Category: Prayer

A pray for calling

January 5, 2022

I am doing a daily devotional at the moment. It included this prayer today. I thought I would share it…

God, You know my heart better than anyone. You know the dreams I have for the future, and the silent prayers I’ve prayed for years. You know what I am longing for, searching for, and waiting for.

You know my dreams, but You have a plan. You make all things beautiful in their proper timing. You are faithful to keep Your promises. But so often, I forget this and grow discouraged when my situations don’t seem to change. In those moments, it’s easy to forget that You are not done working.

As I prepare for a new season, remind me of the promises You have for me, the gifts You’ve given me, and the hope that I have in You. Search me, and know my heart. Try me and test my anxious thoughts. See if there is anything within me that grieves You.

You are the one who establishes my steps. So in this new season, I am choosing to trust You with the unknown. I am choosing to be faith-filled because You are faithful.

Through Your Holy Spirit, please change the way I think and behave. Transform my mind so that I can discover Your perfect will. Allow me to become the person You created me to be so that I can fulfill the calling You’ve placed on my life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We love Him because He listens

December 29, 2021

Psalm 116:1-2 NLT – I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. [2] Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!

We love the Lord because…

  1. He hears our prayers
  2. He bends down to listen

As a result we will pray all our lives. We will pray as long as we have breath.

Prayer

Dear God, thank-you that You bend down to listen to my prayers. I love You with all of my heart. I will pray to You as long as I live. Amen.

A friend of sinners and outcastes

December 18, 2021

Jesus was often accused of being friends with sinners and outcastes by the religious leaders of His day. They could not understand why a man who claimed to be a religious leader would possibly have time for people that were considered sinners or outcastes by the religious “elite” of society.

Jesus loved all people and as He travelled around with His disciples, He made connections with people that most “religious” people would avoid while walking down the street. The thing I love about Jesus’ interactions with the people most considered sinners or outcastes is, they didn’t stay that way for long. After spending time with Jesus, they knew there was a better way. The Bible is full of stories of people who turned their lives around after an encounter with Jesus. Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, and the Samaritan woman at the well to name a few.

Why did Jesus take the time to do this? Luke 19:10 tells us this very clearly. It says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Jesus mission was, and still is, to seek and save the lost. Today He uses you and me to do this. We are His hands, His feet, and His mouthpiece to tell people just how much He loves them.

My heart is to not be like the “religious elite” of Jesus’ day, but to be a normal every day guy who loves people and points them to Jesus. Maybe instead of walking the dusty roads of Palestine, we sit at a desk in an office and share our faith when the opportunity arises, or we drive long distances to visit with people who need a listening ear, or we talk with our neighbours over the side fence?

However we do it, we just need to remember that our mission is to continue Jesus’ mission to seek and save the lost.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank You that You came to seek and save the lost. Thank You that You found me. I pray that I will be able to continue Your mission. I pray You will show me people who need You. I pray You will give me a love for them and give me the right words to say when I speak to them. Use me to seek and save the lost. I ask this in Your name, Amen.

Mark a straight path

December 7, 2021

Proverbs 4:25-27 NLT – Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. [26] Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. [27] Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

I really like a few things in this wisdom from Proverbs chapter four. If we break it down we see four main ideas.

1. Look straight ahead in a focussed way.

2. Mark out a right path or course to follow.

3. Stay on that path and don’t get sidetracked.

4. Keep your feet from following the path of evil.

The thing I like about this is there a real choice. We are told to intentionally fix our eyes on something and set a path towards it. Then we need to be determined to follow that path and stay on track.

As I read these verses today it made me think about my eyes and my feet. It encouraged me to focus on a godly goal with my eyes, then to walk steadily towards it with my feet.

Prayer

Lord God, help me to focus on a good goal for Your Kingdom. Help me to stay focused and not stray from the path. I pray my feet will not follow evil. Help me to serve You and You alone. Amen.

Give justice

November 23, 2021

Psalm 82:3-4 NLT – “Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. [4] Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.

Some Bible verses need a commentary to help understand them. Verses like the ones above don’t. We can read them and understand what we need to do.

These verses tell us to look after vulnerable people. People who are struggling to look after themselves. People who are oppressed by others. People who are poor and helpless.

I believe caring for vulnerable people is very close to God’s heart. Time and time again in the Bible He encourages us to look after the weak, the widow, the orphan, the oppressed.

As I type I am challenged afresh by these verses. What have I done? What am I doing? What can I do next? These thoughts are words rolling around in my spirit.

Can I sponsor another child? Can I volunteer at a shelter? Can I do some training that well help me be more effective in helping? Do I know someone who needs help?

How about you?

Prayer

Lord God, I want to make a real and lasting difference in this world. I want to help the poor and helpless, I want to help the widow and the orphan, I want to help the oppressed. Please show me what I can do to help. Show me what You want me to do. I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.