Daily Prayer
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...
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...
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...
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...
A Prayer about Suffering for the Sake of Christ
Father God, Thank you for the Apostle Paul. What a strange and wonderful man he was, so markedly changed by Jesus Christ. He spoke these words of farewell to his dear friends in Ephesus, saying basically, “I don’t know what will happen to me in Jerusalem, but I...
A Prayer about Resurrection Joy in Seasons of Sorrow
Risen Savior, I love this story about Mary Magdalene. Not finding you in the tomb, she wept. Then she turned to see you but failed to recognize you. You called her name, “Mary.” She heard your voice and recognized you. She embraced you as her tears turned to joy. May...
A Prayer about Praying Briefly but Often
Merciful Father, In the past week, I’ve received more emails requesting prayer than I have in the past three months. We confess, too often, we go about our lives thinking that we’ve basically “got it,” and we don’t acknowledge our dependence on you by praying. ...
A Prayer about Remembering God’s Rescue
Lord, I admit, I read about the Israelites’ forgetting “the abundance of your steadfast love” (Psalm 106:7) and rebelling against you by the Red Sea, and I get kind of judgy. How could they forget? And yet, I too, struggle to remember your redemption. Today and...
A Prayer about Remembering the Spirit’s Power
Spirit of the Living God, Forgive us for forgetting you. If it weren’t for you making our hearts alive, we would never have followed Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5; Ezekiel 36:26-27). And now, as we seek to live a life of love and obedience to God, we so often try to run...
A Prayer about Relinquishing Performance-Based Acceptance
Precious Jesus, How glad I am that you are my advocate. You know how prone I am to wander from grace, to wander back into my lifelong ways of believing by performing well— being nice, working hard, doing good, I will be accepted— by others, and by God. And the...