A Prayer about Where to Turn in Danger

by | Jul 5, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Where to Turn in Danger

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. Daniel 2:20

Saving God,

Few of us have ever faced the threats

of a despot king as Daniel did,

but many of us have faced the threat

of danger

from an unjust boss,

a biased system,

or a dread diagnosis.

When we are faced with dark threats,

calm our minds and ease our panic.

Help us to do what Daniel did—

ask our friends to pray

and face our enemy with equanimity,

knowing the Lord who made heaven and earth

is our helper.

When you help us,

draw our hearts to bow before you

thanking you and praising you

as Daniel did:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons;

he removes kings and sets up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:20-21).

In Jesus’ protecting name. Amen.

Read Daniel 2:1-24.

A Prayer about Not Repaying Evil for Evil

by | Jul 4, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Not Repaying Evil for Evil

1 Thess 5:15: See to it that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to good to one another and to everyone.
 
Good Father,
Not only are you “abundantly good,”
you sent your Son to defeat evil,
in our hearts, and in this world.
We know our hearts are “deceitful”
and “desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9),
and we know we are blind to our own potential
to harm others and to rebel against you.
Show us, we pray, by your Spirit,
the ways we harbor evil,
the ways we seek revenge
when someone has done us evil.
Destroy every crack and crevice
of bitterness or resentment
we might harbor.
Draw us to “seek to do good”—
to “one another” and to “everyone,”
not just to the people
who have been nice to us,
the people we agree with on all the hot-button issues,
or the people who look, talk, and act like us.
In Jesus’ kind name. Amen.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28.

A Prayer about True Freedom

by | Jul 3, 2022 | 4th of July, Daily Prayer, Gospel Coaching

A Prayer about True Freedom

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Merciful Father,

When the apostle Paul told the Galatians

they had been set free for freedom,

he wasn’t talking politics;

he was talking about

the rich, generous, and gracious

freedom we have in Christ.

On this Independence Day in America,

some of us celebrate America’s freedom,

but even more,

we celebrate the freedom we have

as citizens of your kingdom.

We are…

Freed from sin and shame

to bear the fruit of sanctification

and to live eternal life as your servants,

starting now (Romans 6:22).

Freed to outdo one another in love,

with honor, not slander,

with hospitable hearts,

assuming the best of others, not the worst (Romans 12:9-10).

Freed to serve God and serve others,

not to use our “freedom as a cover-up for evil” (1 Peter 2:16).

Best of all, we are freed

to spend all of our time, money, and energy

giving glory to you,

ourmighty and majestic God (Revelation 1:5-6).

Thank you for these truths which set us truly free (John 8:32).

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read Galatians 5:1-10; Romans 12:9-19; 1 Peter 2:16; Revelation 1:5-6; John 8:32.

A Prayer about the Perfection God Promises

by | Jul 2, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Theology

A Prayer about the Perfection God Promises

You therefore must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Heavenly Father,

As a recovering perfectionist,

I confess, this verse always makes me anxious

when I first read it.

But then I reread Dr. Dan Doriani’s commentary on Matthew,

and he reminds me,

the command is also a promise as phrased in Greek,

“You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

As he says, the word “perfect” also reveals

how completely inadequate we are

to live out Jesus’ commands

apart from his mercy and grace

operating in our lives.

The word “perfect” means “mature and complete,”

but we know we’re nowhere near

as mature and complete as God is,

so it must be a process.

Indeed,

becoming mature and complete

takes a lifetime of your sanctifying work

through the Spirit.

Becoming mature and complete

doesn’t mean “work harder”;

it means “depend on God more,”

because you are the God

who makes new selves out of old selves (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Becoming mature and complete

doesn’t mean “never make a mistake”;

it means “run to God

with all of your mistakes,

weaknesses, and sin.”

To be perfect

is to trust in you alone

to finish the good work

you began in us in Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

In Jesus’ perfecting name. Amen.

Read Matthew 5:17-48; Philippians 3:12-16.

A Prayer about Being Truly Transformed

by | Jul 1, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Being Truly Transformed

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

Everlasting God,

I did it again.

I just scrolled away twenty minutes,

looking at this and that,

following this trail on someone’s post about their wayward cat,

clicking on this headline about a bizarre tragedy on a remote island,

checking the weather for Wimbledon…

Have mercy on me, have mercy on us.

Sometimes it seems we have no self-control

when a screen is in our hand or at our fingertips.

We long to know the “rest for my soul”

that Jesus has promised (Matthew 11:28-30),

and yet so much of what we do

fills our heads and heart

with noise and trivia

that is impotent to change our lives.

Transform us, we pray,

renew our minds by the work of your Spirit,

so that we can sit still

and remember that you are God (Psalm 46:10).

Speaking of sitting,

help us to do just that sometimes,

to sit quietly with no phone, no tablet, not even a book,

and listen for your voice delighting in us,

for in this very moment,

you are singing over us,

quieting us with your love (Zephaniah 3:14-17).

In Jesus’ life-changing name. Amen.

Read Romans 12:13; Matthew 11:28-30; Psalm 46:10; Zephaniah 3:14-17.