Daily Prayer: May 2013

REMEMBER

Remember

Psalm 116:15 (ESV)
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Psalm 72:14 (ESV)
….. precious is their blood in his sight.

On May 14, Pastor Faye Pama, Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Borno State and Senior Pastor of Rhema Assembly Church, was murdered by Boko Haram militants. The attackers reportedly followed Pastor Pama to his home in Maiduguri after he left a Bible study at his church. The gunmen dragged Pastor Pama out of his house and shot him to death in front of his 17-year-old daughter as she pleaded for his life. Pastor Pama was a husband and father of four children, ages 19, 17, 11 and 6. He served in ministry leadership for more than 26 years and believed that Muslims could be won to Christ only by showing them love, rather than through fighting.

NIGERIA—Pastor Murdered by Muslim Militants VOM Sources

Hebrews 13:3 (NLT)
……Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

Father, when I think of such a noble sacrifice by one of your saints who in love reached out to share the Gospel with friends and enemies alike…..when I think of the grief his family is suffering in agonizing bereavement…..when I think of the loss his Church will endure without their beloved Pastor’s shepherding…….when I think of his community that will miss his dynamic and faithful ministry, I too am grieved, and distraught by the death of a brother unknown to me yet a fellow believer in Christ.

Father, when I think of so much suffering in the world today I am reminded that none of it is without your knowledge, your concern, and your sovereign will. And I am reminded of Romans 8:28 which tell us of your purpose. So we do remember our brothers and sister in Christ today and in remembering them we pray for your blessing on them mindful that….”those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. 1 Peter 4:19 (NIV)

Because we love and trust you Father, amen.

Amen

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do not fear

"It is the LORD who goes

before you;

He will not leave you or forsake you.

Do not fear or be dismayed."

Deuteronomy 31:8

Amen

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Memorial Day

Father, we thank you for the freedoms you have blessed us with and for those who have given their lives to defend us. Comfort those who have lost loved ones, and be with all those who have served and who are serving. Amen

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HONORING THE FALLEN

Dear Heavenly Father,

As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy every day, we think of how they have followed in the footsteps of your son, our Savior. Jesus Christ. Please hold our servicemen and women in your strong arms. Cover them with your sheltering grace and your presence as they stand in the gap for our protection.

We also remember the families of our troops. We ask for your unique blessings to fill their homes, and we pray your peace, provision, and strength will fill their lives.

May the members of our armed forces be supplied with courage to face each day and may they trust in the Lord's mighty power to accomplish each task. Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer by Mary Fairchild, google.com ~flag image, googleimages.com

Amen

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TEARS

John 11:33-35 (ESV)
³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." ³⁵ Jesus wept.

Father is there anything more moving than the tears of others? Jesus was moved, troubled and wept at the tears of others.

Father you told us through Isaiah that your Son would: “….bear our grief’s and carry our sorrows….. Isaiah 53:4 (ESV). So it is true to this very day. You are moved with the overflowing tears in Moore, Oklahoma. You see the anguished weeping for the loss of babies, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and other family members. You are troubled by their sorrows and moved by their tears.

Father you tell us in 1 Peter 5:7 (GW) “Turn all your anxiety over to God because he cares for you.” Father we do have anxiety and do not understand so many things. But we do know that you love us, you care for us and that what touches our heart touches yours. You are moved by our tears.

So Father, out of your great heart, may so many with tears in their hearts, feel your love, be comforted by your grace, sustained with your peace and strengthened by your Spirit. You are the God of all comfort, so we take comfort in “.…the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,…...” Philippians 4:7 (ESV)

Thank you Father in the name of our precious and personal Savior, Jesus.

Amen

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facing fear and trusting God

I love VBS and I have loved teaching some precious 3rd and 4th graders this week about Jesus. Our theme this year is about 'Facing Fear and Trusting God'. This is not only a biblical truth that our young children need to learn, but that us older children of God need to learn as well. It is so easy to say those words, "just trust God and everything will be okay". But the difficult part comes when we take that theology and make it reality. That is where a lot of us drop the ball so to speak.

If we look to our Father in the every day moments of our lives, then it is natural that we will look to Him when the hard times pop up. If He is our all-in-all in the small things, He will certainly be our all-in-all in the big things.

We have to keep ourselves immersed deep in His Word daily. We have to keep ourselves connected with Him in prayer on a daily basis as well. We have to read and study the scriptures and apply what we have learned to our lives. We have to live it. When we do that, we will fully understand the Word which tells,

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear,

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind"

(2 Timothy 1:7)

Amen

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Prayer for Oklahoma

Lord, have mercy on the people of Oklahoma City and Moore, Oklahoma.

Please send help to those in danger.
Send comfort and strength to those who've suffered loss.
Send wisdom and stamina to first responders and rescue workers.
Send protection and deliverance to those who are still in harm's way.

Amen

... a prayer from Bob Hostetler's blog

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Pentecost

O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

from Scot McKnight.

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Elizabeth Elliot found this prayer in her mother's prayer journal praying for her children. I was touch with this prayer as it reflects my own feelings for my own children and grandchildren. Will you join me in praying this for all our children.

"Father, our children keep.
We know not what is coming upon the earth.
Beneath the shadow of Thy heavenly wing,
O keep them, keep them, Thou who gavest them birth.

Father, draw nearer to us.
Draw firmer around us Thy protecting arm.
O clasp our children closer to Thy side,
Uninjured in the day of earth's alarm.
Then in Thy chambers hide,
O hide them and preserve them calm and safe.
When sin abounds, and error flows abroad
And Satan tempts and human passions chafe.

O keep them undefiled,
Unspotted from a tempting world of sin,
That, clothed in white, through the bright city gates,
They may with triumph enter in."

Amen

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Meditation

1 John 4:8 (ESV)
…….. God is love.

Luke 18:19 (ESV)
………..No one is good except God alone.

John 3:33 (ESV)

……… God is true.

Psalm 99:9 (ESV)

………. God is holy!

Father as I meditate on these verses, they tell me everything I need to know about You. That You are love tells me about Your heart. That You are good tells me about Your character. That You are true tells me about Your integrity. That You are holy tells me about Your nature.

In your love you accept me, in your goodness you forgive me, in your truth you protect me and in your holiness you justify me.

How can I not say with the Psalmist: “My whole being will exclaim, "Who is like you, O LORD? ….." Psalm 35:10 (NIV)

Thank you Father that you have made yourself know to me not only in your creation and in your Word, but especially and particularly through your Son. Through faith in Him, Jesus, I truly and personally know You. To meditate on this is not only inspiring, it is life transforming.

Amen

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only One Lawgiver

"For the LORD is our judge,

the LORD is our lawgiver,

the LORD is our King; He will save us."

(Isaiah 33:22)

~~~~~

Sweet heavenly Father, help us to always remember that You and You alone are our judge. You are the one whom we answer to. It is Your law that we follow and obey. You are our King and it is You who is worthy of our honor and praise. Help us to look to You for our strength. Help us to turn to You when we are weak. Help us to seek the Truth that is in Your Word and then empower us to follow hard after it. Our salvation is only in You. And for that we give you all praise and all glory.

Amen

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Prayer for Victims of New Orleans Shootings

Father, be with the victims of the shootings in New Orleans. Comfort them and their families, and bring a quick and complete healing. Let your name be glorified even in the midst of this crime. Amen

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A Prayer for Mother's Day

Dear Father, we approach your throne on behalf of the mothers whom you have entrusted with the care of your most precious little ones. We thank you for creating each mom with a unique combination of gifts and talents. We thank you for the sacrifice of self each mom gives for her children. For the late nights spent rocking a colicky infant. For the hands calloused from washing, wiping, scrubbing, mixing, backing, stirring, hugging, patting, disciplining, holding, writing, erasing, painting, and pouring.

We thank you for the gift of time moms give for their kids, whether it’s stay-at-home moms, working moms, and moms who have some combination of the two. We thank you for the flexibility of moms, for their tirelessness, their perseverance, and their devotion.

We pray you give each mom strength. Help her to see in every mundane task the eternal, cosmic significance that you place on motherhood. Help her to understand that the most radical, world-changing events may be happening anonymously in her home. Help her to forgive those who undermine her significance.

We especially pray for single moms, who must lean solely on you for the fathering of their children. We thank you that you’re big arms surround children who may never know their earthly father. We also pray for mother who never had the honor of bearing children, but whose nurturing extends to the many poor and needy who crass the threshold of their lives.

We ask you to be the daily bread of tired mothers. We ask you to be their living water. We ask you to be their source of spiritual and physical strength. We pray that the same grace that flowed from Father to Son to us in salvation will flow from mothers to their children. We pray that each mother rejects perfectionism and instead embraces the goodness of the gospel. We pray the rhythms of repentance and forgiveness shape every home.

Lord, give each mother a worshipful reverence of you, the Creator and Sustainer of life. Help each mother to rest in the knowledge that they are but stewards of your children and that only your Spirit can produce change into the hearts of each boy and girl. May each mother find rest in you.

Most of all, Lord, on this day in which we honor mothers, may we love and cherish the special women who have born us, who have nurtured us, and who have prayed for our well-being. May our hearts overflow with gratitude to you, who formed and knitted each of us in a mother’s womb.

Amen

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*From Daniel Darling

GRACE

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)
……….. “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Father it is amazing how one word expresses and explains Your concern and compassion for me. A word of such magnitude that it can’t be measured and of such personal meaning that it reaches my deepest need. It is Your wonderful amazing grace. There are things I don’t know. There are things I don’t understand. But my lack of knowledge and understanding has never limited Your grace. It is grace greater than my sin and grace sufficient to my need.

Thank you Father that in my weakness is Your strength, in my sorrow is Your comfort, in my pain is Your assurance, in my fear is Your hope and in Your hands is my future. This all comes through the wonder of Your grace. And the abundance of that grace is in the person of Your Son.

So then we can experience the reality of (ALL) in 2 Corinthians 9:8 (ESV)
God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times……

Amen

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intentional about Him

"For of Him, and through Him,

and to Him, are all things;

to whom be glory forever."

(Romans 11:36)

~~~~~~

Lord, help us to remember that all things come from you, all things are only possible through you and all things we do are for you. May we strive to always make room for Your Presence in our lives. May we be intentional about You. Unhindered in our pursuit of You. And purposeful in living out our lives to be like You. Help us to seek a conscious, manifestation of You in our lives every day so we can experience a deeper knowledge of Your goodness . Help us to know You intimately and personally.

Thank you, sweet Jesus, for blessing us beyond measure and loving us first so we could love You.

Amen

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Mercies

Father, your mercies truly are new every morning. Your love for us is unfathomable, and your grace is far wider than we can ever imagine. Thank you for your everlasting love. Amen

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WITHDRAWING TO PRAY

Luke 5:15-16. "Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."

Dear God, I see throughout the Gospels that Your beloved Son needed time alone to communicate with You. He resisted the demands of the crowds and the pressure to perform, choosing instead to seek Your face. How much more do I need to be with You. Help me to commit the times of my days to Your Lordship, seeking the strength and wisdom that I can only received from Your presence. I love You. Amen.

Amen

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Pray

A prayer that needs to be said in every heart and home in America.

Prayer by Greg Laurie

Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America. How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence.

Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again.

Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times of refreshing, and revivals that changed not only the spiritual but also the moral landscape. As the psalmist said, “Will You not revive us again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6)

That is our prayer for America today, Lord. Send a mighty spiritual awakening that will turn the hearts of men and women, boys and girls back to you. You have told us if we will humble ourselves and pray, and seek Your face and turn from our wicked ways, that You will forgive our sins and heal our land.

(2 Chronicles7:14)

Forgive us today, Lord, and heal this troubled land that we love so much.

We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Amen

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Prayer for America

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for the democracy alive in our country and for the freedom to worship You. Help the elected government and all in positions of power and authority to govern wisely and for the common good of all. Amen.

... a prayer of Harvey Barnes

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