Daily Prayer: February 2025

Pray to bless someone

The Hebrew translation of this prayer augments the word blessing. It’s a series of words that mean “that Ishmael might live before [God].” And the blessing involves Ishmael’s face, that he would experience God as he faced the Almighty. There is relationship coursing through this verse, depicting the God who lovingly faces his creation, who walks behind, before, and beside as a protective parent. That is the essence of the blessings we pray over our loved ones—that God would shine his face upon those who need him, and that he would protect, defend, and be with his children.

It is much more difficult to pray a blessing upon someone with whom you’re in conflict. Part of your healing journey may be asking this for your friend or a family member who perplexes you: Lord, I pray they would live before you, that you would prosper their soul. In praying for our painful relationships, we become more like Jesus.

To pray for another is to bless them—to dare to ask that the One who made every heart, body, and soul would protect and walk gloriously alongside them. We see this in beautiful fulfillment as Jesus incarnates God on earth, facing the creation he fashioned, showing us the heart of the One who blesses us all.

We are blessed so that we can bless. We are given grace so that we can give grace to others. We are loved so that we can embody love to someone who truly needs it. We are forgiven so that we can learn the art and joy of forgiving another.

Jesus, would you bless the person I’m thinking of right now? Would you walk alongside them, bring comfort, show them that you see them? Would you turn their face toward yours? Would you reveal yourself to be faithful, utterly reliable, and wholly interested in their welfare? I entrust them to you. Amen.

Source: DeMuth, Mary E. 2020. Pray Every Day: 90 Days of Prayer from God’s Word. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers.

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a prayer for the ones called lost

I have been called lost,

gone astray

tossed by the waves of the sea

A lost cause never to be found

But Lord, I know You go after the lost.

No matter the price.

May I never seen anyone as a lost cause, because you found me.

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a prayer of thanks for divine provision and protection

Sovereign Lord,

We know that our help does not come from within creation.

Our help comes from you. You have created all things.

You raise us up. You are always with us.

You never sleep and you ever watch over us.

You watch over the nations and you never sleep.

You watch over us, standing beside us as a protective shade.

You protect us even when we are unaware of your presence.

You keep us from harm and watch over our life.

We thank you for the providential power that keeps us, now and forever.

Amen

- adapted from Psalm 121

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A prayer to pursue Christ's righteousness

LORD OF GLORY, we know that You are a righteous God

who holds every person justly responsible for his or her own sins.

This is consistent with Your holy nature.

We cannot condemn the sins of others

without condemning our own selves, for we are not free from sin.

We deserve Your judgment, yet You withhold that judgment

because You are rich in kindness, longsuffering, tolerance,

and patience for the purpose of leading us to repentance.

You mercifully warn us that those who remain

unrepentant are storing up wrath

for that final day when the fullness of Your wrath will be revealed.

We know that in the end everyone will be brought

before Your judgment throne.

The passage we have just read says those who do evil will perish,

and those who do good will enter into eternal life.

We confess that we have done evil,

and we stand in need of Your grace and forgiveness.

Yet Your Word also teaches from cover to cover that salvation

is not a reward for good works; eternal life is granted to sinners like us

by grace alone through faith alone.

We furthermore know and freely confess

that the good works done by believers

are fruits of Your saving work, not the cause of it.

So our only claim to heaven is grounded in the promise that

Christ is our righteousness;1

His own perfection covers believers like a spotless garment.

We also confess that it is not within our capability

to do anything truly good or contribute any merit toward our salvation.

Left completely to ourselves, we would do nothing but evil.

Even the very best of our works are flawed by fleshly imperfections

and tainted with mixed motives.

Thus we understand and confess that those whom this text speaks of

as “doing good” receive eternal life because of Christ’s work,

not as a reward for their own works.

Whatever is truly good in any of our deeds is the fruit of

Your grace and empowerment.2

Our hope therefore lies not in any merit or good works of our own.

We trust Christ alone for salvation,

and we humbly and fervently pray that

our lives might reflect His character,

show forth the glory of His righteousness,

and be living examples of His goodness.

Clothe us not only in His righteousness, but also in

His wisdom, His virtue, His holiness, and His humility.

Conform us perfectly to His image, according to Your eternal purpose.

We do not deserve such favor. On the contrary, our only plea

is that of the publican who prayed,

“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”3

And when we come to that final judgment, may we be found in Christ—

and therefore in the company of the One who,

by perseverance in doing good,

sought for glory and honor and immortality on our behalf.

In the words of the apostle Paul, may we be found in Christ,

not having a righteousness of our own derived from the law,

but that which is through faith in Christ,

the righteousness which comes from God

on the basis of faith.

We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who lived and died and rose again

in order that we might have life. Amen.

1: Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:16; Romans 4:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30

2: Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-10

3 3 Luke 18:13

Source: MacArthur, John, Jr. 2014. A Year of Prayer: Growing Closer to God Week after Week. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers.

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The necessity of PRAYER

Pour out all that is within you to the LORD. He hears our cries. He responds to our needs. He is with us always…

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a prayer for a gracious heart

Father,

Sometimes it's very hard for me to offer others grace.

I find it easy to judge when someone doesn't do something like I do.

When someone doesn't think like I do.

When someone doesn't solve a problem like I do.

When someone doesn't understand something like I do.

When someone does something I don't "get" I find myself judging and not wondering. Wondering why they act, think, understand differently.

Lord, I know we all have different lenses with which we look at the world. But it's very hard for me to put on someone else's glasses when I am sure that what I do, think, act, and understand is right.

Lord, teach me to look inside my own heart and examine my own intentions and not the intentions of others. Help me be curious and not point fingers. Show me how to value the view that others have even when it's different from my own.

And when that view is contrary to the way of Jesus... Lord, may my first instinct be to pray and not to judge, write off, or spout off that person.

Give me a gracious heart.

Amen.

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a prayer to begin again

Dear Father,

I feel like a failure and do not see a way forward.

Forgive me for my lack of faith and trust in you.

I repent of my pride and thinking I could succeed on my own.

I surrender my plans and my desires for the future.

Give me the courage to begin again as I walk beside you.

Help me to get past the difficulties and overcome the obstacles.

Bless me that I might forget what lies behind me.

Empower me to reach forward knowing that you are with me.

I commit myself afresh to you and your purposes.

This is the day that you have made - I will rejoice and be glad in it.

May your kingdom come and your will be done in my life.

Amen.

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help me to serve

Lord Jesus Christ,

Teach me to be generous with my time and my resources.

Teach me to give and not to count the cost to me personally.

Help me to respond with compassion to those around me.

Help me to help family, friends and strangers when and where I can.

Cause me to pause and reflect on how I can serve others.

Cause grace and mercy to rise up in me when I see those in need.

To you I give all worship and praise.

Amen.

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A prayer of intercession

Intercession

May God grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And may you, being rooted and grounded in love, be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16–19)

Family

My immediate family

My relatives

Spiritual concerns

Emotional and physical concerns

Other concerns

Source: Boa, Kenneth. 1993. Handbook to Prayer: Praying Scripture back to God. Atlanta: Trinity House.

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a prayer for resistance

Father,

We struggle.

We battle

We offer to be a shield, we step in and protect.

Or we stand by and watch.

Whatever situation we find ourselves in right now, Lord, please guide us. Show us the way. Give us passion, wisdom, and the mind of Christ. Give us Your eyes to see and your heart to reach out.

May we yield to Your will, on earth as it is in heaven. Sometimes that to step in. Sometimes it's to step back. May we not resist what You have called us to, and give us the strength to willingly surrender to do what You ask of us.

Amen.

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a prayer for when I am worried

Dear God,

In these anxious times, I bring my worries to you in prayer.

Calm me and cover my fears with your peace.

Help me to trust that you are with me and involved in my life.

Bless me with your love and wisdom.

Give me the courage to speak peace to the storms raging.

Give me the strength to face each new challenge with faith.

Amen and amen.

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A prayer of dedication to God

Dedication

I give myself to you Lord

I give myself to you

With my mind and its thinking

I give myself to you

With my hands and their working

I give myself to you

With my eyes and their seeing

I give myself to you

With my body and its actions

I give myself to you

With my heart and its loving

I give myself to you

I give myself to you Lord

I give myself to you

Source: Adam, David. 1985. The Edge of Glory: Prayers in the Celtic Tradition. London: SPCK Classics.

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Undeserved

Thank you LORD for the beautiful MERCY and GRACE You bestow upon us daily. So undeserved… and yet, so desperately needed…

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a prayer of self acceptance

Dear God,

Though people reject me, you have accepted all of me.

Though folks judge me, you love every part of me.

Though others stereotype me, you see me individually.

Help me to remember that you accept, love and see me.

Help me to know that you walk beside me and are with me.

Help me accept myself and all of my faults.

Teach me to see the good in my heart and in my life.

Teach me to understand how much I am growing stronger.

Teach me to walk in confidence, believing the best about myself.

Amen.

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a prayer for the small

Lord God,

What is small is not at all.

And yet we often see ourselves,

our "tiny" actions, as "small."

May we not measure the value of our actions by the standards of the world.

May we not measure the meaning of our words by the standards of the world.

May we not measure the intentions of our hearts by the standards of the world.

May we see the small as not at all small.

May the "small" acts You have called us to

be a faithful outworking of

how You are growing us.

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a prayer to be a caring community

- Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Father of All,

We ask you to help us become a caring community.

One where our neighbors are our friends.

One where we learn to love and encourage each other.

One where we can share, cry and laugh together.

Help us to be compassionate and loving when our community hurts.

Teach us to rejoice when our community thrives.

We ask that you help us to be a humble community that welcomes all.

In the name of our Lord, our Friend and our Neighbor we pray.

Amen.

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