any of it alone — keep talking to him.