A Prayer about Giving Thanks to Our God

by Elizabeth | Mar 14, 2023 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, Lent, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Giving Thanks to Our God

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 118:28

Loving Lord,

May we address you as this psalmist does:

Firmly, emphatically, declaring:

“You are my God,”

not my children, my work,

my dating life, my sports, my home,

or any other thing on this earth

that we sometimes serve and worship.

And oh, how thankful we are,

with the psalmist,

that you are our God,

because you have rescued us

“out of [our] distress and set [us] free” (Psalm 118:5).

[Name some of the distress he rescued you out of.]

Because you sent your Son to us, we “extol” you—

we praise you,

we talk about how great you are and how much we love you.

[Name some things you love about God.]

And then, like the psalmist,

we turn to others and invite them into our praise:

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good…”

because we know your praise

was always intended to be sung in a chorus, not as a solo.

In Jesus’ steadfast name. Amen.

Read Psalm 118:1-29.

A Prayer about Longing for a Better Place

by Elizabeth | Feb 19, 2023 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Longing for a Better Place

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord… Psalm 84:1

Heavenly Father,

As we read the words of the pilgrim psalmist,

who longed to be with you in your beautiful temple,

to live with you forever in worship,

may our longing for our heavenly home grow.

We all long for the kind of place this “son of Korah” describes,

a place where “birds find nooks and crannies”

and “sparrows and swallows make their nests”

because it is

a safe place,

a pleasant place,

a peaceful place.

Help us to remember that we are but

“strangers” on this earth,

scattered exiles (see Hebrews 11:13),

that while we have work to do here and joys to experience,

one day we will live with you forever,

in your heavenly home.

In that day

our faces will shine “with your gracious anointing” (Ps. 84:9, The MSG).

In that day,

we will realize that

“One day spent in your house,

this beautiful place of worship,

beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches” (Ps. 84:10, The MSG).

In that day,

we will see and sing with all your saints,

“All sunshine and sovereign is God,

generous in gifts and glory” (Ps. 84:11, The MSG).

How we long for that day!

Amen.

Read Psalm 84; Hebrews 11:13.

A Prayer about the Beauty, Surprise, and Joy of Jesus

by Elizabeth | Feb 16, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Joy, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about the Beauty, Surprise, and Joy of Jesus

On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. Isaiah 25:6

Miracle-working Jesus,

Yesterday, our pastor preached on your first miracle—

turning water into wine!

As he said,

“Why, of all the signs you could have chosen,

did you choose to make your first miracle this one?”*

His answer, so eloquently put,

is an invitation to adore and worship you:

“the arc of the universe bends toward joy.”

You came to bring “beauty, surprise, and joy.”

Yes, you came to forgive sins through your death on the cross.

And yes, we should fight against sin.

But we should never never forget that you

“drank the bitter wine

so we could drink the better wine

of everlasting life.”

We should never forget that you

“swallow(ed) up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8).

We should never forget that one day “soon”

we will join you as your perfected bride (Revelation 21:2),

the bride you died for,

feasting with you

at the wedding supper of the lamb (Rev. 19:6-10).

In your surprising name we pray.

Amen.

Read John 2:1-11; Isaiah 25:6-8.

*Quotes and concepts in this prayer come from our wonderful Pastor Joel Treick, Pinewoods Church. If you’d like to hear the sermon, go here and search for the episode from February 5, 2023.

A Prayer about God’s Covenant of Peace

by Elizabeth | Feb 12, 2023 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, Spiritual Growth, Theology, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about God’s Covenant of Peace

For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you… Isaiah 54:8-9

Promise-keeping Father,

In this world so set on strife,

what a profound promise this is:

Even where there is utter chaos on this earth,

your steadfast love shall never leave us,

your “covenant of peace shall not be removed” (Isaiah 54:10).

We don’t use the word covenant

often in our everyday conversations,

but we should use it more

when we think about you.

Your covenant is

your

unwavering,

unbreakable,

undivided,

unimaginable,

and undeserved

commitment

to love us and deliver us

from our worst selves,

to give us peace with you

and peace with one another.

Why would you make such a covenant with us?

The Bible is clear—

it’s not because we were so numerous

or powerful

or special—

it’s because of

your steadfast love

and your compassion.

We thank you

for keeping your promises to us.

May we joyfully serve you

in gratitude for your grace.

In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 54:8-10; Deuteronomy 7:6-11.

A Prayer about Remembering the Wonders of the Lord

by Elizabeth | Feb 9, 2023 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, legacy, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Remembering the Wonders of the Lord

We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. Psalm 78:4

Wonder-Working God,

As a lover of stories,

I’ve always appreciated Asaph’s call

to tell the stories of the “glorious deeds,

about his power and his mighty wonders” (Psalm 78:4).

Psalm 78 vividly portrays the terrible things that happen

when we forget to remember and tell the stories of your deliverance:

The Israelites forgot how you had divided the sea

so they could escape from the Egyptians,

and they became “stubborn and rebellious” (Psalm 78:8).

The Ephraimites forgot that you were their covenant-keeping King,

their chief warrior,

and they turned and ran away in the day of battle (Psalm 78:9).

What stories of your mighty wonders have we forgotten?

How you came to a teenage girl

who never went to church

and surrounded her with delightful and loving Christians,

who showed her the way to hope in the midst of darkness?

[Name some wonders of your life you might have forgotten].

Everyday, may we remember the most wonder-full news:

You remembered your compassion

and sent your Son to deliver us from our sins (Psalm 78:38).

In his saving name. Amen.

Read Psalm 78:1-72.

A Prayer about Praying God’s Promises Back to Him

by Elizabeth | Feb 5, 2023 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, Prayer, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Praying God’s Promises Back to Him

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever. Exodus 32:13

Merciful Lord,

When we have blown it again,

help us to remember how badly the Israelites had blown it.

You had brought them out of slavery in Egypt,

you had provided manna for them in the wilderness,

you had promised to make them a great nation

and to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses left to meet with you,

and the next thing we know,

the people are asking Aaron

to “make us gods who shall go before us” (Exodus 32:1).

And Aaron, Moses’ brother,

the one you provided for Moses’ help,

collects gold and fashion a golden calf.

Holy Lord, do we really comprehend

what an affront to your holiness this was?

Moses did.

He understood that he and his people deserved your wrath.

And yet, he prayed your promises back to you.

He did not collapse in self-contempt

as some of us may do when we’ve blown it again.

Instead, he reminded you

of your power

and your might

and your plan.

(As if you needed to be reminded.)

On that basis,

he asked for your mercy.

On that basis,

he asked for your continued presence.

On that basis, he asked you to show him your glory (Exodus 32:18).

Not only did you respond

by giving Moses a glimpse of your glory

that would not destroy him,

you gave us Jesus,

the very living presence of your glory.

Because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection,

when we have blown it,

we can “with confidence

draw near to the throne of grace,

that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

What great good news this is!

Amen.

Read Exodus 32-34.