Daily Prayer

A prayer to be a friend to someone in need

Read Ecclesiastes 4:7-16

Two are certainly better than one when it comes to working, because two workers can get more done. Even when they divide the profits, they still get a better return for their efforts than if they work alone.

Two are better when it comes to walking (Eccl. 4:10). Roads and paths in Palestine were not paved or leveled, and there were many hidden rocks in the fields. It was not uncommon for even the most experienced traveler to stumble and fall. How wonderful to have a friend who could help him or her up.

Two are better than one when it comes to warmth (v. 11). Two travelers camping out, or even staying in the courtyard of a public inn, would feel the cold of the Palestinian night and need each other’s warmth for comfort.

Finally, two are better than one when it comes to security, especially at night (v. 12). It was dangerous for anyone to travel alone, day or night; most people traveled in groups for fellowship and for safety. If two travelers are better than one, then three would fare even better. Solomon had more than numbers in mind; he was also thinking of the unity involved in three cords woven together (v. 12)—what a beautiful picture of friendship!

Something to Ponder

What have you done lately to help someone’s work go a little easier?

Source: Warren Wiersbe. Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures.

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Lord,

Help me to remember that we are not meant to be alone in life.

Help me look out for someone in need and help them along the way.
Help me to be the kind of friend that I myself would like to have.
Help me be a friend to someone in need.

In Jesus' Name

Amen

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A prayer to use my tongue for God's glory

To ponder as you pray ...
What percentage of your words to others today were like "fresh water", and what were like "salt water"?

Lord,

Help me to use my tongue to bless You and others.
Help me to use my tongue to praise and not curse.

Help my words to be like fresh, life-giving water.
Help my words to bring You praise and glory!

In Jesus' Name

Amen

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Grateful hearts

May we always be grateful, LORD, for the blessing of life eternal!

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prayer for an attitude adjustment

Lord,

We pray for an attitude adjustment. When we are tempted to focus on what is going wrong, shift our perspective to what is going right.

Help us to let go of past hurts. Remove bitterness and resentment from our minds and hearts. Fill us with your peace, joy, and kindness.

Grant us a humble attitude. Bless us to love others, speaking words that build up rather than tear down, and reflect the very character of Jesus.

In your wonderful name we pray.

Amen.

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a prayer to be kind

Loving Father,

Help me to choose kindness today, even when it is hard.

Give me eyes to see people the way you see them.

Bless me to recognize their worth and dignity.

Help me to release bitterness, resentment, and the urge to judge quickly.

Guide my words to be kind, gentle, patient, and encouraging.

Grant me the strength to show grace to those who test my patience.

Guide me as I reflect your unconditional love.

Remind me that little actions and quiet words leave a lasting mark.

Let my life be a safe place where others experience Your goodness.

In your name I pray.

Amen.

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a prayer for self control

Father in Heaven,

You are slow to anger, rich in love, and faithful in all your ways.

I come before you acknowledging my weaknesses and my need for you.

Help me to rise above every impulse and distraction.

Thank you for the gift of self-control.

It is something I cannot manufacture entirely on my own.

When I am tempted to react in anger or impatience, pause my spirit.

Help me to say no to ungodly passions, and yes to your peace and guidance.

Give me the discipline to govern my mind, my tongue, and my actions.

When I stumble, pick me up quickly and renew my resolve.

Align my desires with your truth, and let my life reflect the character of Christ.

In his name I pray.

Amen.

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A prayer for a grateful heart

Thou that has given so much to me,

Give one thing more—a grateful heart.…

Not thankful when it pleases me,

As if Thy blessings had spare days;

But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.

George Herbert, “Gratefulness,” The Temple

Cited in Pohl, Christine D. 2012. Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us.

To reflect on ...

We think we dare not be satisfied with the small measure of spiritual knowledge, experience, and love that has been given to us, and that we must constantly be looking forward eagerly to the highest good.… We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts. How can God entrust great things to one who will not thankfully receive from Him the little things? If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even where there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so paltry and petty, so far from what we expected, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow according to the measure and riches which are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), p. 29.

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The gift of GRACE

Oh, LORD, we are so thankful for Your GRACE in our lives! May we be ever mindful of the beautiful gift you generously bestow upon Your Children.

What a blessing.

What a Savior..

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8)

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a prayer for the world

Dear Lord,

We lift up our world to you today.

Bring peace to places torn apart by war and conflict.

Protect children, refugees, and everyone who feels scared or unsafe.

Give wisdom, patience, and kindness to world leaders.

Bless all to make fair and peaceful choices.

Comfort those who are sick, hungry, or grieving.

Help everyone to show love, forgiveness, and care to one another.

Amen.

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a prayer for rescue

Father,

From the time we first rebelled, we've been a people in chains. Oppressed by our own sin and from the sins of others. Throughout history, we have seen the effects of sin on your people, and the powerful ways in which you have rescued them. From the moment you parted the Red Sea to the moment the veil in the temple tore, you have been a God desperate to rescue and redeem us, calling us back to you. And you still continue to redeem to this day.

We stand in the power and freedom of your rescue, O God. Knowing you continue to pursue us and deliver us from the chains that bind. We are given new freedom, new life, in Christ Jesus. Help us to have eyes that see our own bondage. Help us see those who are oppressed by sin, and use us as instruments of your peace, your freedom.

Guide us to continually walk away from these chains and find freedom in you.

Amen

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a prayer to be content

Heavenly Father,

I come to You with a restless heart.

I look at the lives of others and wonder why my journey looks so different.

Release me from envy, comparison, and the quiet fear that I am falling behind.

When I feel impatient, help me to trust in your providence.

Help me to remember that You make all things beautiful in their time.

Open my eyes to the unique blessings, and purposes in my life.

Remind me that you bring beauty from the ashes of my life.

Anchor my heart to things invisible and eternal.

Help me celebrate the growth of others without questioning my own worth.

I choose to rest in Your presence, knowing that I am enough.

Amen.

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a prayer to have a heavenly perspective

Heavenly Father,

When my mind is loud and my worries feel heavy, help me to pause.

Clear away my negative thoughts and quiet my fears.

Show me this moment through Your eyes.

When I get stuck on small things, remind me of what is eternal.

Give me the wisdom to trust in you and the humility to let go of control.

Help me to have peace in knowing that I am never alone.

Thank You for walking with me today.

In your name I pray.

Amen.

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A prayer to be faithful stewards

The New Testament word for stewardship is oikonomia, from which we derive the word economy. The word means “management of a household,” and here it refers to the responsibility that our master (Christ) entrusts to a manager (us).

Lord Jesus, help me to remember that you are not just our Saviour, but our Master.

Help me to remember that You have entrusted us with gifts and resources so that we might manage and use them wisely in Your service, and for Your glory.

Help us to remember that all that we have belongs to You.
Help us to be good stewards in all that You have entrusted to us.

In Your own Name Jesus

Amen

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a prayer for being known

God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand. I’m an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight.You know everything I’m going to say    before I start the first sentence.I look behind me and you’re there,    then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going.

... Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?

    to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
    If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
    to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
    you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
    At night I’m immersed in the light!”

... You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

(From Psalm 139, The Message)

God, you promise to know us inside and out. You know every hair on our heads, every thought in our minds, every feeling in our hearts. You love us so. Help us be known and loved by you, so that we may be known and loved by others.

Amen

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