A Prayer about What to Pray

by | Sep 9, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Prayer

A Prayer about What to Pray

[Hi Friends, this prayer is the first of two parts; stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow 😀]

Father of Glory,

Sometimes I don’t know how to pray for people I love, 

and then I remember that you’ve given us 

so many good prayers in your Word, 

like this one in Ephesians 1:15-23, 

Today, we join borrow these words 

to pray for our loved ones:

[try filling in the names of specific people in this prayer]

We thank you for [their] faith and love for people (Ephesians 1:15);

We ask you to give [them] 

“spiritual wisdom and insight 

so that [they]might grow in the knowledge of God” (Ephesians 1:1).

We pray that [their] “hearts would be flooded with light 

so [they] can understand the confident hope 

you’ve given to those you’ve called” (Ephesians 1:18).

In Jesus’ resurrecting name we ask.

Amen.

Read Ephesians 1:18-23.

A Prayer about Labor that Saves

by | Sep 6, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Labor that Saves

Holy God,

Thank you for the apostle Paul’s honesty about his struggle with sin. 

I too struggle. 

On this Labor Day, the song that gets stuck in my head 

(even though it has nothing to do with the actual holiday), 

is “Rock of Ages.”

Today, I make Toplady’s my song, 

for it names the truth about me:

“Not the labors of my hands 

can fulfill thy law’s demands; 

could my zeal no respite know, 

could my tears forever flow, 

all for sin could not atone; 

thou must save, and thou alone.”

Thank you, that Jesus’ labor on the cross has saved us!

And because of this great news, 

lead me into your world to serve you 

and share this good news with others.

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Romans 7:24-8:1.

A Prayer about Giving Thanks in Troubled Times

by | Sep 5, 2021 | Daily Prayer, gratitude

A Prayer about Giving Thanks in Troubled Times

Lord,

Yes, “let the redeemed of the Lord say so, 

whom [you have] redeemed from trouble” (Psalm 107:2).

Even if we have seen trouble, 

if we’ve been wandering 

in “desert wastes….

hungry and thirsty…

our souls fainting within” (Psalm 107:5), 

you have “delivered [us] from our distress” (Psalm 107:6).

[Name some of the troubles you’ve seen this week, 

and how the Lord has delivered you from your distress].

Some of us “sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,” 

either because of our own rebellion, 

or because of the pain of living in this fallen world (Psalm 107:10), 

and yet you have shown your “wondrous works to the children of man,” 

and so we thank you for your “steadfast love” (Psalm 107:8,15).

[Name some of the dark places you have experienced in your life, 

and how God showed his wondrous works to you].

And on and on we could go through this remarkable Psalm 107, 

which names the storms and desert places of our lives 

and demonstrates your kind redemption

 in every place we have ever walked. 

We thank you, Lord, and we praise you, 

as those you have redeemed from trouble.

In Jesus’ redeeming name. Amen. 

Read Psalm 107.

A Prayer about Redemption in Marriage

by | Sep 4, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Marriage

A Prayer about Redemption in Marriage

Redeeming Lord,

On this my 39th wedding anniversary, 

I marvel at your kindness to my husband and to me. 

We both readily admit 

that marriage hasn’t always been easy, 

because our natural tendencies don’t really fit 

the description of our calling in marriage. 

I don’t naturally submit to my husband, 

and he doesn’t naturally nourish me 

the way Christ does the church (Ephesians 5:22, 33, 25). 

And yet, what we would also confess 

is that you have

redeemed us, 

transformed us, 

sharpened us, 

through marriage. 

Over the years, 

by the power of the Holy Spirit alone, 

through faith in Christ alone, 

we have ever so slowly 

become people 

who will sacrifice our agendas for the other. 

You have been at work, 

making us less selfish 

and more dependent — 

on one another and mostly, on you. 

And my hunch is that’s exactly how you meant it to be. 

Thank you for your redemptive work in marriages. 

When it’s hard, continue to bless us all 

with the hope and love of our Savior, 

the perfect bridegroom who gave himself up 

to sanctify us for himself (Ephesians 5:25-26). 

In his forgiving name. Amen.

Read Ephesians 4:21-5:33. 

A Prayer about Imagining God’s Peaceful Kingdom

by | Sep 3, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Theology

A Prayer about Imagining God’s Peaceful Kingdom

Heavenly Father,

Enliven our imaginations so that 

we may see the reality of your kingdom of peace 

which has already come and which awaits fulfillment. 

Too often we are like the skeptical people 

Hemingway refers to in The Sun Also Rises, 

who mock those who believe in beauty, saying, 

“Isn’t it pretty to think so?”* 

You have said that one day 

the “wolf shall dwell with the lamb, 

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat” (Isaiah 11:6)

It’s not just pretty to think so 

but profound to believe.

Indeed, you have already sent our Savior, 

the one in whom “The Spirit of the Lord” rests, 

in whom 

“the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 

the Spirit of counsel and might, 

the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord” 

is embodied (Isaiah 11:1-2).

Because Christ has come, 

because he has died for our sins,

 because he has risen from the dead, 

and because he is coming again, 

we have every reason to live now 

as if such peace and flourishing have already begun.

We have every reason to no longer “hurt or destroy.” 

For indeed, the whole earth, 

from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean, 

is full of the knowledge of you, Lord. 

May we live and love today as if we really believe.

In Jesus’ peace-bringing name. Amen. 

Read Isaiah 11. 

*Quoted in Rankin Wilbourne’s excellent book Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God.

A Prayer about Lasting Joy and Blessing

by | Sep 2, 2021 | Daily Prayer, Joy

A Prayer about Lasting Joy and Blessing

Lord Jesus,

We confess, we need your blessing to transform our minds.

I heard a revealing statistic yesterday: 

When asked, “What is your purpose in life?” 

84 percent of Americans answered, 

“To be happy.” 

Asked how they will become happy, 

they said “by following their hearts.”

That’s a long way away from the kind of joy and blessing 

you talk about in your kingdom. 

You say that those who are poor in spirit 

are blessed and joyful 

because they belong in your kingdom.

You say that those who mourn 

are blessed and joyful 

because they will be comforted in your kingdom.

You say that the humble 

are blessed and joyful 

because they shall inherit the earth.

You say that the merciful 

are blessed and joyful 

because they shall receive mercy.

You say that the pure in heart 

are blessed and joyful 

because they shall see God.

You say that the peacemakers 

are blessed and joyful 

because they shall be called your children.

You say that the persecuted 

are blessed and joyful 

because they belong in your kingdom.

Jesus, forgive us for our self-centered pursuit 

of what we want when we want it. 

Turn us upside down

 so we can learn to live and love 

in your upside-down kingdom, 

putting you and others before ourselves.

In your sacrificial name. Amen. 

Read Matthew 5:5-12.