Daily Prayer: December 2019

a prayer for boldness

Father,

We come to you this day knowing you are our God, the one who created us, sustains us, and never leaves us. The one who loves us with an profoundly deep love, the one whose everlasting arms reach for us every moment of every day.

We boldly approach your throne, knowing you hear us and know us .. because the righteousness of your Son Jesus covers our sin. We come boldly knowing that we are your child, and that you sing and exult over us. Your look upon us is with tender care, and not with judgment.You give us grace upon grace.

We boldly ask for more of You this year, Father. We want more of you in our lives, we want to experience your Holy Spirit guide us continually. We want more of all that you are, and all that you do for us. We want to know you deeply, we want to hear your voice. We want to be joyful in our walk with you each day, and we ask for a boldness to share the truth of what you have done for us, knowing that you are with us each moment.

Amen

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Epiphany Prayer

Father, as you revealed your Son as King to the Magi long ago, give us a fresh look at him and what it means for us to seek and worship him. Amen

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a prayer for the new year

Our Father and our God, as we stand at the beginning of this new year we confess our need of Your presence and Your guidance as we face the future.

We each have our hopes and expectations for the year that is ahead of us—but You alone know what it holds for us, and only You can give us the strength and the wisdom we will need to meet its challenges.

So help us to humbly put our hands into Your hand, and to trust You and to seek Your will for our lives during this coming year.

In the midst of life’s uncertainties in the days ahead, assure us of the certainty of Your unchanging love.

In the midst of life’s inevitable disappointments and heartaches, help us to turn to You for the stability and comfort we will need.

In the midst of life’s temptations and the pull of our stubborn self-will, help us not to lose our way but to have the courage to do what is right in Your sight, regardless of the cost.

And in the midst of our daily preoccupations and pursuits, open our eyes to the sorrows and injustices of our hurting world, and help us to respond with compassion and sacrifice to those who are friendless and in need.

May our constant prayer be that of the ancient Psalmist: “Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).

Amen

-from a prayer by Billy Graham

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we look to the lord

I look to Thee in every need,
and never look in vain;

I feel Thy strong and tender love,
and all is well again.

The thought of Thee is mightier far than sin
and pain and sorrow are.

Discouraged in the work of life,
disheartened by its load,

Shamed by its failures or its fears,
I sink beside the road.

But let me only think of Thee and then new heart springs up in me.

Thy calmness bends serene above, my restlessness to still;

Around me flows Thy quickening life, to nerve my faltering will.

Thy presence fills my solitude, Thy providence turns all to good.

Enfolded deep in Thy dear love, held in Thy law, I stand;

Thy hand in all things I behold, and all things in Thy hand.

Thou leadest me by unsought ways, and turn my mourning into praise.

Amen

... a prayer of Samuel Longfellow

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Praying for Don

Don, our beloved friend and fellow prayer blogger, has been struggling with health problems this year. For many months he has been trying to ready his body for a pacemaker. This past Monday Don had a stroke with weakness on his right side. He is getting better. Please join me in prayer.

We bring our friend to you Lord asking that your peace would fill his heart. We ask that you would touch his body with strength and healing. Give his doctors wisdom that he might fully recover. Help his wife Wanda, their family and all his friends to trust you in this hard time. In all things, may you be glorified. Amen

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we turn to you

We turn to you Lord as we turn away from the things we idolize.
Help us to find joy in the things that you love.

We turn to you Lord as we turn away from selfishness.
Help us to embrace those who you love.

We turn to you Lord as we turn away from pride and ego.
Help us to walk humbly with you and the people you love.

We turn to you Lord as we turn away from the things that distract us.
Help us to focus on things that prosper your plans for our lives.

We turn to you Lord as we turn away from things temporal.
Help us to live lives that prepare us for things eternal.

Amen

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a prayer for Christmas Eve

Father, we talk a few moments this day to sit in and breathe. We've been running in several direction, metaphorically and literally, all to prepare to celebrate. And so we take this moment to rest in Your presence.

You have been so good to us. As we consider all that tomorrow means, there was nothing more good than the gift of your son to this earth. The gift that changed the world. The gift that changed our hearts. The gift that altered the course of humanity.

For you came to redeem us. To make things right between us. We still live in a sinful world with sinful hearts, but now we have a great peace between us and you where there wasn't before. Father, we are so thankful you brought that peace.

Amen

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for courage to help those in need

O Lord, open my eyes that I may see the needs of others
Open my ears that I may hear their cries;
Open my heart so that they need not be without succor;
Let me not be afraid to defend the weak and the poor.

Show me where love and hope and faith are needed,
And use me to bring them to those places.
And so open my eyes and my ears
That I may be able to do some work of peace for thee.

Amen

-adapted from a song in the United Methodist Hymnal

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prayer for the homeless

This image cuts through me. Homeless people suffer in ways that are both unique and common. Cancer attacks everyone. These however so often lack the support of family and medical professionals.

I live in an urban area and regularly encounter people who are homeless. Always hard to know how to really help these who suffer so much. In light of those who are in such pain this time of the year, please join me in praying this prayer from the Church of England.

God of compassion,

your love for humanity was revealed in Jesus,
whose earthly life began in the poverty of a stable
and ended in the pain and isolation of the cross:
we hold before you those who are homeless and cold
especially in the bitter weather to come.

Draw near and comfort them in spirit

and bless those who work to provide them
with shelter, food and friendship.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

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a christmas prayer

For those who are ill or sad,
we pray for the presence of heaven.

For those who are healthy and happy,
we pray for courage and strength of character.

For our world, we ask for the promise of Christmas,
peace on earth and goodwill to all.

For all people, in all things and in all places,
the joy of a newborn baby.

Amen

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Praying Stephen's Prayer

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. -Acts 7:59-60 NIV

Help us dear Lord to forgive those who sin against us.
We release them from our anger and frustrations.
We pray for your best in their lives.
We ask you to bless them.
Cause us to see past the offence.
And help us to see them through your eyes.
We praying believing in the merciful name of Jesus Christ.

Amen

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that we might be wise

Dear Lord, may we be like the Wise Men who were guided to You by a star. Give us the wisdom to seek You, light to guide us to You, courage to search until we find You and generosity to lay our gifts before You, our King and our God forever and ever. Amen.

-prayer from Beliefnet

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Even when it is hard

Those times when we have the hardest time voicing our prayers to God are the times when we need to cry out the most.

In the hard times, just pray.

In the confusing times, just pray.

In the devastating moments of life...

PRAY.

God hears our hearts cry. He hears the pleading of our spirits. He hears the anguish felt deep down in our souls.

Let your prayers be known to our God and rest in the assurance that He hears every single one...

PRAYER is our lifeline. Our HOPE. Our REFUGE.

Pray.... even when it is hardest to pray... and let God do miraculous things in your life.

Amen

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a prayer for protection

Heavenly Father,

We praise your name this day and acknowledge your power and your glory. Father Almighty, we will ever praise you. For you are good and faithful and true. We cry out and you hear us.

Focus our hearts on you during this season of distraction and business. Protect our hearts from the temptation to stay and sin. When the world offers so much and tempts us away from you, may your protection stand strong around our hearts.

Surround and protect us, delivering us from the enemy who fights for our souls. In the storms and trials of this season, may we keep our eyes fixed on you and rejoice in your glory and majesty. You are bigger than this world, more mighty than any foe we may face, and we worship you with all my heart and with all my soul and with all our strength. Amen

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.- Proverbs 4: 23

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awaken our hearts to Christmas mystery

O sweet Child of Bethlehem, grant that we may share with all our hearts in this profound mystery of Christmas. Put into the hearts of men and women this peace for which they sometimes seek so desperately and which you alone can give to them. Help us to know one another better, and to live as brothers and sisters, children of the same Father. Reveal to us also your beauty, holiness, and purity. Awaken in our hearts love and gratitude for your infinite goodness. Join us all together in your love. And give us your heavenly peace. Amen

-adapted from a prayer by Pope John XXIII

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that we might love

"Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may." -John Wesley

We need you Holy Spirit that we might look past our differing opinions and see into our hearts. We need you Father that we might love others as ourselves. We need you Jesus to understand that love involves giving and sacrificing ourselves for others. Come Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We need you. Amen

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help us to be faithful

Father, help me to recognize that you have called me to be faithful not successful. Cause me to focus my efforts in pleasing You alone and not people.

Aid me in not taking on more responsibility than You intend for me. Give me opportunities to humble myself as a faithful steward whatever the outcome.

I ask these things in the glorious name of the Faithful One.

Amen

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for those who are struggling during the holidays

As we prepare for Christmas it is always good to remember that this is a very difficult time for many among us. People are, for the first time, celebrating Christmas without their loved ones. So in this time when the nights are the longest, I find myself thinking about this meditation (posted below), written in 2001 by Rev. Diane Hendricks. As you read it please think about and pray for those who are hurting so much this season.

Longest Night Meditation

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Only it's not.

Not for everyone.

Not when there is an empty chair at the table.

Not when your body is ravaged with illness.

Not when the depression is too much to bear.

Not without her voice joining yours on the Christmas carols.

Not when you feel all alone even in a crowd.

Not when you are not sure you can even afford the rent or mortgage,
let alone the presents.

Not when they are trying their best to the best of you.

Not when another Christmas party means he will come home drunk again.

It's the most wonderful time of the year?

No, it's not.

And trying to smile and say Merry Christmas is more than difficult.

It's pretty near impossible.

C.S. Lewis once wrote:

"No one ever told me that grief felt so much like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning..."

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Only it's not.

Not after he has died.

Not after the doctor gave you the news.

Not after they told you they would be downsizing.

Not after... you fill in the blank.

Not after September 11.

Not when there is so much violence and destruction in the world.

In truth, it has never been the most wonderful time of the year. Certainly not in the days surrounding that first Christmas so long ago. The story of the birth of Jesus is not to be told with a jolly voice and a merry ho-ho-ho.

It is the story of a teenage girl, pregnant with a child that is not her husband's.

It is the story of a child born in a dirty animal stall.

It is the story of a family of refugees who had to flee their homeland so that their child would not be killed.

It is the story of one sent into the world in peace who was condemned to death.

It is the story of a light sent to shine in the darkness, which the world snuffed out.

It is the story of God's never-ending, self-giving mercy which was rejected and condemned.

In the great work the Messiah, Handel quotes the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming that Jesus was "despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." One great theologian reminds us that we cannot come to the manger without acknowledging that it lays in the shadow of the cross.

It is not the most wonderful time of the year.

Only it is! It is:

If we forget about the tinsel and the trees.

If we forget about the holly jolly tidings.

If we forget about the presents and the ornaments and the trappings.

And remember. Remember the story.

Mary was alone and afraid.
But God was with her and exalted her among women.

Joseph was disgraced.
But God revealed in Joseph's cause for disgrace God's plan to save the world.

The world was in darkness.
But God sent the light of life to shine.

The lowly were imprisoned.
But Jesus set them free.

The blind wandered aimlessly.
But Christ gave them eyes to see.

The lame were rejected.
But through the Holy One they were made to leap and dance.

The deaf were confined to the silence.
But the song of life unstopped their ears.

The sorrowful grieved.
But God wipes away our tears.

We were alone.
But in Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God is with us.

The people rejected God.
But God embraces us.

The world crucified Christ.
But God would not allow that to be the last word, and gave us the sure hope of the resurrection.

It is the most wonderful time of the year, not because you have to be cheery and happy and merry.

But because you don't.

You can have heavy spirits and shattered dreams. Broken hearts and deep wounds.

And still God comes to be with you.

To comfort you.

To redeem you.

To save you.

To restore you.

To empower you.

To strengthen you.

To grant you peace.

To be raised for you.

To hold you in the communion of saints with those whom you have loved and lost.

To store your tears in his bottle.

To offer you eternal life.

It is the most wonderful time of the year.
For Christ is born.
Love has come.
God is with us!
Thanks be to the Lord our God.

Amen

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when our days don’t go as we plan

Dear Lord,

Help us to remember that when our days don’t go as we plan that you are still at work in life’s events.

Help us to trust you throughout each day and be mindful that you are present in our struggles.

Open our inner eyes to eternal things, like love and hope, that are unnoticed and ignored.

In all things teach us to be spiritual seekers and followers of your ways. Amen

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When it seems...

We sometimes wonder if our prayers are being heard.

One thing we can be assured of is this.... when we are Children of God, He hears. He cares. He responds.

As I looked back over some prayer journals from 2 years ago, I could see all the things that I had been crying out to God for. I could see all the hurts and frustrations that were embedded deep in my soul. I could see the pain and turmoil of some horrible situations.

But then...

I could see the answers that had come. I could see God working. I could see His Hand in so many ways.....

Just because God is silent.... it doesn’t mean He isn’t working.

Keep believing. Keep trusting.

Keep praying.

Amen

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a prayer beyond our worry

Lord,

In a season when every heart should be happy and light, many of us are struggling with the heaviness of life—burdens that steal our joy. Our inner voice whispers,

"I am not enough!”
"I must do better!"
"My sin is so big."
"I wish I was more like..."
"Why can't I overcome...?"

We need your peace, Jesus. We confess that our hearts are too often filled with wonder of a different kind: wondering when when things will get better, when we will be better. In a world where worry prevails, stir up that good news again. Make it real in our hearts. We need Your joy and peace more than ever, right now.

Thank You for the gift of Jesus, God with us, the Word made flesh. We not only need Your peace and joy; Lord, we desire it. You’ve promised rest for the weary, victory for the battle-scarred, peace for the anxious, and acceptance for the brokenhearted—not just at Advent, but every day of every year.

Your name is still called
“Wonderful,”
“Counselor,”
“The Mighty God,”
“The Everlasting Father,”
and
“Prince of Peace.”

We know that peace on earth can only come when hearts find peace with You. You are still our Joy. You are still our Peace. You are Lord of lords and King of kings. Keep our minds and our hearts on You alone.

Amen

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when we are struggling

Today I am struggling, Lord
Today it is not so easy to believe
Today the voices of the world ring loud
Today the center of my life is ‘Me’

Today will you be the strength I need
Today will you be the hope I desire
Today will you be the voice I hear
Today be the center of all I yearn to be

Amen

... with attribution to the authors at the Faith and Worship site.

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let us find our rest in thee

Come, thou long expected Jesus,

born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.

By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Amen

United Methodist Hymnal, 1989

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as we prepare for Christmas

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Prayer to the God of Hope

God of hope, who brought love into this world,

be the love that dwells between us.

God of hope, who brought peace into this world,

be the peace that dwells between us.

God of hope, who brought joy into this world,

be the joy that dwells between us.

God of hope, the rock we stand upon,

be the centre, the focus of our lives
always, and particularly this Advent time.

Amen

- from the Faith and Worship site.

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for a change in attitude

O Father,

Give us the humility which realizes its ignorance,

Admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice,

Accepts rebuke.

Help us always to praise rather than to criticize,

To sympathize rather than to discourage,

To build rather than to destroy,

And to think of people at their best rather than at their worst.

This we ask for thy name's sake.

Amen

... a prayer of William Barclay

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a prayer for waiting and hope

Loving Father,

As we enter this season of celebration, may we remember to wait. May we be expectant of the joy you bring us, and the wisdom you will give us. May we hope for all that you have promised in Jesus. All that you have promised for us. We wait because you ask us to to be still and wait.

For in our waiting we can find hope.

In our waiting we open our hearts to who you are.

In our waiting we seek your face.

In our waiting we look for your redemption.

In our waiting we remember all that you have done... and all that you promise you will do.

We wait to celebrate the birth of your Son. And we wait for his return to earth, where he will reign forever.

Your kingdom come, your will be done.

Amen

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to guard our hearts

Help us Lord to care for our hearts.

When we are hungry and dry,
encourage us to eat good spiritual food.

When we are weak,
help us to spiritually stretch and exercise.

Each day motivate us to give and receive love.

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DECEMBER AND LUKE

Live in the Scriptures, and you will be Kissed by God

Can you believe it's December? Didn't we just finish off the turkey and dressing? The older I get the faster the clocks ticks, and like the cartoon the pages of the calendar just seem to fly off constantly.
One good way to reflect on the Reason for the Season (Our Lord Jesus Christ) is to read about His life on a daily basis.

Several of my friends are going to join me and many others, reading one chapter a day in the book of Luke. This will take us to Christmas Eve, and we will have seen our Savior from Birth to Ascension. I can't think of a better way to Celebrate Christmas.

Father God, as we read of your life during the Christmas Season from the pen of Dr. Luke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I pray you will do something new in our hearts. May we see You in deeper and more personal ways. Lord, look deep into our hearts, and show us by your life how we can be victorious and over-comers by following your example, and by the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. You have so much for us to meditate on and contemplate during this Season. Father God, thank you for Your mercy, Your grace, Your forgiveness and Salvation. Thank You for your Holy Word to show us Yourself! I love You. Amen

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