A Prayer about Taming Our Tongues

by | Oct 11, 2022 | Gospel living

A Prayer about Taming Our Tongues

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8

Holy Father,

We confess, 

when we are not rooted in your steadfast love, 

immersed in your Word, 

we can so quickly and rashly 

wield words that wound others. 

Help us to spend some time 

thinking through our words, 

asking, “Are my words full of deadly poison? 

If I type this comment, 

send this email, 

make this remark, 

will it hurt someone’s feelings?

If I share this rant, 

could someone feel guilty 

or ashamed 

or angry

or sad?” 

Change us, Lord, 

conforming us to the image of your Son,

because we know that our tongue tendencies 

are deeply rooted in sinful selves. 

Only through the love 

of your Son, 

only through the transforming power 

of the Holy Spirit, 

can we learn to speak words 

of wisdom, truth, and kindness. 

In Jesus’ kind name. Amen.

Read James 3:1-12.

 

A Prayer about Living in Faith, Hope, and Love

by | Oct 5, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Living in Faith, Hope, and Love

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Faithful Lord,

In a world that nags us, 

“You need more, 

to get more, 

to do more, 

to be more,”

help us to see that you have given us 

the “full assurance of faith,” 

your finished work for us on the cross. 

Now we can draw near to you 

with hearts relieved of guilt, 

for you have cleansed us from our sins (Heb. 10:22). 

In a world that makes us feel despair sometimes—

rising inflation, rising crime rates, rising poverty, 

we can “hold fast the confession of our hope,” 

not because we are so faithful, 

but because you are faithful, 

and you have promised your shalom 

will reign eternally. 

And because of the faith and hope you have given us, 

we can “consider” (be considerate) 

“how to stir one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24). 

Lord, let us not forget 

that you are coming soon, 

and as we remember, 

may we live out your faith, hope, and love 

in a world desperate to know good news. 

In your re-creating name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 10:19-39.

A Prayer about Great Trouble and Shame

by | Oct 1, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Suffering

A Prayer about Great Trouble and Shame

“The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah 1:3

 For the next few days, we’ll be praying one of Nehemiah’s prayers. If you’d like to hear the sermon that inspired these prayers (preached by our pastor at Pinewoods, Joel Treick), click here. It will be the first one in a series called Gospel Rebuild. 

Redeeming Lord,

As Nehemiah prayed for hurting people 

he had never met in a place he had never visited, 

we lift up hurting friends, neighbors, strangers, 

and even enemies.

Many are in “great trouble” in this world,

 as in the last couple of years, 

it feels like we have been pounded again and again 

by waves that knocked us down every time we almost stood up. 

Some suffer the loss of jobs or health or even relationships to Covid, 

others suffer the loss of homes and livelihoods 

to devastating natural disasters 

like hurricanes and earthquakes and wildfires. 

Still others suffer the ache of a lifelong dream 

seemingly stolen by circumstance. 

If “trouble” weren’t enough, 

there’s also the shame that plagues many.

Some suffer the shame 

of having sinned against people they loved; 

they wonder if they can ever repair 

the relationships they’ve severed. 

Some suffer the shame 

of having rebelled against you, 

thinking they knew better, 

and now they wonder if you’ll even have them back. 

Others suffer the shame of insecurity, 

thinking they’ll never win 

the spouse 

or promotion 

or the battle with infertility.

Lord, in the midst of “great trouble and shame,” 

we cry out. 

We remember your redemption and rescue 

throughout biblical history,

your redemption of the Israelites at the Red Sea, 

your return of the exiles to Jerusalem, 

your rebuilding of the walls there. 

But most of all, we remember 

your redemption on the cross, 

which is the very reason we can cry out 

with the “assurance of things hoped for, 

the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). 

Restore, renew, rebuild, redeem. 

For that is your way. 

And even as we pray for this restoration 

in our world today, 

we long for the day 

when we will no longer cry out 

about trouble and shame, 

because there will be no more crying or mourning or shame 

when you return. 

In your hope-full name. Amen.

Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.

A Prayer about Not Growing Weary and Fainthearted

by | Sep 28, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living, Suffering

A Prayer about Not Growing Weary and Fainthearted

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. Hebrews 12:3

Good Father, 

yesterday we prayed through our reason and hope 

for endurance from Hebrews 12:1 and 2.

Now we come to your gentle encouragement 

for weary followers in verse 3. 

We know that the Hebrew Christians 

to whom this letter was written 

were growing weary in their faith, 

having endured many trials, 

and the author is urging them to persevere. 

In the anti-Christian society in which we live, 

we need this crucial reminder. 

We have every reason 

to persevere in our faith — 

unlike Abraham and Moses and Joshua and Rahab 

and all the others mentioned in Hebrews 11, 

we know the true story of your Son 

who became flesh, and endured “such hostility” —

the mocking, beating, and humiliating and suffocating 

death on the cross, for us. 

We know he finished his race, 

and now, sitting next to you in heaven,

he continues to strengthen us to finish ours. 

We know that the hostility and hardships 

you allow in our lives you use to shape us 

more and more into the image of your Son, our Savior. 

Because of your kindness and grace, 

help us to endure whatever trials 

we may face today 

through the hope of our risen Savior. 

In Jesus’ enduring name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 12: 1-17.

A Prayer about Running the Race with Endurance

by | Sep 27, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days

A Prayer about Running the Race with Endurance

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Lord Jesus,

As the author of my faith and the author of my story, 

you know that I always remember this verse 

in the NASB version in which I first memorized it. 

I had been a camper for two life-changing weeks 

at Young Life’s Pioneer Plunge, a wilderness camp, 

and the culmination of our time was a three mile run 

down the mountain (three miles was a long way for 

this out-of-shape fifteen-year-old). 

We were encouraged to memorize these verses 

and to see ourselves running the life of faith with endurance. 

Even before we began, we were encouraged 

to “lay aside every encumbrance 

and the sin which so easily entangles us”

by confessing it to you and possibly to one other. 

When we felt weary or like we couldn’t go on, 

we were to fix our eyes on you, 

“the author and perfecter of our faith,” 

who endured the cross 

because of the joy set before you — 

the joy of knowing 

you were winning your Father’s children back to him. 

We were also to imagine the “great cloud of witnesses,” 

those who had run the race before us, 

Abraham and Sarah and Rahab and Moses

and the “women who received back their dead by resurrection” (Hebrews 11:35). 

(Now I know more and realize these characters

weren’t necessarily heroes of faith 

running like antelope 

but more recipients of your grace, 

stumbling along the way.)

Even if we had to quit running 

and walk part or all of the way, 

we were to remember that you “despised the shame” of the cross, 

so that we might never experience the shame of sin again. 

And if we encountered obstacles along the way, 

we were to ask for help, 

because you sit at the right hand of the throne of God, 

interceding for us.

I pray for my friends and me today, 

that we would continue running this same race with endurance, 

fixing our eyes on you, 

that we might see you 

writing and perfecting your story of faith in our lives.

In your perfect name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 11:1-12:2.

A Prayer about Coming Alongside Caregivers

by | Sep 26, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, Caregiving, Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Coming Alongside Caregivers

….four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on the mat, right down in front of Jesus.

Mark 2:4.

Gentle Jesus,

Bring to mind the people we know 

who are acting as caregivers to the sick or disabled in this season. 

They often find themselves 

paralyzed with guilt or grief, 

with confusion and exhaustion. 

Show us how we can be like the four friends to them, 

laying them on the mat 

and breaking through barriers 

to bring them before you. 

May we serve them in practical ways, 

cooking meals and doing yard work, 

helping them navigate the insurance maze, 

staying with their loved one 

so they can make doctor’s appointments 

or go for a walk. 

May we serve them 

by listening to them,

by encouraging them to lament,

and by praying for and with them 

when they can’t find the words to pray. 

Help us, Lord, to have the faith and kindness 

of the paralytic’s mat-friends 

to bring our caregiving friends before you 

to ask you to heal and help them. 

In your caring name. Amen.

Read Mark 2:1-5.