Daily Prayer

faith and prayer

"The effectual fervent prayer of a

righteous man availeth much"

(James 5:16)

~~~~~

Faith and true prayer are like two sides of the same coin - they are inseparable!

A.W.Tozer says, "Whatever God can do, faith can do, and whatever faith can do, prayer can do when it is offered in faith."

An invitation to prayer is an invitation to omnipotence because prayer engages our Omnipresent God to draw close to our human affairs. The bible clearly tells us that we have because we ask and we have not because we ask not.

God wants us to bring our every need to Him. He wants us to draw close to Him and pour out our deepest feelings to Him. Our persistence in prayer will only serve to draw us into closer intimacy with Christ and that is what our Father desires.

I am thankful that our heavenly Father welcomes dialogue with us, His children. Let us not fail the Word of God by failing to pray. It is our lifeline and our hope.

Amen

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A Prayer for Our Journey

Dear Lord, I will remain restless, tense, and dissatisfied until I can be totally at peace in your house. But I am still on the road, still journeying, still tired and weary, and still wondering if I will ever make it to the city on the hill. With Vincent van Gogh, I keep asking your angel, whom I meet on the road: “Does the road go uphill then all the way?” And the answer is: “Yes, to the very end.” And I ask again: “And will the journey take all day long?” And the answer is: “From morning till night, my friend.”

So I go on, Lord, tired, often frustrated, irritated, but always hopeful to reach one day the eternal city far away, resplendent in the evening sun.

There is no certainty that my life will be any easier in the years ahead, or that my heart will be any calmer. But there is the certainty that you are waiting for me and will welcome me home when I have persevered in my long journey to your house.

O Lord, give me courage, hope, and confidence. Amen.

... a prayer offered by Henri Nouwen

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Veterans' Day Prayer

Father, we thank you for the freedoms you have given to us. We are grateful to those who have served our nation, and for those who currently serve. We pray for protection, for healing, and for your richest blessings on them. We long for the day when no one will have to kill or be killed, when your kingdom comes in its fullness. Amen.

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Letting Go . . .

Philippians 4:8 "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. FIX your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. THINK about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." (NLT)

I MUST let go of WRONG THINKING and change my FOCUS.

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to let go of my wrong thinking. My negative thinking, my selfish thinking and FOCUS on YOU! Focus on the things you are about. Things that are true (Your Word), things that are honorable and right (honesty). Things that are pure and lovely (Your holiness and love). Let me think of missionaries and pastor's giving their live in service, and think about how they are worthy of praise because they do it for YOU. Lord, erase from my mind WRONG THINKING, and replace it with your HEART. I love you and want You to be my focus. Amen

Letting go of wrong thinking and not complaining will give us a platform for ministry and sharing God's Word.

Amen

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Everything

Mark 10:21 (NIV)
²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)
⁴¹Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. ⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on."

Father, it seems to me that these two people who had nothing in common yet in reality they had something very important in common. Each had an everything. Though there everything differed in amount it did not differ in percentage. For the rich young ruler his everything was an obstacle to keep him from you, for the poor widow her everything was an opportunity to express her love and devotion to you.

Father, what strikes me about the widow is that she did not give with pretense or presumption. She simply gave out of her heart. She understood and appreciated her relationship with you and her love for you withheld nothing and gave everything.

Father to give everything is supremely defined and expressed in Mark 12:30 (NIV): “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Surely that is everything and nothing pleases you more.

Amen

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A Prayer for the Church

My prayer for the church is that we would be a communities of people who understand the grace and peace of the only one who can truly give grace and bring peace. And that as we receive that grace, peace and the hope and salvation that comes with it, we would proclaim it boldly to a world longing for hope – knowing that it is God who works to make our best efforts successful and our worst efforts redemptive.

Amen

... a prayer offered by Todd Hiestand on his blog

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be still

"Be still, and know that I am God..."

(Psalm 46:10)

God desires for us to be still sometimes. He is desiring for us to get our focus on Him and sit at His Feet and just listen. Too many times we come to Him in prayer with everything all figured out for Him. We have it all organized in our minds and we let Him know just how to fix our problems. But the truth is that the only one who can fix our problems is God. And He knows the perfect way to handle those things that trouble us or assail. us. If we would just take the time to get still before our Creator and allow Him to begin speaking to our hearts and souls, He will lead us beside the still waters, calm our spirits and guide us on the right path. And the beautiful part is that He will walk beside us every step of the way. Our God is so good.

Amen

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Prayer of St. Brendan

Help me to journey beyond the familiar

and into the unknown.

Give me the faith to leave old ways

and break fresh ground with You.

Christ of the mysteries, I trust You

to be stronger than each storm within me.

I will trust in the darkness and know

that my times, even now, are in Your hand.

Tune my spirit to the music of heaven,

and somehow, make my obedience count for You.

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LETTING GO

"...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trip us up. And let us run with endurance the race God ha set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.... Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)

Dear Lord, I MUST let go of ME and accept the LORDSHIP of Christ. Letting go is hard, but Oh, the benefits of letting the Lord be in charge of my life is the only way to live the abundant life. Lord, please help me on a daily basis to LET GO of ME. I love your Lordship in my life, it brings me comfort and peace. Amen

"And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as YOUR LORD, you MUST continue to follow him. Let your roots grown down in HIM, and let your lives be built on HIM. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught and you will overflow with thankfulness." (NLT)

Amen

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Troubles

Isaiah 40:27 (NLT)
O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles?

Father, like Jacob there have been times when I thought You don’t understand, or know, or see, or hear, or care about my troubles? I remember driving down the freeway in Los Angeles several years ago feeling more than alone, maybe forgotten and even that life didn’t matter. It was a dark, disturbing, depressing time and I remember thinking I don’t care….then… I glanced at a Church tower on which the words were printed in large letters: “He Cares About You.” And everything changed because at that ever so brief moment in my heart, I knew You knew and cared and said so in a way I will never forget.

Thank you Father that there is never a time, a place, or an experience through which I pass that is unknown to You. And not only do you know but even greater You are with me as my ever present help. So Father I thank You for the truth of 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” And this precious promise is beautifully expressed in the song You gave Audrey Meier “It Matters to Him about You.”

Although God has millions of souls to see about
Although the sun, the moon, the stars are in his care
How wonderful to know wherever you may go
He can be reached just by a whispered prayer.

It matters to him about you
Your heartaches your sorrow he shares
Regardless of what you may do
He wants you He loves you, he cares
Oh yes, it matters to him about you
Believe it because it is true
Cling to his hand, He'll understand
For it matters to Him about you.

Amen

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Reformation Day Prayer

Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it.

I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.

I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.

I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether.

O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.

In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.

I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.

I am a sinner; you are upright.

With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.

Therefore I will will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give.

Amen

...a prayer of Martin Luther

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Almighty and everlasting God,

Increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity;

and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

From Scot McKnight

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Nehemiah tells us "The Joy of the Lord is our Strength..."

Dear Lord, there are many things in life we cannot choose. Our circumstances, the weather, health issues, family members, but we do have the choice of how we handle the things we have no control over. You have told us Your grace is sufficient for whatever comes out way. Lord let the Joy of knowing you be my strength, and help me to handle the difficult things in life that I have no control over, with grace and joy. Your JOY. I love you. Amen

Amen

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DANCING

Psalm 30:11 (NLT)
“You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing”.

Father, happy feet are a wonderful expression of the exuberance You give us in life. It is hope jumping for joy. It is laughter filling the air. It is love bubbling over with barely restrained enthusiasm. There is a time to dance and probably more often that we think. In fact if we danced more we would probably be less depressed.

So today I will dance. Dance with the joy of a forgiven heart. Dance with the appreciation of a wonderful family and faithful friends. Dance with the assurance that when the music ends heaven waits, where there will still be more dancing. Yes, dance, dance, dance for all the grace and mercy You shower on us every day. There will be times of mourning, but not today. Today I will dance!

Amen

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