Daily Prayer: January 2020

a prayer to be faithful

Giver of Mercies, you have been pleased to commit to me various talents, which you require me to use until your coming. You have given me time, property, influence, knowledge, and feeling, wherewith to advance your glory, and to promote human welfare.

Lord, let me not be as the wicked and slothful servant, who hid his talent in the earth, and vainly sought to avert the doom of his guilty indolence. Alas, how have the faculties and opportunities you have in mercy given me, been neglected, perverted, and abused. Too often I have sought my own pleasures, instead of fulfilling the exalted and ennobling duties you have set before me.

O give me an ever-present conviction, that the gifts which you have invested in me, are ones of trust, which you will require from me again with interest. Help me, I beseech thee, so to understand and employ them, that in the great day of reckoning, I may hear: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

Amen

-adapted from a prayer by Albert Barnes

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for freedom

Father,

We come before you this day knowing that you have given us freedom. your power and your grace break the stronghold of sin, and because of all that you are and all that you've done, we can stand boldly in freedom from the bondage of sin.

But we still struggle. We are tempted and we give in. Father, remind us there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Remind us that our relationships to sin has changed - it's still there but it no longer hold any power of us, for you are stronger than our sin. Remind us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

May we strand in the power of your transforming grace.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

OLD AND GRAY

Isaiah 46:1-4 "Listen to me, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld from your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and carry you."

I realize that in this passage it speaks to Israel....but isn't the Word of God for all of us!! This has been a hard year and sometimes I truly feel my old age and gray hair. I'm pushing 79 and as a youngster, would seem like at 79 you would be dead or petrified. HaHa

The above picture is me. Without the make up, without the hairdo, just sitting in the sun on the balcony reflecting on my life and how God has upheld me from my birth, carried me since I was born, and will continue to carry and sustain me for as long as my days are. That is extremely comforting and I find my rest and peace in that truth!

Heavenly Father, Thank you for upholding us from birth, and carrying us even to our old age and gray hairs. You are the sustainer of life, and you will always carry us and sustain us. That is your promise. And we know, YOU always keep your promises. We love you, and are grateful for old age and gray hair, and your sustaining power. There is such comfort in that promise. I love You. Amen.
Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

to the shepherd of my soul

You are my shepherd Lord. You meet all of my needs.

Thank you for meeting my all of my physical needs. I do not want for food, drink and shelter. Or for anything.

I praise you that my need for rest is met in you Lord. And that you lead me in ways that are healthy for my soul.

Who is like you Lord? No one else can restore my soul when it suffers and lead me in healthy and righteous ways.

I am confident in you Lord. I will fear no evil because you have been with me in my darkest valleys. You have comforted me when my soul was in dark anguish.

My heart is overwhelmed by your provision for me. You protect me in dangerous places. Your Spirit anoints me giving me wisdom and blessing.

The glass is not half empty or half full - my cup overflows with your love!!

Of this I am confident - goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I will live with you forever.

Amen

... adapted from the 23rd Psalm

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with me.

Circle us Lord

Circle us Lord.

Circle the poor with your justice.
Circle the violent with your peace.
Circle the broken with your wholeness.

Circle us Lord.

Circle us with the wonder of your love,
with the beauty of your creating,
with the glory of your presence.

Circle us Lord.

One in three, three in One.

Circle us with the joy of your abiding.

Amen

... a Celtic prayer

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Jehovah Rapha

I am the Lord, your healer. (Exodus 15:26)

When we pray it is often helpful to meditate on one of the names of God. Jehovah Rapha means the Lord who heals you. While healing through prayer is not guaranteed in the bible it is good to remember that God is a healer and, generally speaking, desires health and wholeness in us - body, soul and spirit.

We come to you today sweet God of healing to come and bring healing to our families and friends. We pray that grace would be poured out and people would sense your presence in their innermost beings. We also pray that you would help medical professionals to hear your voice and cooperate with you in healing ministry. We intercede believing in the name and power of Christ Jesus. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with me.

Focus

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” (Colossians 3:2) NLT

LORD, help us today to keep our eyes focused on You. On Your perfect plan. On Your leading. On Your Word.

Help us to see the obstacles in our way as simple life lessons that will grow us and enable us to walk closer to You.

Thank you for your Word. For TRUTH. For guidance.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a praying for searching

Father,

You have given us the ability to know our true self.

But it's our false self we often default to.

The self that falls into our desire to control, our mistrust of You, our desire to be seen as good and acceptable, our fear. The self that does not remember who You've created us to be.

You have made us new creations, and yet we don't always stand in that truth. So help us search.

Lord, may we seek to find our true self in You. May we know the righteousness of Jesus that has been placed on us. Teach us to trust in who You are, and remember all of the promises You've already kept. And those you've still to give.

Help us not be afraid of the searching, afraid of what it will expose, or who will see us in our search and what they will see. For you are our Creator and Sustainer, and we stand in the knowledge of Your love and acceptance of us.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Second Monday After Epiphany

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Book of Common Prayer

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Open the Door!

Father God, I pray that the many people longing for a relationship, will realize that the only relationship that fulfills and is complete is YOU. Revelations 3:20 tells us "Behold, I stand at the door knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I WILL come in to him and dine with him and him with Me." My prayer is for all our family and friends that don't know you. Lord convict their hearts to seek You and let You into their lives. Thanks you for loving me and coming into my life. Dining with You is the pleasure of my life. Amen.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

for conscience and courage

Loving God,

lead us beyond ourselves
to care and protect,
to nourish and shape,
to challenge and energize
both the life and the world
You have given us.

God of light and God of darkness,
God of conscience and God of courage

lead us through this time
of spiritual confusion and public uncertainty.

Lead us beyond fear, apathy and defensiveness

to new hope in You and to hearts full of faith.

Give us the conscience it takes

to comprehend what we’re facing,
to see what we’re looking at
and to say what we see
so that others, hearing us,
may also brave the pressure that comes
with being out of public step.

Give us the courage we need

to confront those things
that compromise our consciences
or threaten our integrity.

Give us, most of all,

the courage to follow those before us
who challenged wrong and changed it,
whatever the cost to themselves.

Amen

-excerpted from a prayer at Monasteries of the Heart

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for guidance

Lord, I’m here today with open hands and an open heart, ready to depend on you to help me through the day and all it will bring my way.

Help me be like Nehemiah, help me come to you for guidance, strength, provision and protection.

As I face tough choices and hard situations, help me remember my belovedness, help me remember that I am Your child and Your representative to the world around me.

Help me live today in a way that brings honor to Your holy name.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- a prayer by Charles Stanley

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for faith, love and hope

O Holy Spirit,

give me faith
that will protect me from despair, from passions and from vice,
give me such love for God
as will blot out all hatred and bitterness,
give me the hope
that will deliver me from fear and faintheartedness.

Amen.

-a prayer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Strength upon strength

Today I pray strength for all those who are feeling weak. For those who are feeling the devastation of life’s trials. Life’s tribulations. For all those who think they can’t go on. That they can’t take another step.

I pray that God will reach down and minister. That those in need will reach up and cry out. I pray that strength upon strength will be bestowed generously to all who are in want....

Cry out to God and let Him be the power and strength you need to take that next step of trust in Him and in Him only.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

YOU ARE MY ROCK

Psalms 62:2 "HE alone is my ROCK and my salvation. HE is my FORTRESS, I will never be shaken.

First of all, I want to thank all of your for your prayer support to me and my dearest, Don. The stroke took us by surprise since he was recovering from CHF. But God has been our ROCK and with that knowledge and assurance...We are not shaken, but see God using this to make us more in the image of Christ. God never wastes trials and tribulations, but works them for our GOOD.

Father God, how I praise you for the mighty work of grace you are doing in our lives daily. You want good for your children and use every event in our lives to work your miracles of grace. We can say with Paul, "giving thanks for everything" Father I'm thanking you right now for EVERY THING YOU HAVE PUT IN OUR LIVES THIS YEAR. You are our Rock and our Fortress. I love you deeply and dearly. Amen.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

breath prayers

I love the concept of short prayers that we can say or think in our daily lives. To me they are cries from our heart that express, in simple terms, our deep desires. They create in us an awareness of God's presence and our connection to him. They are raw, heartfelt and in the moment. Here are a few examples that I have used:

"Come Holy Spirit" - An invitation into our lives.

"I need your grace" - We get stuck and we need help from above.

"Lord have mercy" - Sometimes life is so overwhelming and we strength.

"I am sorry. Forgive me" - Needed words of repentance and contrition.

"Here I am" - Acknowledging our willingness to be used by the Lord.

"I trust you" - Good words when things seem so out of control around us.

"Not my will but your will" - So hard to speak but so necessary when we struggle.

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done." - When we are confused and helpless.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

breaking down the walls that separate

You have called us to be one,
to live in unity and harmony,
and yet we are divided:
race from race, faith from faith,
rich from poor, old from young,
neighbor from neighbor.

O Lord, by whose cross
all enmity is brought to an end,
break down the walls that separate us,
tear down the fences of indifference and hatred;
forgive us the sins that divide us,
free us from pride and self-seeking,
overcome our prejudices and fears,
give us courage to open ourselves to others;
by the power of your Spirit,
make us one.

Amen.

... a prayer from the 1983 assembly of the World Council of Churches

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

open our eyes and our hearts

Our Father, who has set a restlessness in our hearts and made us all seekers after that which we can never fully find, forbid us to be satisfied with what we make of life.

Draw us from base content and set our eyes on far-off goals.

Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to thee for strength.

Deliver us from fretfulness and self-pitying; make us sure of the good we cannot see and of the hidden good in the world.

Open our eyes to simple beauty all around us and our hearts to the loveliness men hide from us because we do not try to understand them.

Save us from ourselves and show us a vision of a world made new. Amen.

... a prayer of Eleanor Roosevelt

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer to see ourselves

Heavenly Father,

As we've just finished reflecting on the past year, we now ask for your guidance as we look forward to this new one. Because you are good and faithful and true, we worship you for all that you are and all that you have done, and know we can trust in your steady hand as we move forward.

Father, we struggle to see ourselves for who we really are. We have a distorted view not just of our own sin, but also of what we do right. It's our prayer that we reflect you back to this world, so you may be glorified. But we still see ourselves fall short in all that you've called us to do.

So help us and guide us, Lord, as we seek to see our true self. Our true self that is cloaked in the goodness and righteousness of Jesus. Our true self that still struggles with temptation and sin, yet is not enslaved to it. May we now think too much or too little of ourselves, O God. For we must stand in the truth of your freedom while being humble about own weakness at the same time.

Help us be true to who we are and all that you have called us to be.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Prayer for Mercy

Father, have mercy on your children. We too easily chase after things other than you, things that divide us and do us harm. Remind us that we are yours and we are to show your love to all, especially our brothers and sisters. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

that we may all be one

In the seventeenth chapter of John's gospel Jesus offers what some have called "The High Priestly Prayer". Here are a few excerpts from His prayer:

I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.

All I can say Lord is amen. Amen, to the idea that you ever live to make intercession for us. Amen, to your words and the truth of your ministry. Amen, to being kept from the evil one. Amen, to the conviction that we your children may all be one with you and each other. Amen, that your love may be in us. Amen, and thank you, that you live in us.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

when we feel alone and forsaken

Sometimes Dear Lord we feel so alone, so hopeless and so depressed.

Help us to not to bury our disappointments, frustrations and feelings of being forsaken.

Teach us to be honest with you and with ourselves about our feelings of forsakenness.

And help us to know that you are ever with us. Even when we feel alone and forsaken.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Standing in the Need of Prayer

Prayer was a wellspring of strength and inspiration during the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout the movement, we prayed for greater human understanding. We prayed for the safety of our compatriots in the freedom struggle. We prayed for victory in our nonviolent protests, for brotherhood and sisterhood among people of all races, for reconciliation and the fulfillment of the Beloved Community.

For my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. prayer was a daily source of courage and strength that gave him the ability to carry on in even the darkest hours of our struggle.

I remember one very difficult day when he came home bone-weary from the stress that came with his leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the middle of that night, he was awakened by a threatening and abusive phone call, one of many we received throughout the movement. On this particular occasion, however, Martin had had enough.

After the call, he got up from bed and made himself some coffee. He began to worry about his family, and all of the burdens that came with our movement weighed heavily on his soul. With his head in his hands, Martin bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud to God: "Lord, I am taking a stand for what I believe is right. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can't face it alone.

Later he told me, "At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear a voice saying: 'Stand up for righteousness; stand up for truth; and God will be at our side forever.'" When Martin stood up from the table, he was imbued with a new sense of confidence, and he was ready to face anything.

--Coretta Scott King from "Standing in the Need of Prayer".

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

save us from cynicism

Our Father God, who dost overarch our fleeting years with thine eternity and dost undergird our weakness with thy strength, in the midst of the pressures of another day, as we face its vast concerns.

Above all else save us from succumbing to the tragic temptation of becoming cynical. Amen

... a prayer of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Prayer for the New Year

Oh, LORD, may we choose to love you supremely this New Year. May we choose to love you first . Love you best.

May we keep you first in all that we say and do.

May our hearts be turned toward bringing you honor and glory in every aspect of our lives.

May we overflow with your love and tell others about your infinite goodness and mercy.

May the excellency and the worth of our souls reflect who you are ....

“May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to Him.” (Hebrews 13:21)

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.