Daily Prayer: February 2020

teach us to pray

Every day I see again that
only you can teach me to pray,
only you can set my heart at rest.
Only you can let me dwell in your presence.

No book, no concept or theory will ever bring me close to you unless you yourself are the one who lets them become the doors to you.

But Lord, let me at least remain open to your initiative.
Let me wait patiently and attentively for the hour when you will come
and break through the walls I have erected.

Create new doors.
Teach me, O Lord, to pray

Amen

... a prayer from Henri Nouwen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for lenten grace

Loving God,

During the sacred season of Lent, bring me closer to you.

Prepare a place in my home and heart for silence and solitude, so that I may re-discover the grace of a prayer-full life.

Help me to fast from those things that threaten the well-being of body and soul and remind me of the grace of simplicity.

Enlarge my heart so that I give to those in need and, in so doing, re-discover the grace of gratitude and generosity.

May this season be a grace-filled time to rekindle my love for and faith in you.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

DIVINE APPOINTMENT

Don't pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment

with the Lord,

and keep it!

Corrie ten Boom (1892-1983)

Dear Lord, some many times I don't feel like praying. So many things in life seem to crowd it out. But we are diligent to keep our appointments. I pray today that I will make a daily appointment with YOU, and give me the heart and diligence to keep my divine appointment. You are so loving and gracious and wait patiently for me to come and sit at your feet. I love You. Amen.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

to the one who feels our pain

I love the picture of God that the words in this image portray. So often we think of God as something other than One who walks, feels and cries with us. Please pray with me.

Open up our eyes Lord, that we might see you at our side.
Open up ours ears Lord, that we might hear your words.
Open up our minds Lord, that we might believe in you.
Open us our hearts Lord, that we might trust you always.

Help us to know you are near and feel our pain. Amen.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

create in me a pure heart

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. -Psalm 51:10

Father,

I want to be pure in heart and I know I am not always that way. Please continue to reveal in me all the things that are impure – as you’ve shown me my judgmental nature and my sometimes feelings of spiritual arrogance. I am so sorry and I repent. Help me to be a reflection of Jesus as I learn and grow. To look at myself only, instead of sometimes looking around at my fellow believers, frustrated and wondering why people don’t get “it”. And the “it” varies – sharing Jesus, suffering with each other, reaching out to the poor.

Create in me a pure heart O God. Let my passions and convictions be totally for Your work in me.

In Jesus’ Name
Amen

- a prayer from my friend Jill Hollis

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

peace in the midst of noise and unrest

"Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and named it Yahweh-Shalom."

The names used to describe God in the scriptures tell us much about the character of God. The title Yahweh-Shalom, translated “the Lord is peace”, given here by Gideon in the book of Judges, speaks to me. When I meditate on the names of God this one is especially comforting. So often life is anything but peaceful and we need to ask the Lord to grant His peace.

Help us Yahweh-Shalom to quiet ourselves in the midst of the noise and unrest all around us. Inspire us to remember that peace is a part of your character and a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Cause peace to bubble up from within us when we are afraid and things are out of control. Teach us to release control of our lives and trust you as we walk with you. We commit ourselves to you today. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Power of prayer

We extremely underestimate the power of PRAYER in our lives.

We extremely underestimate the power of PRAYER in the lives of others.

The greatest power from God has been given to us upon our conversion and we just ignore it.

Neglect it.

Forsake it.

And the thing is, many of us have seen the power of PRAYER at work. Many of us have experienced the power of PRAYER in our lives. Many of us have witnessed the power of PRAYER in the lives of others.

So we SEE, and we EXPERIENCE, and we WITNESS...

And yet we just flat out leave prayer- authentic fervent prayer- right out of our lives.

As I was studying the book of Job, I was sadly growing weary of Job’s friends accusing him of heinous sin. I was growing weary of Job’s lamenting...

And I felt guilty because I couldn’t even imagine what Job had been through. I couldn’t imagine the loss he had suffered. The pain that had been inflicted upon him.

But then I read something that spoke deeply.

God is speaking to Job’s friends. He is rebuking them and telling them that they haven’t been truthful about Himself. That their theology misrepresents Him. He commands them to repent. To offer sacrifices for their sin.

And then he says,

“Then my servant Job will pray for you. I will surely accept his prayer...” (Job 42:8)

Job prayed.

The one who needed prayers so desperately prayed for others.

Even in his desperate condition and much afflicted state... he prayed for his friends and the LORD accepted that prayer.

Then the beauty comes.

After Job prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes. Doubled his possessions.

Full RESTORATION.

An outpouring of GRACE.

PRAYER is a beautiful gift from God. One that we must take seriously. One that we must not neglect or ignore. One that we must dole out to others generously.

I pray that we open our eyes to the importance and necessity of prayer for ourselves as well as for others.

So we can see, and experience, and witness its POWER and be forever changed by it.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

God is the center

Saving and wondrous God,

In the time You walked upon this earth, and in Your time became one of us to show what we could become. Remind us always as we look at our lives in comparison with Yours that at the center of all things is Your saving grace.

In your time, Mighty God You will come in glory. And in your time gather the harvest from one end of this earth to the other. Remind us always, in times of plenty and in times of famine that at the center of all things are Your mercy.

There is a transformation that takes place within the warmth of your embrace. We acknowledge that You are our refuge, shelter, fortress and stronghold, against which no army can succeed.

You give a love that knows no bounds.

Remind us that You are God, and that we are lost outside of Your embrace.

You are the center of all things.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

A HEART LIKE JESUS

Words of Wisdom from John Baillie ~ The Diary of Private Prayer

This little book has been a source of encouragement, inspiration, and conviction in my spiritual journey. I've been reading it for years upon years and it always speaks to me. It's written in the old English style and a little harder to read, but oh the joy that comes from meditating on it. Next to my Bible, this has been a wonderful devotional companion.

"Today, O Lord -

let me put right before interest:

let me put others before self;

let me put the things of the spirit

before the things of the body,

let me put attainment of noble ends

above the enjoyment of present pleasures:

let me put principle above reputation;

let me put Thee before all else.

O Thou the reflection of whose transcendent glory did once appear unbroken

in the face of Jesus Christ,

give me today a heart like His -- a brave heart,

a true heart,

a tender heart,

a heart with a great room in it,

a heart fixed on Thyself;

for His Name sake

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

unspoken prayers

The scriptures tell us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. When we do not know what to pray for, the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

It encourages me Lord that you hear my inner groanings and heartbreaking emotions. When I am at the end of myself you are there upholding me and transforming me.

Help me Lord to be at peace with the idea that I am unable to pray at times. Cause me to understand how precious my tears are to you. Strengthen me when I am too weak to pray.

In all things Lord, help me to trust that you are working in my life and helping me even when I do not have the words to pray. Thank you for the grace that you extend to me even when all I have are unspoken prayers and times of prayerlessness.

To you Father, I surrender my life again knowing that you love me and are for me.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

spiritual oaks and diamonds

Our Father, remove from us the sophistication of our age and the skepticism that has come, like frost, to blight our faith and to make it weak. Bring us back to a faith that makes men great and strong, a faith that enables us to love and to live, the faith by which we are triumphant, the faith by which alone we can walk with Thee.

We pray for a return of that simple faith, that old-fashioned faith, that made strong and great the homes of our ancestors who built this good land and who in building left us our heritage. In the strong name of Jesus, our Lord, we make this prayer.

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.

Amen.

-Peter Marshall, past Chaplain of the US Senate

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

to be a living sacrifice

I think that the entire life of Christ was a beautiful example of a living sacrifice. A life that cleansed the ones who heard his teaching and experienced his compassion. A life that calls us to deeper sacrifice and compassion. Would you pray with me?

Our desire Lord is to please you.
To sacrifice what we want for what you desire.

Help us Lord to recognize the ways that we can be like lambs.
Ones who bring healing and compassion to a broken world.

Teach us Father to be like Jesus in the ways that we live.
Ones with loving hearts and healing hands.

Fill us Holy Spirit that we might bear your light in utter darkness.
That the earth may be a bit brighter because You live. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Intimacy in prayer

We will never have TRUE peace in the midst of all our trials and hard circumstances until we develop an intimate life of prayer with God.

Intimacy in prayer is vital to our spiritual walk.

Intimacy in prayer is vital to the strength of our fight.

Intimacy in prayer is of the utmost importance in cultivating a deep and powerful relationship with Christ.

Nehemiah had come up against fierce opposition. He knew there were some people plotting against him and the people of God. He didn’t fight back. He didn’t get angry and retaliate. The Word tells us that he prayed...

“So we prayed to our God...” (Nehemiah 4:9)

When things look bleak...when things look grim... the answer is to cry out to God in prayer. And let the peace that passes all understanding flow from that intimate time spent on our faces before Him.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

walking with the Spirit

Heavenly Father,

We praise You, good and gracious God, for You are trustworthy. You keep Your promises, and Your love never fails. We lift Your name on high for being One worthy of our worship, our love, and trust. Your Spirit speaks to us, and what a gift this is!

There are so many things in this world we cannot trust. We can't trust our own hearts, as they are broken with sin and point us to the wrong things. Guide us and protect us, Lord. Keep us from the sin that we often prefer. Guide in Your way alone.Keep our ears open to the whispers of Your Spirit. Open our hearts to the truth of Your Word. Free our minds from the bondage of distractions.

Show us what the desires of our hearts should be, O God. Give us the boldness to walk in step with Your Spirit, so that we may proclaim Your goodness and Your glory to the world.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Weather Prayer

Father, you are the one who controls all things. The weather is in your hands. We pray that you would grant relief to those who have been affected by the unusual weather in many parts of the country. Please provide help and comfort for those who have lost possessions or family. Grant them strength and grace. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

IN HIS TIME

In His time, In His time

He makes all things beautiful

In His time.

Lord, please show me every day

As You are teaching me Your way,

That You do just what You say

In YOUR TIME.

Ecclesiastes 3:10-14

Father God, You have set eternity in my heart. Even as I drink deeply from the cup of human happiness poured for me from Your hand, I yearn for a more profound thirst. You good gifts -- of food and drink, of work and rest --provide temporary delight. Yet they also give me a longing for that which will never pass away. Through the joys of my life I hunger for an even greater joy; to revere You all of my days and to dwell in Your house forever. Nothing compares to YOU, everlasting Lord. Nothing satisfies as YOU along can satisfy. I love You. Amen!!

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

help me to discern

Grant me, O Lord,

To know what I ought to know,
To love what I ought to love,
To praise what delights Thee most,
To value what is precious in Thy sight,
To hate what is offensive to Thee.

Do not suffer me to judge according to the sight of my eyes,
Nor to pass sentence according to the hearing of the ears of ignorant men;
But to discern with a true judgment between things visible and spiritual,
And above all, always to inquire what is the good pleasure of Thy will. Amen.

... a prayer of Thomas à Kempis

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for leaders and the healing of our land

The divine injunction expressed in this image was directed at the children of Israel but it is good advice for us today. Keywords for us are humility, seek and repentance. If God is to heal our land then those of us who name Christ as Lord must humble ourselves, repent and seek the Lord. It is not up to our leaders to bring healing. It is up to us. Let us pray.

Father of all creation, we seek you today and turn from the ways that have divided us. We confess that we have been proud - bring humility to our hearts as we repent. Please cause each of us, in prayer, to uplift our leaders at every level and in every place. We ask for Your healing to come. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

for peace within

May today there be peace within.

May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance.

It is there for each and every one of you.

Amen.

-a blessing from Teresa of Ávila

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

This is easy...

Sweet LORD, today my prayer is for those who are doubting in their circumstances. For those who are tired and worn out. For those who don’t see a solution to their problem.

My prayer is for those who need a miracle. A touch from You. A healing. An intervention.

My prayer is that they will be instilled with a fresh encounter of Your Spirit. That they will be filled with a restored BELIEF and TRUST in You. That they will know that You are the God of the impossible!

For truly, all things are easy in Your sight!

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

a prayer for hiding

Father,

Your’re love for us is infinite, far deeper than we could ever fathom, and yet we know You love us. Despite what we know, we struggle to move that knowledge into our hearts. And so we hide. We hide from others, ourselves, those we love, those we want to impress... all because we are afraid of being seen for all the worst that is in us. We are afraid to show our true selves, because we think we will never measure up.

Help us to stand boldly in the truth of Your love for us. Dig deep into our souls and plant the truth that we belong to You, and nothing and no one can ever separate us from You. You are calling us to step out into the light and remember who we are:

Yours.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

Prayer for Trafficking Victims

Father, in the midst of everything surrounding the Super Bowl, we remember that this past weekend was the busiest time of the year for sex trafficking. We pray for liberty, comfort, and healing for those who have been abused and for your Spirit to convict and bring the traffickers to justice and repentance. Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

SWEET HOUR OF PRAYER

Sweet hour of prayer
Sweet hour of prayer
That calls me from a world of care
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all my wants and wishes known

In seasons of distress and grief
My soul has often found relief
And oft escaped the tempters snares
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer

Father God, there are 24 hours in a day. Oh, that I would take one of those to bow in prayer. To seek your face, to be thankful for your love and care, and to know I can pour my heart out to you for all my wants and needs. You are my Father, and long to have me take that Sweet Hour of Prayer with YOU! I love You. Amen.

Amen

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.

letting go

I sometimes think that prayer is often about yielding to God and allowing him to work through us. With a view to that please pray over these words by singer and author Sheila Walsh as she shares a new perspective on verse 10 of Psalm 46.

Be still and know that I am God.

The original Hebrew root of “Be still“ doesn’t mean “be quiet”; it means “let go”.

That’s very different, don’t you think?

Let go and know that I am God!

Let go of trying to control your spouse!

Let go of your worry about your finances!

Let go of your unforgiveness!

Let go of your past!

Let go of what you can’t control

— and rest in the knowledge that God is working!

Lord, we say amen. Help us to let go and know that you are God.

Please visit The Prayer List and pray with us.