7 Prayers That Work

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 God, My prayer today is a lament and an intercession concerning the Colorado wildfires that are sweeping through neighborhoods and towns. You can overwhelm nature and intervene in this natural disaster. Please intervene today. While you always use tragedy and disaster to point people toward yourself , I'm asking you to stop the Colorado wildfires. Silence the strong winds and scatter snow across the valleys to stop the flames from engulfing any more homes, businesses, schools, or hospitals. Declare " Peace , be still." Protect families, animals, and frontline workers. Shield the firefighters and sustain the healthcare professionals. Comfort the sick and elderly who have been moved. Bring peace and comfort to grieving families who have lost everything. I pray for our nation to rally to help Colorado residents rebuild and recover. I ask for your Spirit to hover there, to draw residents to hope and security in you instead of their things. I pray that this disaster ...

Hey everyone, please pray for my husband Shane. He's in great shape, has a healthy heart and rides for a elite amateur biking team for exercise. Last night on a 40-mile group ride, he had a heart attack. He experienced chest pain and shortness of breath. That's it. He just had a good physical one month ago. Two years ago, his heart showed 0 blockage, although his blood pressure was a little elevated. God preserved him--because his chest was hurting, he slowly finished the ride & drove home. Our son Brent (in clinicals for PT) took his vitals; I gave him aspirin, and after a lot of persuading, I took him to the hospital. His 2 EKGs were good, but his blood showed cardio enzymes. So they called in the cardiologist, who immediately assembled a heart cath team at 1:00 am. They worked for 1.5 hours to ultimately find the blockage in his main artery and put in a stent. He said Shane's main artery was 95% blocked--that's the widow-maker artery. He probably would've die...

  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...

  I read Philippians Chapter 1 this morning, and I thought of you.   All of you.   I realized how much we need to pray Verse 9-11 for one another. So here is powerful intercessory prayer, straight from the Bible-- Philippians 1:9-11 .  I'm praying it for you! Dear Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, May we intercede for one another like this: "And 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, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-- to the glory and praise of God." In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

  Oh, Lord, Please give my friend courage and wisdom to stand in the midst of crisis. May ________ see true North-- You are guiding _______ toward the light of your purpose. You have a greater plan for ________ than anyone can see. Transfer your power because you are the Rock. Affirm your steadfastness because you are the God who is Present . Remind of your love because you are Jesus, Savior. Whisper encouragement because you are the Comforter. Infuse boldness because you are the Mighty God of vengeance and the Defender of our souls. Nothing is too hard for you. Nothing surprises you. Nothing changes your plan of love and salvation for us. May ________ feel your presence before, beside, behind, and with him/her because you are a God who protects us. Fight for us and win for us. It's what you do! Surround us. We are safe with you. In Jesus' Everlasting name, Amen. 2 Kings 6 :13-18 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surroun...

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!

Lord Jehovah, the Great I AM,  the One who sees all, knows all, and loves all-- I pray your blessing over my children to a thousand generations. May my children and their children and their children seek you with their whole hearts! May they be found in you, may you be found in them, going behind and before them, carving out a path of blessing and purpose! Make them mighty men and women of God-- warriors who defend their hearts against evil, who nurture their minds with truth, who allow the Holy Spirit complete access and direction of their lives. Bless them, use them, protect them, challenge them, call them into your great and mighty work! In Jesus' name and his holy words ,  Amen. "Know therefore that the  Lord  your God is God;  he is the faithful God,  keeping his covenant of love  to a thousand generations  of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:9) Click on the image above to...

In Genesis 24, Abraham sends his servant back to Ur, the country of his origin, to find a wife for his son Isaac.  Abraham instructed his servant: 1. Don't take my son away from here (the Promised Land--where God had called them to be) 2. Don't find a wife from here (because this is a pagan culture) 3. Go back to our people for his wife 4. God will send an angel ahead to prepare her Pretty cool idea. So here's a prayer for your son or daughter's future spouse -- Lord God, I have already dedicated my child to you. I trust you with him/her. You created this child in the womb, perfectly crafting every part of him/her, just as you wished, because You have a special calling and mission for him/her. You want him/her to love and serve you all his/her life. You are protecting, providing, and disciplining him/her, molding him/her into the likeness of Your Son, Jesus. You love this child more than I do, which is saying a lot. You know what is best an...

Onmipotent God, I'm asking you to make things better--a little fairer-- Not for myself, but for some people I care about. In my flesh, I want revenge. In my spirit, I want your righteousness. People I love got a bum deal, an unlucky break. A gross injustice . They've been sinned against. I guess you know what that feels like. I know life's not fair . I know we are called to suffer for the kingdom. But I also know you are a God of justice and you will produce justice and righteousness in the world because that's what you always do. It's how you reveal yourself to all of us-- a God of power, authority, holiness, and love. You make things right . Then you bring joy and peace. Proverbs 21:15  " When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous   but terror to evildoers." You are also a God of vengeance . So when someone hurts, offends, or traumatizes people I love-- people you love who are following you-- I don't min...

God Jehovah, Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ, Fall on my city and my country. Cover our capital like a heavy blanket with your presence, with an aura of peace and brotherhood. Whisper into hallways and alleys that peace, love, mercy, and diversity reflect who you are and who you made each of us to be. Convict the haters that they live in opposition to you, regardless of their political and religious attachments. They do not represent you, and they tarnish the cause of Christ and the essence of the gospel. Remind Christ-followers everywhere that they are responsible to be the light-- not a political light, but a spiritual light. You do not need politicians or policies to advance your kingdom. You need believers full of love and mercy. Your kingdom is not of this world. You are about releasing people from spiritual darkness and physical affliction and emotional enslavement. You came to bandage the brokenhearted, give release for prisoners, give sight to the blin...

God Almighty, Give ___________ discernment and courage to develop and protect godly relationships. Reveal any faulty theology and secular mindsets. Open doors for spiritual relationships and mentoring. Help ___________ seek wise counsel in crisis and decision-making . Encourage ____________'s spirit, soul, and mind-- fight off insecurity and self-loathing and fill ____________ with a knowledge of your infinite love and unending grace. Prepare in _____________ a determination to serve and trust you all of his/her life. Guide ______________ today into your presence . Fill ___________ with the Holy Spirit and a heart of compassion . Thank you for the blessing of knowing ___________. Use me to influence him/her. In Jesus' name, Amen. Click here for "A Prayer for students" Click here for "How to pray God's word over your kids" For this reason, since the day we heard about you,  we have not stopped praying for you.  We continually ...

It's never too soon to pray for your kids' future spouses. I've been praying for my kids' spouses since the day my kids were born, hoping and longing for three girls to grow up loved and protected and conformed into the image of Christ. It's never too late to pray for that. All of us are growing and changing, no matter how old we are. The majesty of Scripture is that it is always revealing new truth to the people who seek truth, no matter how many times they've read it. Seek truth for yourself, then encourage your kids and their spouses to seek truth. We learn by watching others live right. Your job as a parent of adults is to live right and model righteous decisions. Your job as a child is to watch adults who live right and follow their example, which means that you are also making righteous decisions. Don't give up on people growing more like Christ. Don't give up on your kids, on your kids' girlfriends or boyfriends, or on your ...

In 2 Timothy, Paul writes his last letter to Timothy, his spiritual son. They long for each other's company. Paul knows he is going to be soon martyred by the cruel Roman emperor, Nero. He knows he might never see Timothy again. He knows that Timothy, as a Christian pastor, is afraid. (Who wouldn't be?) In the prayer below, I've taken Paul's final encouragements to Timothy and modeled them into a prayer that all parents can pray over their children.  Dear God, Jehovah, You are powerful and mighty. Nothing can stand against you. You love my child even more than I do, so I am giving you my most earnest request. Thank you for my child's sincere faith. Guard it and develop it. Thank you for the opportunity you have given me as his parent to pour into him. Help me to never be discouraged or dismayed by results. You are alive and working in his life. I pray for my child to be drawn to your Word--to saturate himself in it. Holy Spirit, draw him to yourself. Mak...

Lord Jesus, You are great and mighty. You use ordinary people to accomplish your incredible work. I'm not sure why. But thank you for the opportunity to go to a mission field this next week to meet people you love and died for, to share the gospel you created, to live like you for a few short days-- Giving myself to something greater than me. Thinking of other people's needs instead of mine own. Talking about what really matters--You. Feeling uncomfortable in order to make someone else feel like they belong. This is your mission. And you call us to it every day. And Saturday, I'm going to answer it. (Click here to read "Why I leave my heart in other countries.") Oh, why don't I answer it every day, all day? Why don't I ache for the people of the world who don't know you and actually disrupt my life to reach them? I ask for your blessing and protection over my trip, yes. But mostly, I'm thinking I just want more of you. ...

Teaching is a difficult, exciting, and taxing profession. It requires both emotive and logical perspectives, tenacity and patience. Firmness and empathy. Long days and long nights of uncompensated self-sacrifice. Teachers need your prayers and support to do their jobs well. Here are some ideas:  Dear Lord, Give my child's teacher encouragement today. Help her/him connect with all the students, model unconditional love, realize the importance of teaching and molding lives. Remind him/her to take the long look, past homework and tests, past student squabbles, into the future where these children-- including mine-- become responsible, thoughtful, caring adults. Help him/her be proud of that accomplishment. Amen. Dear Lord,  Give my child's teacher discernment and wisdom in handling crises in the classroom. Give him/her boldness to champion the outcast and mercy in punishing the foolish. Help him/her eliminate injustice and teach kindness. I pray for a ge...

Dear Father, Wrap your arms around my children on their first day of school. Turn anxiety into excitement. Turn fear into courage. Turn embarrassment into eagerness. Turn shyness into hospitality. (Read "How to Help Your Children Walk Away" here .) Continue to transform them into the image of Jesus, who loves everyone, accepts everyone, and stands for truth. (Read "A Prayer for your College Student" here .) I pray for the Holy Spirit to speak unimpeded into their hearts and souls, to convict, question, confirm, and encourage. Teach them truth, even midst untruth. Show them inclusion, even midst exclusion. Help them distinguish acceptance from tolerance and innocence from ignorance. (Read "4 Values Moms Need This School Year" here .) Mold them into your image-- a person of grace, truth, and love. (Read "Specific Things to Pray over your Children" here .) Protect their hearts and minds from the enemy of their souls, wh...

Spirit of God, Overwhelm my children with your Presence. Cover them with your perspective. (Read "A Daily Prayer for your Children" here .) Infiltrate every aspect of their lives, into their media, their relationships, their classrooms, their fun time, their family time. When they see injustice, remind them to turn to you for answers. When they feel afraid, pull them into your protective embrace. When they feel tempted, whisper truth into their minds and hearts. When they feel alone, surround them with your continual Presence. When they feel overwhelmed, bolster their courage in the God who has conquered everything. When they feel lost, guide them back to your will, your calling, and your people. When they sin, convict and restore them to relationship with the Father. (Read "A Prayer for my child's safety" here .) Lord, be an ever-present Friend and Comforter, the first place they turn in the morning,  and the last place they ...

Lord in Heaven, I ask for your Holy Spirit to quicken my kids' hearts toward your mission. I pray for them to love you from genuine thanksgiving and praise, not from obligation, selfishness, or pride. May they truly believe how much they need you in every facet of their lives. Convict them when they relegate you to Sunday mornings or small group. Fan the flame of service in my children. Stir in them a desire to serve others, to disciple others, to help others. Give them compassionate hearts and eyes to see the world. Let every conversation,  every relationship, every media post, every book, every mission statement be filtered through your calling on their lives to love you and to love others. This is all I want-- I want kids who are completely committed to you. In Jesus' powerful name, Amen. "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will  through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,   so that you may...

Dear Lord, When you create a person, you plan that child before conception. Your plan is perfect. When children are born with disabilities or develop disabilities in childhood, people often assume something is wrong with them. But that's not how you see them. You have planned every person with purpose and calling. It's up to us to trust you how that looks and how that person should be allowed to function and thrive in a world that stereotypes everyone. I ask that you give patience, compassion, and energy to parents and teachers whose children have disabilities, children who learn differently, move with difficulty, or sit without responding. Give families and caretakers joy in the present moment, hope for the future, and no regret for the past or for what might have been. I ask that these children be filled with joy and happiness; help them to manage their frustration, anger, and confusion. Fill their loneliness with meaningful relationships. Help them ...