A Prayer about Not Being Haughty

by | Jan 25, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Not Being Haughty

For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down. Psalm 18:27

Humble Savior,

We confess, our eyes are often haughty: 

We see others and think we are somehow 

more righteous, 

more beloved, 

more acceptable than they are. 

We see others’ mistakes and think they are monstrous, 

but we fail to see the glaring sin 

in our own hearts (Matthew 7:1-5). 

We are quick to condemn others, 

though you have shown us mercy.

Jesus, by your Spirit, 

we urge you—make us like you, 

who though you were 

“in the form of God, did not count equality with God 

a thing to be grasped…”

who “humbled yourself by becoming obedient to the point of death, 

even death on a cross” (the most humiliating form of death in that culture) (Phil. 2:6-8). 

Jesus, by your Spirit, 

draw our hearts to see 

the beauty of your humility 

and shape us into your lovely image. 

In your exalted name. Amen. 

Read Psalm 18:27; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 7:1-5. 

A Prayer about How God Created Our Bodies

by | Jan 24, 2023 | body, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about How God Created Our Bodies

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

Creator God,

You have intricately fashioned our bodies, 

beginning in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).

You have counted the hair on our heads 

and our tears in your bottle (Luke 12:7; Psalm 56:8).

Forgive us for failing 

to proclaim the goodness of our bodies. 

Help us to affirm with David, 

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

May we treat our bodies 

kindly and honorably, 

as the very temple of worship 

you designed them to be (1 Corinthians 6:19).

And may we use 

our feet, our hands, 

our mouths, our tongues, 

to serve you and praise you all of our days.

In the name of Jesus, God-made-flesh. Amen. 

Read Psalm 139:13-16; Luke 12:7; Psalm 56:8; 1 Corinthians 6:19.

A Prayer about Trusting the Lord to Protect Children

by | Jan 23, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Parenting, Prayer

A Prayer about Trusting the Lord to Protect Children

She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. Exodus 2:3b

Compassionate Father, 

As loving parents and grandparents, 

we desperately want to protect our children. 

And yet, you alone 

are powerful enough, 

wise enough, 

and merciful enough 

to properly protect them. 

As we read about Moses’ mother 

trying to protect him from the Egyptian Pharaoh 

who ordered the murder of all male Israelites babies, 

we see your saving hand at work. 

You gave Jochebed wisdom and wit 

to develop a plan for protecting Moses — 

she placed him in a basket made of reeds and pitch 

and set him into the reeds by the river bank (Exodus 2:3). 

We wonder if she felt afraid or if she fully trusted 

that you would save her infant son from drowning. 

How many times have we felt this back and forth 

between trust in you and fear for our children—

when they are sick or have an ongoing health issue, 

when we have to leave them in a new place we’re not comfortable with, 

when they make friends at school 

who might not be the best influence.  

Give us the wit and wisdom you gave Jochebed. 

Show us how to best protect 

our children and grandchildren 

from danger of all kinds. 

Most of all, give us the faith to believe 

that you love our children even more than we do, 

and that you are always seeking their good and your glory.

In Jesus’ child-loving name. Amen.

Read Exodus 2:1-10.

A Prayer about the One Thing We Need

by | Jan 22, 2023 | body, Daily Prayer, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about the One Thing We Need

Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’ John 6:35

 Lord Jesus,

Bread of life; manna from heaven,

Forgive us when we are like the grumbling people in this story, 

people who have just been fed a filling feast 

you produced out of two fish and five loaves

and who now clamor for more miracles. 

Open our eyes to see that you are the miracle, 

you are the one thing we need. 

We don’t need tricks and magic shows, 

we need the miracle of redemption, 

a Savior sent from heaven to feed us 

the food that fully satisfies, 

to fill us with the living water that quenches our thirst. 

May we see that you are real, 

that while we can’t physically eat you like a piece of bread, 

we can fully partake of you, 

moment by moment, 

through your Word, by your Spirit. 

Help us to see that when we fully take you in, 

you satisfy our deepest longings—

for love, for peace, 

for hope, for trust, 

for forgiveness, for healing. 

In your very real name. Amen. 

Read John 6:22-71.

A Prayer about Caring for the Mentally Ill

by | Jan 21, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Grief, Suffering

A Prayer about Caring for the Mentally Ill

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

Comforting Father,

We lift up all who are affected by mental illness. 

Sadly, because of our ignorance about mental illness, 

many of the mentally ill suffer “secondary wounds.” 

Both the afflicted and their families have suffered

quick-fix by faith cures, 

condemnation of behavior, 

or exile from the body. 

As we look to our Lord Jesus, 

who came alongside the mentally afflicted 

and often healed but always cared, 

make us more like him. 

Help us to be sensitive, 

to consider the context of suffering, 

to listen well, 

to remember the hope we have to offer—

the incarnate, resurrected, and ascended Christ 

will one day come again 

to redeem and restore all broken bodies. 

How we ache for that day.

In Christ’s restoring name. Amen. 

Read 1 Peter 5:10; Matthew 11:28-30; Matthew 4:24; Romans 15:13.