7 Prayers That Work

  Well, Lord,  I'm coming to you once again in confession and repentance.  Forgive me for my resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness , and malice toward people who have hurt me and abused me. Forgive me for holding grudges, for obsessing over the wrongs done to me. I lay all my hurt at your feet. It's yours. You understand. You can defend me or not. I know you love me and uphold me. I know your ways are good and perfect. I know you will prosper me for your own glory, not mine. I know that you will redeem the lies that people spread about me and the resentment people hold against me. I don't have to hold on to my pain or protect my bitterness so that I feel in control. I'm not. So I give it all to you. My name is "beloved," and I belong to you. That's what can honestly be said about me. That's who you say I am. Forgive me, Lord, as I forgive those who sin against me. In Jesus' name, Amen. "If tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you b...

Lord Jesus, I want to be a better encourager. Use me to build up the spiritual gifts in someone else. Mold me into a servant, an encourager , a prophet, a prayer warrior, a friend of the friendless. Lord, please forgive me for not choosing compassion and grace, for not reaching out, for not loving others because I didn't feel loved. Lord, I want to see the world like you see it, to include everyone and love everyone like you did. I want to become an intercessor. I want to build others up instead of hoping they will build me up. I want your blessing on me-- not to make my life easier or better-- but to be an avenue for your blessing on everyone around me. May people see you whenever they see me and because your blessing is rich and deep and powerful, I pray that the people I touch find new relationship and belonging in you. Help me belong in you. Only you satisfy my soul. Speak truth and grace into my life so I remember that. In Jesus' name, Amen. "I long to see you so t...

Oh, Lord,  I'm scared. I have anxiety and dread all the time, and I think it's from not obeying your call on my life-- not doing the things you've told me to do or loving the people you've told me to love. I'm afraid to follow you  because I don't know what will happen to me when I do and because I've been hurt by people so many times when I did. I have reasonable  excuses  for hesitating: I'm not good enough, not talented enough, not lucky enough, not spiritual enough. I'm too busy, too stressed too unprepared. I need to heal, to find myself, to get into a safe space. Yet the longing and the frustration in my spirit persists. That tells me I'm not living in harmony with your calling and with the Spirit of God living inside of me. You say I am enough-- in you I am always enough. You can do anything, through anyone, and you just want me to trust you with my life. I confess my pride and self-reliance to you. Steady my heart and clear my mind. H...

Oh, Lord,  Examine my heart and mind because they might be wrong. In fact, I know they are. I'm wrong. I confess it. My thoughts are angry, unkind, ungraceful. My words reflect my thoughts,  and I'm ashamed of them. Bring every wrong thought captive-- reveal my selfish motives for why I think and say what I do. Show me the truth. I need your perspective, not my own. Examine my heart and mind and humble me enough to admit what's lurking there. Lord, I confess it again. I'm wrong .  Fill me with grace, forgiveness, and understanding . I want to continually walk in your truth , in your way, in your timing. I praise you for your faithfulness to me, even when I'm not faithful back. Thank you, Lord. Your mercy is unfathomable. In Jesus' name,  Amen "Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." (Psalm 26:2-3)

Oh, Lord,  What is true anymore? It's hard to tell. I can make entire worlds out of what makes me comfortable and justified, instead of what is actually true. What you call true . I make excuses for taking the easiest path, for the sins I commit and the sins I explain away. Show me where I listen to voices that speak lies. Forgive me for my willful ignorance. You are Truth. I look down on people for their sins while ignoring my own. Forgive me for my pride. You are the Way. Show me where I elevate my desires over your will and change me. I labor to build my own kingdoms and elevate my own popularity. Forgive me for my ambition. You are the Life. Show me where I deviate from the life you've laid out for me. Disrobe my deceptions and excuses. Reveal my insecurities . I want to lean into you-- into all of you-- all that you require of me and all that you want to forgive, if I'll just admit what's actually true in my heart and mind. Lay bare my defenses. I will confess ...

  Dear Lord God, Jehovah, I pray for peace and protection in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas ( Acts 1:8 ), for the Israelis and Palestinians and the age-old conflict between them. You love both groups of people. You walked their streets, healed their sick, and prayed on their hillsides. You understand the divisions and hostilities there, and you still long to draw every person to yourselves like a hen gathers her chicks ( Matthew 23:37 ). Help us, in the West, to pray for souls over governments . Give us compassion and mission for all people ( Matthew 28:19-20 ). Convict us when we politicize oppression and applaud violence . I confess our ignorance and our judgment, our self-congratulations and pious condemnations. We are sinners who need you, just like everyone in the world. May we be a light to the whole world, not just the world we think we understand. Help us to pray for those who need your healing touch and protective hand. I want to serve you in the way that glorifies...

                       Dear Lord, I messed up again . I let someone's words and attitude anger me, make me defensive, and feel upset. I didn't lose my temper or act rudely-- but I wasn't gracious, either. I  said things  that were unnecessary--and who's to say that I wasn't offensive? I wasn't kind because I didn't put myself in their shoes. I didn't  empathize . I didn't ask questions. I just challenged, argued my point, and decided to view them as  arrogant, stubborn, or at best, difficult. But I was all those things. I see that now, and I regret it. Sin is so subtle and tricky-- it seeps in through insecurity and pain  and defends my right to feel offended by another person's words or actions. Sin makes me guard myself and defend myself even when I'm not in danger. It makes me feel misunderstood, alone,  abandoned, and discouraged. Probably like this person felt. Being  wounded  i...

Oh, Lord, King of heaven and earth, how you must be grieved. My heart is broken over the sins of my country and especially the Church. I can't imagine the heartbreak you have, and I can't fathom the hope and patience you also have for us when we sin. I confess the sins of my country. I confess our disunity, our rage, our insatiable desire for revenge . I confess our idolatry of wealth, class, power, fame, and self-righteousness. I confess our desire to condemn, hate, judge, blame, and kill one another. We're obsessed with our own comfort and security, to the detriment of anyone else. I confess our unflagging determination to idolize people: celebrities, politicians, millionaires, leaders of any field, as if they have the answers for life,  when You are the only one with answers. I confess our desire to win, to make teams, to align ourselves with political platforms and policies, to elevate elections, political races, and national power over loving our brothers and sisters...

Oh, Lord, I don't have the words for what I'm feeling right now. Or what I should say. Or if I should say anything at all. Words are tricky. They tend to pop out. Help me to pray YOUR words about MY words: Make the words of my mouth pleasing and acceptable to you. (Psalm 19:14) Give me gracious words, sweet like honeycomb and healing to the bones.  (Proverbs 16:24) May my mouth speak wisdom and my heart be filled with understanding.  (Psalm 49:3) Purify my words like silver, burn off the dross in your crucible. (Psalm 12:6) Whenever I open my mouth, give me the faith to speak the gospel fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19) Help my speech to be as beautiful and valuable as apples of gold in pictures of silver.  (Proverbs 25:11) Your words are true and faithful. They will prove to be true. May I speak them! (Psalm 33:4) I want to take hold of your words, obey your commands, and live! (Proverbs 4:4) Lord, may all of my words be just. Keep me from speaking perverse words...

Oh, Lord, Heal our land. I don't pray this lightly. It will require great sacrifice, especially from us who have never really sacrificed to protect the rights of others. Lord, convict us of our selfishness. May we value peace through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. May we cherish one another and love one another. I pray for your healing to be powerful and evident to all to bring you glory, and not to any other individual. I bow my head and heart in worship and repentance . Give me grace. Change me from the inside out. Do the painful work in me and in all those who love you-- bring about the restoration and transformation we need so desperately! In Jesus' name, Amen. Below is a prayer of confession, request, and intercession through the song "Heal Our Land" by Kari Jobe. You can sing it and pray it at the same time!

We all struggle to follow God consistently. We all return to our nasty habits and warped way of thinking. Keep struggling--keep fighting for truth to become the loudest voice in your head. Read the prayer below of confession and dedication. Click on the 8 prayers embedded in this one to find more encouragement to help you make the continual decision to follow God and reject your selfish nature. There is victory in Jesus! We have to stop making excuses about why we don't follow God completely or why we revise what he tells us to do (so that it fits with our lifestyle). Joy and contentment are found only in a pure relationship with God. Lord, It's me again. I'm struggling. You see me every time I go back to the things I've left behind, when I give in to my sinful habits , my selfish thinking, my comfortable natural inclinations my all-out rebellion. I don't want to keep going back to that life, that endless pursuit of happiness that never feels sati...

I was just about to pray and ask God for some important and noble things (things I can do for God), and it occurred to me that my motives might be selfish, that perhaps my heart isn't quite right. I thought about my locked doors, the little places I'd rather ignore than open. So I didn't pray that prayer. Here's why: "When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures."--James 4:3 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."--Psalm 51:10 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and will purify is from all unrighteousness."--1 John 1:9 "He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy."--Proverbs 28:13 Here's what I did pray : Lord, God, I can't ask you for anything right now, not even direction, not for your will, not for your b...

Have you noticed that you struggle with the same bad habits, over and over? Maybe it's your temper, your insecurity, your selfishness, or your critical tongue . Deep down, you know they're not even habits. They're sins. This happens to me. I make this happen, by my own choices. Every time I try to pray, I feel this weight. At first, I can't tell why I feel this way or why my prayers seems to bounce right back. Then I realize I'm sinning again. I'm doing the same things I always do when my soul isn't full of righteousness. Of course, I want to confess it and stop doing it. But I feel ashamed that I'm about to pray the same prayer again, confess the same sin, and enter the same battle. I have a decision to make: I can humble myself and confess my sin, and start working to change, or I can give up. I can say "This is me. This is just the way I am." I can pretend that change isn't possible, even though I know it ...

Lord Jesus, Please forgive me for feeling sorry for myself. You are great. You are powerful. You are enough. Thank you for your grace and mercy towards me. And help me to love difficult people and remember that I am also one of them. In Jesus' name,  Amen. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” ( Mark 11:25 )

Lord Jesus, Forgive my friend for being rude, for hurting others, for hurting herself/himself, for hurting me. Show them your power and envelope them with a desire to worship you with every tiny aspect of their life. I confess their sins for them, knowing that you will extend grace, conviction, and restitution. It's who you are. Make me an instrument of grace and forgiveness when someone wrongs me. Make me a mouthpiece of grace and forgiveness when I see injustice and it makes me mad. Make me a encourager when I can comfort someone who's been hurt. Make me an advocate when I can fix something that's wrong. Make me like you. Amen. Click here to pray "Confessing Someone Else's Sin" Click here to read about how Job prayed for his friends who hurt him.

Lord, You can have all of me. My self-image, my dreams, my family, my career, my pain, my fear, my plans,  my secret places. I surrender. All of it. I give it to you. It belongs to you, anyway, because I belong to you. I don't know why I keep pulling this all back on me. It weighs me down, clouds my thinking, discourages and scares me. I am weary from the burden of it. You want to carry it for me. You want to carry me. So you can have me back again. Again and again and every time I forget and pull this all on myself. Again and again. I love you. I trust you. I need you. Amen. “Come to me,  all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.   Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,  for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”-- Matthew 11:28-30 For more prayers about this, click below: "When you want to quit praying" "What to...

Oh, Lord, This life is not about me. My pain is not about me. My relationships are not about me. My purpose is not about me. My success is not about me. My plans are not about me. Or at least, they shouldn't be. It's all about you working through me, changing me, changing the world. What an enormous task you've begun! I wonder why you use me at all. So when I sin-- when I misrepresent you-- when I disappoint myself-- when I hurt others-- when I give up-- when I hide-- when I don't believe-- it's all about me. Life is hard. Wisdom is difficult. I only have my own perspective. But I need yours. Sometimes your heart is hard to see because I can only see mine. I must lean into you, dig deeper, remove my blinders, open my soul to listen. You alone. Forgive me for listening to the voices around me instead of yours. Amen.

Dear Lord, You are writing a story with my life. I know that, but I often forget that my story is actually a tool to tell your story. You're writing your story on my life so people who don't know you will see what love looks like through me. I'm blowing this. How much am I confusing the telling of your story? Are the pages of my life so focused on me and what will happen to me and what has happened to me that your message is blurred? Lord, show me where I'm interrupting the story you want to write on me. I know you've called me. I've hard the sermons and read the Bible verses about calling and surrender. It's just that sometimes, I don't know what you're calling me to. I see what I can do and what I want to do, but I don't understand what's taking you so long to use me for something significant. This is idolatry, and I confess it to you. This is greed, fear, and selfishness. This is me thinking that your gifts are...

Dear Father Creator, How grieved you must be over the callous attitude your creation has toward life! I know you're not surprised because this has been reality since the beginning of time-- since Cain murdered his brother. And parents have murdered children, children have murdered parents, people have waged war and claimed to do it in your name and for your honor. How we misrepresent you and your love for the whole world! For each individual person, no matter how helpless, how disfigured, how evil, and how innocent. They belong to you. We are only custodians of your creation. Of turtles, whales, eagles, leopards, water, earth, energy-- but especially of human life. How can culture get this so mixed up? I pray for your grace, patience, and conviction. I ask for your forgiveness on behalf of those who kill innocent lives and discount the lives of the elderly and handicapped. I pray for your Spirit to permeate our world and bring reason and value to ever...

Dear Lord God, You forgive us when we confess our sins, and you give grace when we confess the sins of our ancestors-- of our family and our city and our country. So I confess the great wickedness of our nation at oppressing the poor, marginalizing women, minorities, the elderly, and the ill, enslaving the African-Americans, red-lining poor communities, indenturing and imprisoning the uneducated and underprivileged. I confess our systemic white privilege, even as I want to believe I am not a benefactor of it. I confess our sins of racism and segregation, even as I say that I have not overtly participated in any of it. It is our heritage, and we are wrong to minimize its legacy. I confess the church's sins of politicizing moral issues, of drawing party lines through issues of compassion, grace, and mercy-- of using topics of mass incarceration, death penalty, immigration, life, and welfare to divide party lines and provide ease and security for the privileged...