Daily Prayer: June 2010

PRAYING FOR THE CHILDREN OF VBS

I am in the middle of Vacation Bible School. Wednesday's lesson is "The Road to Salvation" and I will be sharing the Wordless Book with the students.
Do you know what the colors stand for?

Black - Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Black for sin)

Red - John 3:16 "For God so loved the World that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" The Bible says, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. (Red for the Blood)

White - Isaiah 1:18 "Though you sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." (White for Cleaning and forgiveness)

Gold - Revelation 21:18,21 "The wall was made of jasper; and the city of pure gold. The streets of the city was pure gold." (Gold for Heaven)

Green - "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (Green for growing in the Lord.)

Will you join me today in praying for the children that will hear the story of salvation through the wordless book, and decide to choose Jesus as their personal Savior.

Amen

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Prayer to our all-knowing God

Lord Jesus Christ,
you have power over life and death.

You know what is uncertain and obscure,
and our thoughts and feelings
are no secret from you.

Cleanse me from my hidden faults,
for I have done evil and you have seen it.

Day by day my life draws nearer to its end.
You know how frail I am, in soul and in body.

Give me strength, Lord, in my weakness
and uphold me in my sufferings.

Amen.

- St. Ephrem the Syrian

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A Moving Prayer

On Wednesday Ann and I are moving from our patio home in the suburbs to a loft in downtown Kansas City. We closed on the loft last Monday and will close on our house next month. Things are going pretty good but I feel that we need prayer for our move this week. I tried to googling "moving prayer" and.. lol.. all I got was inspirational type of prayers.. so I though I would pray my own prayer. Please join me in prayer:

I am thankful today Heavenly Father that I have seen your hand at work in this move. You have humbled us, and worked in both of us, as we have negotiated the transactions of the move. We confess that we so need your continued help, your wisdom and your mercy as we move. We ask you to bring everything together before Wednesday and help us to enjoy the moving experience.

Lord we pray for our neighbors - those who we are leaving behind and those we will meet.. we thank you for our wonderful neighbors who care for us so much.. thank you for planting us here for the past seven years. We pray that our eyes would be open to the hurting hearts of those in downtown Kansas City.. bless us we pray to be a blessing to those in our new neighborhood.

This week we stand believing in your promise to be with us everywhere we go. We thank you for the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. We ask for special blessings to on the people who help pack, move and unpack our things.. we thank you for good friends. We thank you most for being our friend and for calling us friends.

We commit ourselves and this move to you believing in the name of Jesus.

Amen

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Peace in the Storm

Oh, Lord Jesus,
We need Your help. Please shine Your light on the path before us that we might walk in the way we should go. Decisions must be made and they are big decisions., life changing decisions. I pray for guidance and direction each day and peace in the midst of what may become a storm. Please, Lord, help us with our mom. We need You now. We need to know Your will for her.
Thank you for Your never ending love and care.
Amen

mjt

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WE ARE BUT THE FRAME, GOD IS THE ARTIST

Leonardo da Vinci was an artist of great skill. When he was a pupil studying under his master painter, the master called Leonardo to him and asked him to finish a painting the master had begun. The man had grown old and felt the time had come to quit painting. Young da Vinci had such reverence for his master's skill that he was overwhelmed by the suggestion that he should add his strokes to the master's. The man said simply, "Do your best".

Trembling with emotion, Leonardo seized the brush and knelt before the easel to pray. "It is for the sake of my beloved master that I implore skill and power for this undertaking" As he began to paint, his hand grew steady and his eye awoke with slumbering genius. He created a masterpiece."

Will you take the paintbrush of life in your hand, and kneel before your Master? He is the Master Painter, we are the frame that holds His work. Ask for His divine guidance, and then simply do your best!

Amen

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Come, Lord!

Come Lord! Come with me:

see with my eyes,

hear with my ears,

think with my mind,

love with my heart-

in all the situations of my life.

Work with my hands, my strength.

Take, cleanse, possess, inhabit

my will, my understanding, my love.

Take me where you will,

to do what you will, in your way.

For where you are,

there would your servant be.

Amen.

- Evelyn Underhill

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Prayer for Fathers

The story in the fifteenth chapter of Luke about the prodigal son sometimes comes across focused on the wayward young man and we forget that this is also a story about a father. Consider these reactions of a righteous father to a somewhat unrighteous son:

He loved his son enough to let him go.
He believed in his son and knew he would come back.
He met his son on the road - He ran to him.
He did not let His son act like an employee.
He welcomed Him and did not give him the third degree.
He defended him before the elder son.
He was a loving Father.

Heavenly Father we come to you this day remembering first that we call you Father.. you are our Abba.. our Dad. We intercede for ourselves and all of the fathers that we know asking you to make them like you. Help us to believe in our children and let them go. When they err give us hearts that run to them at the appropriate time. Help our children to always know we accept them and that they can come home. Cause us to love dear Father and be like you. Thank you so much for our fathers and the fathers that we have in our lives. We ask you to bless them today in the name of your son Jesus.

Amen

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THE HANDS OF JESUS

"Father, in Your hands are the untold riches of heaven and earth. In Your hands are the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. In Your hands are my life, my times and all my ways. All blessing, all provision, all protection, all comfort, all joy, all peace, all righteousness are in Your hands. Oh let me stay hidden in Your hand, Father, and I will lack nothing."

Amen

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Eternal God,

the refuge of all your children,

in our weakness, you are our strength,

in our darkness, you are our light,

in our sorrow, you are our comfort and peace.

May we always live in your presence,

and serve you in our daily lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- St. Boniface

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Chain Breaking Praise

Are you confronted with a difficult situation this week? Is your heart heavy with pain? If you are having a rough day or rough season.. I'm sorry that things are difficult.. as you listen to the song turn your heart to Him in praise. It is true that praise can break those chains.. it broke a few of those links for me this morning.

Praise the Lord

When you're up against a struggle
That's shattered all your dreams
And your hopes been cruely crushed
By Satan's manifested schemes.
And you feel the urge within you
To submit to earthly fears
Don't let the faith your standing in
Seem to disappear

CHORUS:
Praise the Lord. He will work through those who praise him
Praise the Lord. For our God inhabits praise.
Praise the Lord. And those chains that seem to bind you
Serve only to remind you.
As they fall powerless behind you.
When you praise him.

Satan is a liar and he wants to make us think
That we are paupers, when we know ourselves
We're children of the king.
So lift up the mighty shield of faith
For the battle must be won
Remember Jesus Christ has risen
So the works already done.

Amen

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Praying for America

Heavenly Father,

We are reminded this Flag Day weekend of how so many have sacrificed much to to keep our flag flying. We ask you to bless those who have given so much to serve our country with honor. We pray that you would grant peace in our land and in foreign lands. Let our flag be a reminder of freedom to all who see. We intercede for people in nations where they are oppressed by their governments - comfort them with your presence. We ask that wisdom would be given to our leaders her in America and ask that they would do nothing to dishonor the flag so many have died defending. We commit ourselves and our country afresh to you Lord asking that your kingdom would come and your will be done in our land.

Amen

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A Pure Reflection

Dear Heavenly Father,

It is a new day. The sun is shining and the flowers smile. Help me this day to be a reflection of Your great love. I want to say "pure reflection," but I am afraid I fall so far short. Please help me, Lord, to grow a little more like Jesus every day, that one day there will be no more cloud on the mirror.

Amen

mjt

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A LOVE LETTER FROM JESUS

My Beloved, do not be fooled by the evil one. He will try to convince you that you have wandered too far from Me and that you cannot come back. That is never true. I am compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love. If you confess your sins, I am faithful and just and will forgive your sins and purify you from all unrighteousness.

Have you ever wondered how high the heavens reach? My love for you is higher than that. And how far do you think the east is from the west? That is how far I have removed your sins from you. They are gone. So do not go looking for them; do not even try to remember them, because I do not.

Be glad when you come before Me. I love to hear you sing joyful songs of praise. Just think of all the benefits you enjoy as My child. And as you rejoice and give thanks to Me even in difficult times, I will fill you with a peace that you cannot explain.

So do not listen any more to the evil one. He only wants to rob you of your joy ~~~joy you will find in My presence. Come into My presence. Approach My throne of grace with confidence, and you will receive mercy and find grace to help you in your time of need. Come even now ~~~I am waiting for you.

(Ps.16:11; 98:1-4, 100:2, 103:2,5,8,11,12; Phil 4:4-7; Heb 10:17, Jn. 1:9)

Amen

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PRAYING FOR YOUR FAMILY

Surrounded by grandchildren. What is better than Family?

God loves your family. Because He has a plan for every family member, you can trust His Spirit to bring that plan to pass. You may not see immediate answers to your prayers, but you can rest assured that the Lord is faithful. Be patient, stand on His promises, and watch Him work in your family.

Here are a few prayers you can pray for your family:

Salvation ~ Lord, You love every person in my family so much that You gave Your only Son. Your aren't willing that any soul be lost. May _______________accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and become a new creation in You. (John 3:16, Mt. 18:14, 2 Cor 5:17)

Christlikeness ~ Dear Jesus, I pray that every family member will become more like You in every aspect of life. Fill us with Your joy and peace so that we may overflow with hope to the world around us. (Rom.8:29, 15:13)

Protection ~ God, shield my family from anything that would cause harm. We rest in Your mighty shadow because You are our refuge. When fear fills our hearts, remind us that Your perfect love drives out fear. (Ps.91:1-3, I Jn 4:18)

The most powerful tool we have in our journey with Christ is PRAYER! It's like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

Amen

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A Mother's Request

There is simply nothing that touches us so as the needs of our children. Consider this request from Nina:

i need your prayers. my daughter is sick. she doesnt speak, she is mentally and physically retarded. she is 13 yrs old. please pray for healing. attaching a snap of her.

Please include this dear mom and her child in your prayers this week. And please email any of us if you have a situation such as this and are are in need of prayer.

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Sometimes the simplest prayers are the best.

I often find myself trying to craft a prayer that will sing praises high enough and offer sacrifices grand enough and give thanks eloquent enough for our wonderful God.

And then I run across a simple prayer that sums up what I'm trying to say using just a few short words full of beauty. Here is one such prayer by an anonymous author.

Grant to us, O Lord, this day
to walk with you as Father,
to trust in you as Savior,
to be enlightened by you as Spirit,
to worship you as Lord;
that all our works may praise you
and our lives may give you glory. Amen

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You're All I Want

I found myself singing this song of prayer to the Lord this morning. Sometimes.. when life begins to overwhelm us.. we need to simply give our lives back to the Lord in prayer and worship. Please join me is singing and praying this song..

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Mercy Granted

Dear Father God,

You are a God who answers prayer. You have heard our cries for mercy and granted healing to my uncle. No longer on the ventilator, awake and out of ICU, he is getting better! Thank you, Lord.

Amen

mjt

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INTERCESSION PLEASES GOD

I Timothy 2:1,3-4

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

Dear Father, I cannot begin to fathom the mystery of intercession. You spoke a word and a universe was created. You will speak a second time and a new heaven and earth will be ushered in.

Nothing happens apart from Your decree. You are dependent upon no one and nothing. Yet the prayers of Your people matter to You.

Though nothing in all of creation is hidden from Your sight, You invite each of us to bring our concerns and requests to Your attention.

When we ask we receive. When we seek, we find. When we knock, You open doors. So, gracious Lord, hear our prayer today. Lord save, Lord heal, Lord reign. Bring Your kingdom and your righteousness to bear in our land and in our lives. Teach us to intercede for those who are lost, hurting, or needing guidance.

We love you,
Amen

My husband Don, will be having a pacemaker replacement on Friday. The one he has now is 8 years old, and the battery is running down. Please keep him in your prayers.

Amen

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A prayer to the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit, enlighten our hearts.

Give us light and strength

to know your will, to make it our own,

and to live it in our lives.

Guide us by your wisdom;

support us by your power; for you are God,

sharing the glory of Father and Son.

You desire justice for all:

enable us to uphold the rights of others;

do not allow us to be misled by ignorance

or corrupted by favor.

Unite us to yourself in the bond of love

and keep us faithful to all that is true.

Help us to temper justice with love,

so that all our decisions

may be pleasing to you,

and bring us the inheritance

promised to good and faithful servants.

You live and reign with the Father

and the Son, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

- Adapted from a prayer said before

every session of the Second Vatican Council

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