A Prayer about Thanking God for His Perfect Timing

by | Sep 22, 2022 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, kingdom living

A Prayer about Thanking God for His Perfect Timing

Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Genesis 21:2

Good Father, 

Just a year before Sarah became pregnant, 

you heard Sarah laughing at your promise 

that she would bear a child (Genesis 18:13). 

And you said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). 

Then Sarah had the gall to tell you she had not laughed. 

You were firm, “No, but you did laugh.” 

Despite Sarah’s unbelief, 

you moved forward with your plan, 

and now, a year later, 

Sarah gives birth to a son 

and calls him “Laughter,” 

because “God has made laughter for me; 

everyone who hears will laugh over me” (Genesis 21:6). 

What a story! What an amazing God you are!

Today, we thank you for this reminder 

that not even our own unbelief 

can stop you from fulfilling the plans 

you have for us 

to multiply your glory. 

Today, may we remember 

all of the unexpected, surprising, 

seemingly impossible ways you’ve worked, 

in your perfect timing, 

to bless us for the sake of your glory—

with children, work, friendships, healing, homes…

the list goes on and on.

[Thank God for some of the unexpected ways he has blessed you over the course of your life or the course of this week.]

May we never forget your goodness to us.

In Jesus’ surprising name. Amen.

Read Genesis 18:9-15; Genesis 21:1-5. 

A Prayer about Drawing Near to God

by | Sep 21, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Drawing Near to God

And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:21-22

Holy and Merciful God,

It’s easy to pass right over this verse 

without meditating on how astonishing it is 

that you, the holy Creator and King of the universe, 

have called us to draw near to you. 

Like oil and water, sin and holiness don’t mix. 

Like cheap paint on a rusted out car, 

the sacrifices of goats and calves passed quickly away,

leaving the ugly framework of an evil conscience glaring in the sun.

You knew we needed not only a great high priest 

but a lasting sacrifice. 

And you sent Jesus, 

your only Son, your holy Son, 

to keep the law we could never keep. 

You allowed his blood to trickle down 

from the wounds in his nail-scarred hands, 

to wash the bodies of those who would trust in his sacrifice.

And you raised him from the dead, 

bringing him to the heavenly throne next to you,

where he now prays for us. 

It’s truly a bizarre story. 

And yet, it is the only story that calls us 

to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).

We are humbled and awed by your goodness to us.

In the name of our great high Priest, Jesus, 

we thank you. Amen.

Read Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:19-25.

A Prayer about Remembering Death

by | Sep 20, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, body, Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Grief

A Prayer about Remembering Death

Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. Psalm 39:4

Everlasting God,

How we hate to think about or talk about the fact 

that we’re all going to die one day. 

And yet, when we read your Word, 

we see that it frequently speaks of death. 

It reminds us that we are mortal, 

and that our lives, 

in comparison to eternity, 

are short. 

Lord, we pray that you would give us a proper perspective on death—

we don’t “commend” it, 

for you did not design us to die. 

Death was the just punishment for sin. 

And yet, we do recognize its reality, 

and we prepare for it, 

because you tell us to remember that our days are numbered (Ps. 90:12). 

We prepare for it with the hope of immortality, 

knowing that Jesus defeated death on the cross, 

and that all who trust in him 

will live in your eternal glory. 

Because of this great hope, 

we have been freed from slavery to the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). 

And because of this great hope, 

we can prepare for death 

by getting our advance directives and wills and all the other things in order, 

by writing and sharing legacies with our loved ones, 

by visiting the dying, 

by going to funerals, 

and by comforting the grieving. 

Help us today to pray about dying well 

that we may live well. 

In Jesus’ resurrected name. Amen.

Read Psalm 39:4-5; Psalm 90.

A Prayer about Finding True Justice

by | Sep 19, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Finding True Justice

How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Psalm 82:2

Judge of the Earth,

All it took me was a stint on jury duty 

to realize how poorly qualified 

I am to serve on a jury. 

I want to believe I could be fair and impartial, 

to believe the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. 

And yet, I know in my heart how quickly 

I can jump to conclusions, 

how quickly I can judge another, 

how I think I know the whole story when I don’t. 

Help me to relinquish my daily “jury duty” to you, 

the judge of the earth.

You see the intentions of the heart perfectly.

You defend the weak and the fatherless.

You uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed.

You rescue the weak and the needy.

You deliver the weak and the needy 

from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3-4). 

And through Jesus, who died 

so that we may be acquitted for our sins, 

you have called and empowered us to be like you. 

Send us out into this broken world 

to love the weak and needy as you do. 

In Jesus’ sacrificial name. Amen.

Read Psalm 82:1-8. 

A Prayer about a Craving for God’s Word

by | Sep 17, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Scripture

A Prayer about a Craving for God’s Word

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Psalm 19:10.

Author God,

We confess, 

we spend so much time reading, watching, and listening 

to stuff that fills us like cotton candy, 

leaving us empty and irritable thirty minutes later. 

Help us to put the screens aside 

that we might develop a craving for your Word. 

Unlike much of what we read in our feeds today, 

your Word is perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and righteous,:

It revives the soul;

It makes wise the simple (Ps. 19:7);

It leads the heart to rejoice;

It enlightens the eyes (Ps. 19:8);

It keeps us from sin;

It rewards those who keep it (Ps. 19:11);

It endures forever (Ps. 19:9). 

Seed in us a craving for your Word, 

so that when we consume some, 

we crave more. 

For indeed, your Word shows us the hope of salvation in Jesus, 

the only hope we have to be 

“declared innocent from hidden faults; 

kept back from presumptuous sins” (Ps. 19:3).

As we consume your Word, Lord, 

may it change the words we speak, 

the thoughts we think, 

so that our thoughts and words will be “acceptable in your sight” (Ps. 19:14).

In the name of the Living Word, Jesus, we pray. Amen.

Read Psalm 19.  

A Prayer about Hope When All Seems Lost

by | Sep 16, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Grief, Suffering

A Prayer about Hope When All Seems Lost

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. Lamentations 3:22

Faithful Lord,

Sometimes we feel like Jeremiah,

seeing so much devastation and sin and sorrow all around.

Thank you for putting these hopeful verses 

right in the middle of the lament over Jerusalem’s fall.

When we feel 

that “peace has been stripped away,” (Lamentations 3:17, NLT), 

may we hear you singing over us,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

When we feel 

that “everything we had hoped for from the Lord has been lost” (Lamentations 3:19),

may we hear you singing over us,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

When we feel 

that we will “never forget this awful time” (Lamentations 3:20, NLT), 

May we hear you singing over us,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”

In the midst of our grief, 

we are grateful 

that you gave us such honest words in Scripture 

to cry out to you, 

we are grateful for your response

 to our lament,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 

[my] mercies never come to an end.” 

In Jesus’ faith-full name.

Amen

Read Lamentations 3.