Daily Prayer

a prayer for friends and family entangled in darkness

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. (Col. 4:12)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Rom. 8:26

Dear heavenly Father, sometimes quite literally all we can do is pray for certain family members and friends— people we love who live in the vortex of mental and emotional illness; others who are willing participants and suppliers of their own destructive addictions; still others whose rage, pain, and trauma have power over their lives.

Father, help us to know what our limits are in these situations, what loving well in dark brokenness looks like, and what resources are available to us. Teach us how, like Epaphras, to wrestle in prayer for our loved ones without literally wrestling with them one-on-one. Some situations are beyond reason, conventional care, or safe interactions. Help us, Lord; help us.

It's heartbreaking to watch people we love become people we fear. It's unnerving to hear threats of self-destructive behavior and to feel helpless, even hopeless, in the midst of the emotional frenzy, rage-fueled words, and irrational activity.

It's paralyzing to feel responsible but incapable of helping. Help us, Lord; help us.

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a prayer for inner renewal

Dear God,

You are generous in love. Please give me grace!

Merciful and loving one, wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt and cleanse my memory.

I have acted badly and violated my conscience.

I’ve been out of step with you for a long time.

What you’re after is truth from the inside out.

Come into my heart and create a new, true life.

Make a fresh start in me and shape my journey.

Bring me back and put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a new purpose and help me to love.

To you I give all praise and honor.

Amen.

... with inspiration from Psalm 51

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Praying in the mornings and the evenings

Lord, help me to pray in the morning before I start my day.

Help me to pray in the evening before I end my day.

I ask this so that I will become more aware that from start to finish, you are with me.
Help me to be like the Psalmist who gives thanks to you both in the morning, and in the night!

Amen

Psalm 92:1–2 (ESV)

1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night,

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a prayer of confession

Heavenly Father,

For our life in Christ and citizenship in heaven, we praise and worship you.

For your promise of daily mercies and sufficient grace, we trust you.

By your grace and for your glory...

Forgive us for heeding the opinions of others more than the declarations of the gospel.

Forgive us for being quicker to judge hearts than wash feet.

Forgive us for keeping our burdens, heartaches, and struggles from our friends.

Forgive us for trying to justify our busyness, grumpiness, and emptiness.

We turn once again to you, Father, in humble dependence and expectant faith.

In Jesus' loving name, we trust and pray. Amen.

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a prayer for restoration

We beseech You, Master, to be our helper and protector.

Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly;

Raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly;

Restore the wanderers of Your people;

Feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners;

Raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.

Amen.

St Clement of Rome, 1st Century

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Help me to confress my sins that I may be free of them

Lord, help me to realize that I need to confess my sins to You so that I may be free from the guilt and burden of my sins.

Help me to trust in Your promise in 1 John 1:9 that ... "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

And then help me live in a way that pleases You, so that sin will never take away the joy that I have in You.

In Your Name Jesus I pray

Amen

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a prayer for grief and loss

Dear Heavenly Father,

In our grieving hearts, we lay this hurt before You. Our souls feels heavy with the weight of loss. We are pilgrims in the valley of sorrow, yet in this dark journey, we am not alone. For You are with us, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Father, Your love is unchanging and unending. You have promised to never leave nor forsake us, and we find solace in this promises. As tears flow we are reminded of the love of Your Son, Jesus, who wept at the loss of His friend, Lazarus. This divine compassion reaches out to us in our grief, affirming our pain as yet offering a comfort that only You can provide.

We confess, Lord, that there are moments when our faith trembles, when the shadows seem too deep, and our hearts ache profoundly. In Your grace to steady us in this uncertainty. Your grace and peace understanding is our refuge. In the middle of this storm, we cling to the cross where Jesus paid the price for our salvation. This is a beacon of hope that illuminates this dark path grief through this valley of sorrow.

Amen.

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An Easter Prayer

Dear Father,

Today is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On this day we turn our backs on death and open our hearts to life.

We embrace hope, remembering that the grave was not the last word.

With joy, we recall the story of the stone that was rolled away.

Our hearts are captured by the Easter story.

Christ is risen from the grave and forgiveness reigns. Hallelujah!

We confess our love to you and pray for all to be transformed.

In praise and adoration we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

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a prayer to have hope when all seems lost

Dear God,

On days like this, when all seems lost, give us hope.

When life seems so pointless, point us to resurrection.

Open our eyes to see Easter when life seems to blind us.

Awaken our minds to see with inner vision.

And our hearts to fully embrace your spirit within us.

To you we give all praise and honor.

Amen.

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Practice prayer that focuses on Christ not self

Lord, help me remember when I pray that it is more important and helpful to focus on Christ than myself.

You already know my troubles and struggles - the insecurities, frustrations, and fears. Help me to focus on You, who is able and willing to help rather than be trapped in the prison of my thoughts about my troubles.

Help me to focus on You so that I may see and experience hope and your love.

In Your Name Jesus' I pray

Amen

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a prayer for when we feel alone

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you. (Deut. 31:8 NLT)

Father, thank you, thank you, thank you for the promise of your perpetual presence.

When I'm afraid to be alone, you won't let me be. When I want to be alone, you won't let me be. When I need you to come through for me, you will .When it feels like you're not coming through for me, you are.

When I'm discouraged, you don't despise, chide me, or revile me; you enter, engage, and encourage me.

When I'm afraid, you don't say, "Buck up, be strong."

You say, "I understand, I'm here."

I praise and adore you.

Amen.

(From "Every Season Prayers" by Scotty Smith)

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a prayer for palm sunday

Dearest Savior,

On this holy day, we remember how the crowds cheered.

We shout blessings to you Lord, saying hosanna in the highest.

The day also brings to memory the tears of Jesus as he looked upon Jerusalem.

In grief, he spoke of a city who would reject their king.

We also recall how crowds would gather against Jesus later that week.

Cries for death and crucifixion would fill the sky.

These verses cause us to examine ourselves and our motives.

Have mercy on us that we might see clearly and act justly.

Help us to see ourselves clearly and our circumstances through new eyes.

Bless us to be people who welcome you every day of our lives.

Cause us to be ones who bring you joy and delight.

Above all help us to be people who love you and each other.

Amen.

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Consider your heart and words in your prayer

The heart is more important than words

‘The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’ (1 Samuel 16:7)

The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.’ (Isaiah 29:13)

Godly church leaders throughout the centuries have recognized the priority of the heart over the words we use when it comes to prayer:

John Bunyan (1628–88), author of Pilgrim’s Progress:

‘When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words be without heart.’

Manser, Martin, and Mike Beaumont. 2020. Handbook of Bible Prayers. Manser and Beaumont.

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a prayer from Psalm 93

Lord, you reign and are robed in majesty;

you are robed in majesty and armed with strength;

indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.

Your throne was established long ago;

you are from all eternity.

(Teach us to trust in you and your ways alone.)

The seas have lifted up, Lord,

the seas have lifted up their voice;

the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

(Teach us to glorify you the ways all creation does.)

Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,

mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty.

(May we feel comfort in your mighty ways.)

Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;

holiness adorns your house

for endless days.

(Father, may we yearn to be holy through your strength alone.)

(adapted from Psalm 93)

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