Daily Prayer

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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a prayer for discernment

Dearest Father in Heaven,

You are the source of all truth, and your light exposes what is hidden. I come before you today asking for clarity. Where there is confusion, deception, or hidden motives, please bring your light to shine.

Grant me spiritual discernment to recognize what is real and what is false. Guard my heart and mind from manipulation, anxiety, and doubt.

Give me the patience to wait on you and the courage to accept the truth, no matter how difficult it may be to face. I trust you Lord.

Amen.

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A prayer to love God more dearly

Loving God completely involves our whole personality—our intellect, emotion, and will. “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). The better we come to know God (“may we know Thee more clearly”), the more we will love Him (“love Thee more dearly”). And the more we love Him, the greater our willingness to trust and obey Him in the things He calls us to do (“follow Thee more nearly”).

Boa, Kenneth. 2008. Handbook to Spiritual Growth: Twelve Facets of the Spiritual Life.

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a prayer for when it feels like too much

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall. (Psalm 13: 3 and 4)

Meet us in this hard, difficult place. It’s not our pride, but your praise that we care about the most. As much as our bodies and hearts may hurt the gloating of your enemies hurts even more for the sake of your name bring the power of your hand

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13:5 and 6)

Father, this we know for sure: your steadfast love for us in the gospel is unquestionable and inexhaustible. Though are rejoicing and singing, they presently be reduced to a still small voice. We bless you for dealing bountifully with us. It finished work of Jesus. This pain, heartache and season soon will pass. May soon be sooner. Until then we unabashedly and un hesitatingly proclaim that we are your beloved children and you are our grace-filled God we pray in Jesus wonderful merciful name amen.

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a prayer as we transition

God of Love,

You are with us in every transition and change.

As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety,

We recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love.

We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us.

We thank you for the experiences that have brought us to this moment.

We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our work.

Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another.

We ask this in your Holy Name.

Amen.

- Author Unknown

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a disciple’s prayer

Loving God and Father,

Help us to be people of prayer,
committed to the person and message of Jesus your Son.

Help us to grasp the integrity and beauty of the truths
of faith and the transforming power of your grace.

Nourish and strengthen us as people of faith,
disciples of Jesus, committed to the mission of the Church
and eager to share the gospel without restraint.

Let our hearts burn within us as we catch glimpses
of your heart in Jesus, for through him,
we know your loving plan for us.

We ask this through Jesus the Christ who lives with you
and the Holy Spirit in one loving Trinity.

Amen.

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a prayer for safety in the storm

Almighty and Loving God,

People in Florida, and other areas, are awaiting hurricanes and storms.

We come before you asking you to give them wisdom in the day ahead.

We pray for their protection as dark clouds gather and heavy rains fall.

Please shield their homes, families, and communities from danger.

Calm the storms, hold back the floods and grant them peace in uncertainty.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

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A prayer to understand our true sinful condition

O God the Holy Spirit, who alone can show to them that are in error the light of truth, shine upon our souls; and as it is Your special function in bringing souls to Christ, to convince them of sin, discover to each of us, we ask of You, its defiling and destructive nature.

Teach us that the evil of sin is manifest in the departure of the heart from You, and in the proneness which we so often feel to rest in our sinfulness to find our satisfaction in earthly things; and that it is the breaking of Your holy law, and exposes our guilty souls to Your deserved displeasure and condemnation.

O may we be taught by Your grace to examine ourselves, and compare our thoughts, our desires, and our practices, with the righteous demands of Your pure and holy law.

May we reflect on all our sins of omission, as well as those of commission, of heart as well as of life. May we be convinced of sin, and truly humbled on account of our unbelief, and pride, and impenitence of heart; on account of our worldliness of spirit, our neglect of the offers of mercy, and our disregard to the honor of thy name and the temporal and eternal happiness of our fellow-creatures.

O, may we remember with self-abasement the many evil passions which have gained the position of power over us; the many over-anxious and worldly cares which we have indulged; our ingratitude and neglect of thankfulness for all the mercies we have received, while we deserved not the least of them; and our want of submission under Your discipline when we might justly have been cut down as cumberers of the ground.

In these and other respects, surely, our own hearts condemn us; how much more then, You who are greater than our hearts, and know all things. We are clearly guilty before You, and have incurred Your righteous displeasure. But turn towards us, merciful Lord, and so shall we be turned to You.

Wound our hearts, that You may afterwards heal them. Bruise them under Your rod and power, if You will, and then be merciful to bind them up.

Amen

Kurtz, Benjamin. 1860. Lutheran Prayer Book: For the Use of Families and Individuals. Revised and Enlarged Edition. Baltimore: T. Newton Kurtz.

* I have modernised the language a little

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His plans are FOR us

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when I want to do things differently

“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker,
    those who are nothing but potsherds
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,
    ‘What are you making?’
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’? - Isaiah 45:9

Dear heavenly Father,

Even your "woe's" are gitts of grace, for they warn me of the foolishness of my reasoning, the limitations of my perspective, and the self-centeredness of my musings.

Sometimes I think I'd like to be you for fifteen minutes. That would give me a chance to:

fix people that need fixing
fund ministries which serve you the best but struggle with finances the most
bring judgment upon those who've got it coming
alleviate the sufferings of friends whose pain is overwhelming
get even with people who've hurt me the deepest and betrayed me the most
put an end to human trafficking
rid the world of annoying politicians, fear-brokers, and pundits
and heal broken marriages of friends.

Alas, Father, I am such a mix of good desires and broken agendas. I look at my list and realize how much I need the gospel -- every day and every hour. Of course, you the Potter have hands -- big, loving, mighty ones. And not only that, but you have a heart bigger than the universe, wisdom beyond all imaginings, and a timetable that makes Swiss precision seem like laissez-faire laziness.

There is a day coming when you will put all things right and make all things new. In the meantime, please:

Give me patience
Increase my gentleness
Supersize my mercy
Deepen my trust
Fill me to overflowing with your grace and hope.
And grant me quick repentances when I whine about the way you do your job

I pray in Jesus' mighty and merciful name,

Amen

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a providential prayer

Lord God,

Into your hands I place all that I am and ever will be.

I commend my past to your mercy.

I submit my today to your grace.

Concerning my hopes and dreams, I will trust in Providence.

What is small and what is great, I give to you.

What amounts to a little and what amounts to a lot, I bring to you.

In both things temporal and things eternal, I will trust in you.

Amen.

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A Prayer for Autumn

O God of Creation,

You have blessed us with the changing of the seasons.

As we welcome the autumn months ...

May the earlier setting of the sun remind us to take time to rest.

May the brilliant colors of the leaves remind us of the wonder of your creation.

May the steam of our breath in the cool air remind us that it is you who give us the breath of life.

May the harvest from the fields remind us of the abundance we have been given and bounty we are to share with others.

May the dying of summer's spirit remind us of your great promise that death is temporary and life is eternal.

We praise you for your goodness forever and ever.

Amen.

- Author Unknown

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A prayer of assurance of help when we suffer and are tempted

Hebrews 2:17–18 (ESV)

17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

I thank you, Jesus, that you are able to both sympathise and help me when I undergo suffering and temptation.
Human help for those who suffer is limited. Some people can at times sympathise but not be able to help. Others can at times help, but can never fully understand and empathise with what I am going through.
But you, Lord Jesus, have no such limitations.
You fully understand and empathise as you fully share in my pain. And more than that, you have the power to help me in my suffering and temptation.
Help me, Lord Jesus, to understand and experience this in my life

In Your Name, Jesus, I pray
AMEN.

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