7 Prayers That Work

  Lord God, You are not surprised by the case before the Supreme Court or the people on either side of the issue of abortion and the right to life . You love all of us equally. You don't condemn the woman who aborts her child or the lobbyist who fights for a woman's right to choose; you don't condemn the conservative who shouts hateful remarks about Planned Parenthood or people who shout back.  But you love them equally. You grieve over the hate and the misrepresentation of your love and your law. You weep over the loss of life. You grieve with those who will experience the trauma of taking another person's life, even if that life cannot survive on its own. So Lord, without judgment of either side, I lift up this issue of life and love. I pray for our country to value what you value over political leanings and policies. We are not conservatives or liberals--we are children of God, created in your image. We are on this earth to bring people to Jesus, not list all their ...

Dear God, You understand heartbreak.  You know what it is to lose a child to senseless violence . Lord, fall on us and blanket our misery! Bring vengeance on the perpetrators of injustice. This latest act of violence against a child sickens and saddens me. No parent should lose a child because someone else's child is angry, confused, or traumatized. Or just a sinner, committing a sin. And now another child has died. Sometimes the killed child is an unborn baby. Sometimes it's a neglected child. Sometimes it's a teenager, caught up in drugs or theft  or just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes a child's death is caused by someone's trauma , someone's desperation, someone's mental illness someone's cruelty. It's shocking what we humans are capable of doing. It's all so horrible, and I know it grieves you. You desire hope, healing, peace, love, forgiveness, restitution, belonging. May my heart always break when your heart break...

Dear Lord Jesus, You are always and exclusively a God of Life! You give life to us each day and you even gave your own life so we could live eternally the way you meant for us to live. You are too great to fathom! Give us sight to see life as you see it: to see the unborn in the womb, perfectly designed by you, to see the immigrant struggling to safeguard her family, to see a prisoner , desperate for a second chance at life, to see the abused who believes her life is meaningless, to see an addict who's given up on living, to see the elderly, longing for better days or more days,  to see the marginalized , devastated by history, to see the poor , without hope or means to sustain existence, to see those enslaved to pimps, drug lords, owners, abusers,  and yes-- to see those who believe they're free and yet are shackled by their own passions, pursuits, arrogance, and ambitions. Help us see everyone you lived and died for the way you see them. Life is a gift-- it's your gif...

Oh, Lord, I ask for your blessing over my child on his birthday, on this day that you breathed life into him as he entered this broken world. Cover him with your protection, your conviction, and your direction. May he always feel your presence. Speak Scripture to him when he sins. Speak comfort to him when he is afraid. Wrap yourself around him when he is alone. Direct him when he is confused. Always, bring your words of life--the Holy Word of God-- to his heart and memory, and may he cling to your truth. Give his discernment in this confusing world. Stir unrest and reticence when he hears falsehood, and help him to turn back to your Word to verify the truth. Make him a man of spiritual power and authority. Bring men and women in his path to guide him and model Christian living to him. Bring friends into his circle who will support and encourage his walk with you. Bring him a wife at the perfect time for both of them. Help him to wait on your voice, to ...

This is what the Lord says-- your Redeemer who has made all things,  who formed you in the womb:  I am the Lord who has made all things,  who alone stretched out the heavens,  who spread out the earth by myself..." (Isaiah 44:24) Lord, Jehovah, I worship you. You have made all things, including me, and you can do anything. You are a God of life . You foil the attempts of the wicked to discredit you, You reveal yourself to the unbelieving, You rebuild people and cities that are broken down, You restore inheritance to the poor, You place the lonely in families, You use both the ungodly and the godly to accomplish your will, You water the earth and display your creative genius, You heal diseases and raise the dead. You cannot be delayed. You cannot be surprised. You cannot be overcome. You made all things. You restore all things. You use all things You make all things new. I love you. Amen. Isaiah 44 Psalm 68:5-7