Daily Prayer

Praying in Jesus' Name

Question 180: What is it to pray in the name of Christ?

To pray in the name of Christ is, in obedience to his command, and in confidence on his promises, to ask mercy for his sake; (John 14:13–14, John 16:24, Dan. 9:17) not by bare mentioning of his name, (Matt. 7:21) but by drawing our encouragement to pray, and our boldness, strength, and hope of acceptance in prayer, from Christ and his mediation. (Heb. 4:14–16, 1 John 5:13–15)

Source: The Westminster Larger Catechism: With Scripture Proofs. 1996. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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Lord, teach me to pray in Jesus' Name by teaching me obedience to your commands and trust in your mercy, grace, and promises. Lord, encourage me to pray in boldness, strength, and hope, believing that when I have such an attitude and live in obedience, You not only accept my prayers but joyfully wish to grant them because they are indeed asked in Your Name,

Amen

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a back to school prayer

Dear Lord,

We pray for our school age kids and grandkids.

Grant them peace and a peaceful learning environment.

Protect them from temptations that lead to bad behavior.

Help them to have friends that build them up and not tear them down.

Open their minds to wisdom that they might discern truth.

Encourage them with the caring of teachers and friends.

Bring to their mind daily how much they are loved by you.

And in all this bless them to enjoy learning new things.

Amen

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prayer for changes

God of Yesterday,

we knew you then: your promises; your words; your walking among us.

But yesterday is gone.

And so, today, we are in need of change.

Help us see life now

not through yesterday's stories but through today's.

God of Endings,

What we thought would not end has ended.

And we find ourselves here wondering where we are and how we got here and where to go from here.

Be with us, here, at the end.

Help us place our feet on this ground help us lick our wounds, help us look up and around.

Help us believe the story of today.

Because you know all

about the endings of today.

And you are not afraid.

Amen.

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a prayer for conviction of sin

Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change.

And when we are right, make us easy to live with.

Peter Marshall

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Scriptures to seek God with

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a prayer for being seen

Jesus of Nazareth

Strangers came to you

because, with you,

they hoped that they'd be seen

for who they were

nt for who the seers saw.

May we who are strangers see each others,

because we, like you, need to be seen to be believed.

Amen

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. (Luke 7:44)

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a prayer to have childlike faith

Abba Father,

Please help me to have childlike faith.

Conquer my cynicism and skepticism.

Teach me to come to you with an innocent belief.

I am prone to lean into my own understanding.

Bless me to trust with my heart.

I accept your love anew.

I pledge myself to you again.

I love you Lord.

Amen.

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the journey of renewal and transformation

That first tent symbolizes the present time, when gifts and sacrifices can be offered; but it can’t change the heart and conscience of the worshiper. [Hebrews 9:9 VOICE]

This verse paints a picture of two forms of religion. The former, one of external adherence to rules. The latter, an inner transformation. Sadly, the former is much more prevalent than the latter. I know. At age 26 I had an inner change yet chose a life lived adhering to rules and principles.

I sometimes think of my life as the inward journey from Javert to Valjean. In Les Misérables, we learn of Javert, the policeman who loved the law, and of Valjean, the broken man who found extravagant grace from a bishop. One lived a life of obedience to the law. The other a life of love.

In the end, Javert finds no life in the law. He kills himself instead of changing. Valjean's life ends being surrounded by loved ones. His life was marked by an inner transformation of heart and conscience. The story reminds me that serving God is all about serving with love, mercy and compassion.

Renew me again dear Lord that I might serve you with all of my heart.

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God Invites Us Into Unceasing Conversation

God Invites Us Into Unceasing Conversation

Prayer is not introspection. It is not a scrupulous, inward-looking analysis of our own thoughts and feelings but it is a careful attentiveness to the Presence of Love personified inviting us to an encounter. Prayer is the presentation of our thoughts— reflective thoughts, as well as daydreams, and night dreams—to the One who receives them, sees them in the light of unconditional love, and responds to them with divine compassion. This context of thinking in the Presence, of conversation and dialogue with Love, is the joyful affirmation of our gentle Companion on the journey with God who knows our minds and hearts, our goodness and our beauty, our darkness and our light. The Psalmist prays the prayer for us (Psalms 139:1–3; 23–24):

O Lord, you search me and you know me, you know my resting and my rising,

you discern my purpose from afar.

You mark when I walk or lie down,

all my ways lie open to you. . . .

O search me, God, and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts.

See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal.

Source: "You are the Beloved" by Henri J.M. Nouwen

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No limit…

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A Prayer for Hope

Father God,

In difficult times it is easy to lose hope and faith in You.

Father, we admit that we've lost sight of You.

We ask that Your Holy Spirit reignite within us the hope that we need, deep down in our bones. Give us a still heart and spirit because we know that You are a loving God that will never abandon.

Your grace abounds in the deep unknown, and this truth is what we need help placing our hope in.

We know that when our hope is built on You, we can stand firm through any storm. For You are our God, always, in times on the mountaintop and times in the valley.

Amen.

We wait in hope for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

in him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22)

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a prayer to strengthen my faith

Dear God,

You have helped me to trust, to love and to forgive.

Please strengthen my faith that I might trust and love even more.

Cause faith to arise in me as sense your presence in my life.

Teach me to lean into my heart when I am tempted to doubt you.

Instruct me in the ways that build faith and hope in hard times.

Develop in me a perseverance of believing as I trust you.

In all things and in all ways help my life to praise you.

Amen.

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a blessing of peace

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A prayer for maturity

The Mark of Maturity

Read Philippians 1:6–10

This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. (Philippians 1:9–10)

Paul found joy in his memories of the friends at Philippi and in his growing love for them. He also found joy in remembering them before the throne of grace in prayer.

This is a prayer for maturity, and Paul began it with love. He prayed that they might experience abounding love and discerning love. Christian love is not blind! The heart and mind work together so that we have discerning love and loving discernment.

The ability to distinguish is a mark of maturity. When a baby learns to speak, he or she may call every four-legged animal a “bowwow.” But then the child discovers that there are cats, mice, cows, and other four-legged creatures.

One of the sure marks of maturity is discerning love and loving discernment.

Something to Ponder

With daily decisions, do you tend to seek what is good, or do you try to discern what is truly best?

Source: Wiersbe, Warren W. 2010. Pause for Power: A 365-Day Journey through the Scriptures. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.

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God, You are my Saviour and my Lord.

Help me to grow in maturity so that I may please You in all that I do.

Teach me to love others the way You love me.

In my daily decision-making, give me discernment to know not just what is good, but what is the best.
Help me to grow in maturity by giving me discerning love and loving discernment.

In Jesus' Name

Amen

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