Daily Prayer

GOD ALONE

Dear Lord, sad is my heart. This year has already brought sorrow to our friends and family. Sickness, surgeries, cancer diagnosis, and pain. You are my rock and my fortress, but my heart hangs heavy in my breast from the grief and tears. Lord this song we sang Wednesday night at Bible study is my comfort. I love you and I'm setting my gaze on You alone.

MY SOUL FINDS REST

I set my gaze on God alone

And trust in Him completely,

With every day pour out my soul

And He will prove His mercy.

Though life is but a fleeting breath,

A sigh too deep to measure,

My King has crushed

The curse of death

And I am His forever.

Amen

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The Sparrow

Matthew 10:29 & 31 (NLT) & Psalm 121:5-8
….not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. ³¹So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. ⁵The LORD himself watches over you! ⁷The LORD ……… watches over your life. ⁸The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Father as I ponder these verses that speak of your personal knowledge of your people it brings such a sense of security and peace. What glorious comfort that you have such care for us. It brings to mind the response of Hagar: “You are the God who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 (NLT)

So Father I would just like to praise you with the words from the song: “His Eye is on the Sparrow”

Why should I be discouraged and why should the shadows fall?
Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He,
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

Let not your heart be troubled; these tender words I hear;
And resting on his goodness I lose my doubts and fears;
For by the path He leadeth but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.

I sing because I'm happy;
I sing because I'm free;
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

Thank you Father for your loving care so tenderly portrayed in the Sparrow.

(The lyrics to the Gospel song, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow" was written by Civilla Martin, and the music composed by Charles H. Gabriel.)

Amen

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A Little Love Goes a Long Way

Dear Lord Jesus,
It's a cold world out there with lots of struggling people, people who don't know you. I pray today that You would work in the hearts and lives of Your people, people like me, and I pray that we would be Jesus to those folks who can't seem to see who You really are. I pray that not only would we set a standard worthy of Your name, but that we would love with a love as deep and intense as Yours. I pray, Lord, that they would come to know You because we share Your love with them.
Amen

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A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

Amen

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LOVE IN THE VINEYARD

Song of Songs 7:12 "Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom ~ there I will give you my love."

Dear Lord, I will rise early to meet You. I will spend time alone with You, whispering the secrets of my heart. I will wait for Your assurance and celebrate Your presence. In the vineyard of Your love I will be satisfied. For You are the Vine and I am the branch. Abiding in You, I receive all that I require to live as Your child in this world ~ all the peace, the power, the grace, the hope, the mercy, the love. So I will rush to Your Vineyard in the early hours, where I know I will find You waiting. I love You. Amen.

Amen

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Real Jeopardy

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (NLT)
³ If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. ⁴ Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

Father there is real jeopardy revealed in these verses for those who are without faith in Christ. May we ever be alert to every opportunity to share the good news of Christ and never by our silence enhance the danger of those who are perishing.

Father you encourage and exhort us in Psalm 107:2 (NLT) “Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you…..” Father help us to be faithful witnesses of your grace by our life and our lips, and may we be able to say with the Psalmist: “I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power….” Psalm 40:10 (NLT)

Amen

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Prayer for the Cold and Homeless

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 this bitter weather.

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
... a prayer from the Church of England

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Eternal God

Everything is temporal, recent and transient! That is why the Holy Spirit whispers faithfully, reminding us of the Christ of God, eternity walking in flesh, God Almighty come to live among us and to save- to give us eternity!

What is our greatest prayer? When we turn our faces toward the Eternal One and ask...

"God have mercy on me, a sinner"

Then we are finally being what God intended us to be in the first place!

Father God, help me to recognize that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Help me to live this new year with a new set of eyes and see life from your lofty and eternal perspective.

(Taken from A.W. Tozer daily devotions)

Amen

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Prayer for Reconciliation

I would like to pray regarding the current situation of racial conflict in our country. It is not my purpose to determine who was right or wrong in any of the particular incidents . But I do wish to pray that we might find a way to resolve these conflicts and move to a situation of justice toward all involved.

Father,

I pray that as a nation we might come to see that all human beings, whatever their skin color, are made in Your image. That we might put aside our hatreds and learn to love all people as You would have us love them. And that we as a country may provide genuine justice for all its citizens, whoever they may be.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

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Father, in the year ahead, make us people of faith in your goodness. Let us be gracious to all we meet, and let your love flow out of us onto them. May all people see Jesus in us and be drawn to your truth, beauty, and goodness. Amen

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WHO GETS THE GLORY?

Psalms 29:2 "Give unto the Lord the GLORY due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

Dear Lord, I am so prone to want the glory. To tell everyone of my good deeds. To get praise and acclamation for myself. Lord I truly want to be a secret servant. I want all that I do and say and think to bring YOU the GLORY due your Holy Name. When I start to praise myself and accept the glory, Lord please put Spiritual Tape over my mouth and cause my heart and mouth Glorify YOU! I love You. Amen

Amen

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Daily Balance

Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)
⁴ “LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. ⁵You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”

Psalm 118:24 (NIV)
²⁴ This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Father these verses are so complimentary to each other in that one speaks of the brevity of life and the other the blessings of life. They present a balance that we need to be mindful of each day of the year. We should not take a single day for granted nor lose sight of the opportunity, joy and possibilities each day presents. Every day is an adventure in living, in discovering new aspects of life, and developing our relationship with you and those we love.

Father we ask you will to help us remember the brevity and blessing of each day and to live each one in that daily balance.

Amen

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A New Prayer

Dear Lord,
It's another new year. I haven't lived up very well to all those resolutions I've made in years past. It makes me a bit hesitant to offer up any more declarations... I'm absolutely certain You are still molding and shaping me, changing my attitudes, and showing me areas of my heart that need cleansing. I'm not done being changed, but the changing needs to come from You. This year I pray that You will open my eyes and ears that I might see and hear those things that You are showing and speaking to me. Sometimes I'm afraid I still don't want to see or hear, so Lord, I pray that my heart would be softened and pliable, that I wouldn't need to face great pain or sorrow in order to surrender my will to yours. And Lord, this year I pray that I would learn to love deeper, to give more freely. I'm supposing You will offer plenty of opportunities for practice, so please help me to have my eyes open and heart ready when those times arise.
Amen

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Give us Vision

Give us, O God, the vision which can see Your love in the world in spite of human failure.

Give us the faith to trust Your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness.

Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts.

And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.

Amen

-- Frank Borman, Apollo 8 space mission, 1968

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