Daily Prayer: May 2010

A Prayer for Healing

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.
James 5:15a

Dear Father in Heaven,
Today I ask again mercy and healing for my Uncle Chuck who is in the ICU with a severe case of pneumonia. I pray that You would cause the fluid in his lungs to drain away and the infection to cease. I pray strength for my dear Aunt Mary as she struggles to keep up with daily tasks and commitments as well as being by her husband's side. I pray for my cousins who find it so difficult to watch their father struggle with this illness. I pray for my mom who has already suffered incredible loss this past year and ask that you would spare her only brother. And, Lord, I thank you for my wonderful uncle, his love for You, and his love for all of us as well.
Amen

mjt

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Do you have an anxious heart? This prayer always encourages my heart to fully trust my Lord and give him all fears.

"The Lord is my peace. I shall not live in anxiety. He puts me under his wing of comfort and calms my spirit within me. He takes all my anxieties on Himself and helps me to focus on Him. Yes, though I walk through a time of grave uncertainties and fierce anxieties, I will not fret ~~for You are my peace. Your Word and your presence calm my now. You hold my uncertainties in the palm of your hand. You soothe my anxious mind ~~You smooth my wrinkled brow. Surely serenity and trust in You shall fill me all the days of my life. And I shall keep my mind stayed on You forever."

Taken from Calm My Anxious Heart - Linda Dillow

Amen

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Lord, grant that I may always allow myself

to be guided by you,

always follow your plans,

and perfectly accomplish your holy will.

Grant that in all things,

great and small,

today and all the days of my life,

I may do whatever you require of me.

Help me respond

to the slightest prompting of your grace,

so that I may be

your trustworthy instrument for your honor.

May your will be done in time and in eternity

by me, in me, and through me.

Amen.

-St. Teresa of Avila

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Sarum Primer Prayer

A prayer submitted by our friend at Mercies and Musings..

God be in my head and in my understanding;

God be in my eyes and in my looking;

God be in my mouth and in my speaking;

God be in my heart and in my thinking;

God be at my end and in my departing.

Amen

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False Accusations

Dear Lord,

This night please be with those who are falsely accused, those who must stand before judges and juries, humiliated and slandered, judged and sentenced for crimes they never committed. May they take comfort in Your presence, remembering that You paid the ultimate price so we could be free. And Lord, because it is impossible for us to know who is innocent and who is guilty, please keep us on our knees in prayer always bringing before Your throne those who are facing these battles. Please, Father God, be with Joe S. and "Uncle Sam".

And, please help my memory on Thursday evenings when I should be posting my prayers. It isn't that I have nothing to pray for, it's that I sometimes get distracted. Forgive me please.

Amen

mjt

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chase us, Lord

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

Don’t let us run away. Again.

Right now, someone is afraid to turn to you, Lord. They are ashamed.
They did something you did not want them to do. In a moment of weakness, they turned their back on you. And now, they are simply avoiding you.

They have been down this road before and have failed you once again. So they are embarrassed to come into your presence. Feeling unworthy to read your Word. Afraid to speak with you in prayer. If they stay away, maybe you will forget. Maybe they will forget. They just can’t come seeking your forgiveness. Again.

At a time when they need you the most Lord, they are running in the other direction.

I know. I was there.

Don’t let your children drift away, Lord Jesus. You have already paid the price for our sins. Make it easy for your children to know that you still love them. How much you love them. They need to know that how much you would still welcome them into their house.

At our worst, we feel unlovable. At our worst, we need you more than ever.

Chase us, Lord. When we should be chasing after you.

Don’t let us run away. Again.

Amen

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personal prayer request

We received a call last night that our 21 year old granddaughter passed out in the shower. She is getting checked out and will have a CT scan soon. Please join me in praying for her, and any others that have medical needs at this time.

Dear Lord, Ruler of All, and Great Physician, in your tender mercy and compassion, and in your perfect will I pray that you will reach down and touch Monique and also a blogger friend Abraham Lincoln who is suffering from lung problems and is having so much trouble breathing.
You alone have the answers Lord, give us your comfort and peace. We love and adore You. Amen

Amen

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A prayer for healing

Lord, You invite all who are burdened to come to you. Allow Your healing Hand to heal me. Touch my soul with Your compassion for others; touch my heart with Your courage and infinite Love for all; touch my mind with Your Wisdom, and may my mouth always proclaim Your praise. Teach me to reach out to You in all my needs, and help me to lead others to You by my example.

Most loving Heart of Jesus, bring me health in body and spirit that I may serve You with all my strength. Touch gently this life which you have created, now and forever.

Amen

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Help for Our Unemployed Friends

A good friend called a few days ago and told me that he lost his job. It seems that many people are finding themselves unemployed these days. I know several that have been out of work for quite a while. Please join me in praying.

Help our friends Lord. Help them to find jobs that will support their families. Give them wisdom in their search and encourage them while they seek. Cause this time to be a prosperous one for all who seek work.. bring each seeker and their family members closer to you. And help others to help these in practical ways.. cause generosity to flow from your children to those who seek employment. Amen

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Prayer and Temptation

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13)

Have you ever wondered about this part of the Lord's prayer? The Message Bible puts it this way:

Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.

Once again we see Jesus teaching us about humility. In a sense there are two entities involved in temptation.. a human and an evil enemy. One is called The Tempter and the other is The Tempted. It is an act of humility to acknowledge our inability to resist temptation apart from prayer.. apart from the Spirit's influence in our lives.

Father we ask for your help to resist temptation.. we confess that we are weak in the flesh and need You desperately to keep us from evil. Deliver us today and cause us to be strong in humility and weak in pride.

Amen.

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A Child's Eyes

But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Luke 18:16

Dear Father,

So often I am overwhelmed with life and the challenges that come my way. I pray that this day You would help me to see life through the eyes of a child, to experience the wonder and excitement that so often goes unnoticed. May I take the time to stop and actually smell the flowers along the way, to walk barefoot in the wet grass, and catch a raindrop on my tongue. May I stop to blow bubbles, spin a hula hoop on my arm, and play dress-up. Forgive me for how so often I am in a rush and help me take some time today to play.

Thank you.

Amen

mjt

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STREAMS OF WATER

Psalms 1:2-3

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose

leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

Today my prayer is that I will delight in the Word of God, thinking about it, meditating on it. Reading it by day, meditating on it in the night watches. Lord I want to be that tree planted by the steams of the Holy Spirit, producing fruit that will please you. If I prosper, then all the glory goes to You. Amen

Amen

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A prayer of dedication to our God

Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by you, always follow your plans, and perfectly accomplish your holy will.

Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever you require of me.
Help me respond to the slightest prompting of your grace, so that I may be your trustworthy instrument for your honor.
May your will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me.
Amen.

- St. Teresa of Avila

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Encouraging Faithfulness in Prayer

What is prayer? Well, a simple answer is that prayer is "the language of faith." Jesus' words in Matthew 7:7-8 seem to suggest this. Here Jesus said:

⁷“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

With that in mind my hope is these lines will encourage us all to greater faithfulness in prayer.

The Gospels clearly portray Jesus' faithfulness in prayer. He both modeled prayer (Luke 11:1) and taught a model for prayer (Matthew 6:9-15). Knowing the human tendencies of hypocrisy and feelings of self-sufficiency, he warned about proper attitudes in prayer (Matthew 6:5-8).

With respect to the practice of prayer, a little acrostic has helped me a lot through the years. I don't have any idea who originated this. Thinking a praying in these categories has proved beneficial, when comes bringing balance and focus to my prayers. Many of you will recognize this as the "ACTS" of prayer:

A doration: Psalm 112; 117; Matthew 6:9; and 11:25ff.

C onfession: Matthew 6:12; Luke 18:13; and 1 John 1:5ff.

T hanksgiving: 1 Thessalonians 5:18; and Philippians 4:6.

S upplication: Intercessory- 1 Timothy 2:1ff; and Personal- Philippians 4:6-7.

Probably the most import thing for me to keep in mind is the fact that faithfulness in prayer is a very personal matter. Keeping my heart in tune with God remains the most important factor. It remains true that "...the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results" (James 5:16, NLT). It is far more important to be a person of prayer than it is to be familiar with and follow a formulaic list of correct prayer-practices. A person of prayer is one who approaches God...

In "fear" (with respect)- Psalm 145:17-20; and Psalm 115:12-13.

In faith- James 5:6 and 5:15.

In humility- James 4:6 (Proverbs 3:34); and 2 Chronicles 7:14.

With ones whole heart- Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 21:21; and James 1:5-7.

With selflessness- Luke 18:9-14 and James 4:3.

With forgiving spirit- Matthew 6:14-15; and Ephesians 4:32.

With confidence- Hebrews 2:18; 4:16-17; and 10:19, 35.

With persistence- Luke 18:1-7; and 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

With sincerity and simplicity- Matthew 6:5-8 and Mark 12:38-40.

In accord with God's will- Matthew 26:42 and 1 John 5:14.

With a heart for obedience to God's will- 1 John 3:22.

Someone has said that the power of prayer is in praying. I believe I understand and agree with the sentiment behind this statement. Only those who pray earnestly ever experience the awesome efficacy of prayer. However, the true power of prayer is wrapped up in the reality that God hears and answers our prayers. That really is incredible, isn't it? The Creator of the Cosmos, the Sustainer of all that exists, hears and answers our prayers. This is the ultimate encouragement to faithfulness in prayer. We can have complete confidence in this reality. To help us keep this in perspective we must remember the following:

Sometimes God chooses to delay His answer, Luke 18:1-7.

Sometimes God lavishes us more abundantly than we ask, 1 Kings 18:24, 36-38; and 1 Kings 3:10ff.

Sometimes God grants us a different, a better response the we seek, 1 Kings 19:1-9; and 2 Cor. 12:7-9.

Sometimes, since God loves us and has our best interest in mind, God simply says "No" to our requests, 2 Samuel 12:15-20.

Sometimes God responds immediately in the affirmative to our prayers, Numbers 14:30; 1 Kings 17:20-21; and Acts 12:5ff.

Hopefully, this little article will encourage you to greater faithfulness in prayers. Remember, seven days without prayers makes one weak! Believe and you will receive. Doubt and do without.

Bill Williams
© May 9, 2010

Originally posted at: a spiritual oasis

Amen

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Pray for Nepal

This prayer request just came in from a missionary friend in Nepal:

As I sit here typing this, Nepal is in a sort of civil war. One certain political party wants to take over, and they have taken to the streets and refused to let anything open, vehicles to drive, etc... I am nervous that we’re going to run out of water and not be able to buy any from a water tanker. And I feel sad for the daily wage earners that are probably hungry right now. They are opening things for an hour or two every evening so we can buy vegetables/fruits, etc... but as soon as the supply is gone, nothing will be available. Please pray for a speedy agreement to be made amongst all of the political parties!

We entreat you Father to interfere in the affairs of factions in Nepal that have selfish motives for the region. We pray that you would overturn their power and bring righteous peace to this area. We intercede for the safety of your people there and ask that you would bless them with wisdom and grace. We pray that evil would be overcome by good. We commit this situation to you asking for your kingdom to come and your will to be done. Come and reign Lord Jesus.. we pray in your name.

Amen

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Prayer for Forgiveness

Forgive me, Lord, for my grumbling spirit and help me to be thankful. You have blessed me in so very many ways and yet I often fail to be grateful. I have more than I could possibly hope for and yet still hope for more. I am selfish. Please, Lord, put within me a heart that wants to give, a heart that is satisfied, a heart that trusts in You, and a heart that truly desires to bless others without concern for myself. Make me more like You.

Amen

mjt

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close to you... still

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations."

His apostle Paul writes: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

While this is a repeat of last week's prayer, it remains the prayer that is still on my heart today:

close to you right now

perhaps next door,
down the block,
around the corner,
or even closer

someone is waiting to be
touched by the grace of god

it is within their reach
always attainable
hidden in plain sight

my heart goes out to that one
who is close to you
right now

i pray that they
may feel god's grace
close to them

Amen

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"Give me, O God, this day a strong and vivid sense that Thou art by my side. In multitude and solitude, in business and leisure, in my down sitting and in my uprising, may I ever be aware of Thine accompanying presence.

By Thy grace, O God, I will go nowhere this day where Thou canst not come, nor court any companionship that would rob me of Thine.

By Thy grace I will let no thought enter my heart that might hinder my communion with Three, nor let any word come from my mouth that is not meant for Thine ear. So shall my courage be firm and my heart at peace.

I steadier step
When I recall
That though I slip
Thou dost not fall

Taken from A Diary of Private Prayer ~ John Baillie

Amen

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A prayer of compassion from Mother Teresa

Lord, open our eyes

that we may see you in our brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears
that we may hear the cries of the hungry,
the cold, the frightened, the oppressed.
Lord, open our hearts
that we may love each other as you love us.
Renew in us your spirit.
Lord, free us and make us one.

Amen

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Being Specific in Prayer

A friend of mine is a great proponent of being specific in prayer. When encouraging people to pray, he often says, "Remember to be specific."

Think about it. Can we really pour out our hearts to God in prayer without being specific? Can we really draw near to the throne of Grace without being specific? Can we really intercede for those in need without being specific? Can we truly ascribe unto God beauty and holiness with being specific? Can we humble ourselves before our Majestic King without being specific?

We do need to be specific in prayer. We also need to be transparent with one another about our praise and prayer requests, so they can be specific in praying for us. Hopefully, some who read these lines will share some specific praise items and prayer requests in the comments that follow so we can be specific in our prayers for one another today. I'll kick things off with the first comment. Please remember to be specific.

May you be richly blessed with a wonderful week in service to God and others!

Bill Williams
Spiritual Oasis
__________________________________
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Inviting His Presence Into Our Work

A prayer from the folks at Beliefnet..

Lord Jesus, as I enter this workplace, I bring Your presence with me. I speak Your peace, Your grace and Your perfect order into the atmosphere of my workplace.

I acknowledge Your Lordship over all that will be spoken, thought, decided and accomplished this day.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gifts and skill You have deposited in me. I do not take them lightly, but commit to using them responsibly and well.

Give me a fresh supply of truth and beauty on which to draw as I do my job today.

Bless my creativity, my ideas, my energy so that even my smallest task may bring You honor.

Lord, when I'm confused, guide me - when I'm weary, energize me.

Lord, when I'm burned out, infuse me with the light of Your Holy Spirit.

May the work I do and the way I do it bring hope, life and courage to all that I come into contact with today.

And, oh Lord, even in this day's most stressful moments, may I rest in You.

In the name of Jesus, I pray.

Amen

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As You Pray

A few great principles on prayer from Gregg at Gospel Driven Disciples:

As you pray, let prayer be your first choice and not your last choice
As you pray, let your gaze be on God and your glance on your requests.
As you pray, pray from conviction and not from crisis
As you pray, pray seeking the help and aid of the Holy Spirit
As you pray, fill your prayers with praise for God and for all that He is
As you pray, make your focus on spiritual principles for growth, rather than stuff. God is not a heavenly vending machine in the sky or a genie to take out and rub.
As you pray, always remember God is worthy of our time, effort, and energy, so pray without ceasing.

For more on prayer check out the remainder of Gregg's post titled Prayer: The Tangible Expression of Our Dependence Upon God.