7 Prayers That Work

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 ...

  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 ...

Lord God, I pray for my heart and mind to rest in peace . Help me to trust with the things I can't see and can't control. Forgive me for not paying attention to your words, not listening to your voice, not waiting in the quiet place for you. You say that if I pay attention to your commands, your peace will flow like a river over me. Your righteousness will wash over me without end. And you tell me that I will never find peace without your righteousness . I cannot give over my thoughts and emotions to the enemy's lies and feel comfort in your arms or hear your words of blessing. I will hear the noise instead. I will feel the anxiety that chaos brings. And I will think you've forgotten about me or can't protect me. Lord, protect me from this dangerous path toward unbelief ! If I want peace, I only need to crave righteous living. In Jesus' name, Amen. Isaiah 48:18, 22 "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a rive...

  Lord Jesus, Today is the International Day of Peace.  What does that even mean? The world is not peaceful. It doesn't feel like it will ever be peaceful . How can I find peace in my everyday life, for the normal anxieties and the terrifying uncertainties ? I know you are Peace. But honestly, sometimes peace feels impossible. Forgive me for not daily giving my fears back to you and praising you for the future I can't see. You will never leave me. You will always protect me. You and only you can provide me the peace I crave. I will seek your face and read your words. There I will find "the peace that passes understanding." ( Philippians 4:7 ) There I'll find you. That's where the peace is. In Jesus' name, Amen. "And let the  peace  of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." (Colossians 3:15)

Hello, Jesus. I'm a bit scattered and rushed . Stressed and overwhelmed. But you already know that. I'm turning to you because you're the only place to turn. You have the words of life. You know my future and my past. Steady me, Lord. Speak to me. Re-orient me. Calm me. Help me see what you're doing in and around me. I trust you, and yet, I don't . You know that about me-- it's so hard to believe that what I'm doing is right when I don't see results. But you are faithful . You are always faithful. Steady my heart. Clear my mind of the confusion and anxiety that the enemy plants in me. Breathe in me and through me. I want to be a whisper of your presence, an image of your Son, the breath from your lips. Use me however you want  and build a faith in me to endure what I don't understand. In Jesus' name, Amen. "He stilled the storm   to a whisper;   the waves   of the sea   were hushed.  They were glad when it grew calm,  and he guided them...

  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 this passage this morning. It's startling and challenging, and it compelled me to pray. Isaiah 26:3-4 --"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast , because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." Lord God of Heaven, I want peace from stress and anxiety. I want direction for my energy, creativity in my calling, success in my life. You call me to steadfastness : to lean fast, support myself, stand firm, uphold my conception, imagination, purpose, mindfulness. I cannot trust your will without becoming steadfast in what you've already imparted to me. That's how I learn to trust you. Not by getting you to rubber-stamp what I'm doing or what I want to do. Trust comes from watching you be God in my life, not by being god of my own life. Trust is confidence, boldness, security. It's a decision I make, not a promise You make. I want peace in my soul,...

*(If you're a husband, switch all the him, he , and his to her, she, and her !) Dear Lord God Almighty, You've created my spouse with special care. You've fashioned his mind to process and his temperament to respond in the exact way You want it to. You've given him the ability to lead and follow, to be patient and impatient, to be confident and worried, to wait and to act. Your wisdom tells him what to do when. Protect him from discouraging influences, from critics, cynics, fools, and braggarts. Send Your angels to guard the mission You've designed for him and guard his heart from discouragement and disappointment. When he sees the enemy, may he give those souls over to You. May he love his enemies with Your love. Speak to him. Send whispers of hope shivering through his soul. Touch his memory and imagination with creativity that can only come from You. Make his heart feel light and happy, even while it carries a heavy weight. Only through ...

Dear Lord, You are the King of Kings, so you understand kings. You are not surprised by the world's presidents, generals, dictators, prime ministers, shahs. You understand power, corruption, responsibility, greed, pride, and ambition. Please influence our leaders. Give us grace when our leaders make foolish choices. Give us grace when we make foolish choices, when we elect godless leaders and when we pretend like it's not our fault. Give us a chance to learn and correct our mistakes. Protect us from evil--from wanting it, from protecting it, and from excusing it. Make us a thinking, active, and responsible people. Forgive us our sins. Forgive our leaders of their sins and place God-fearing individuals in their paths to influence, challenge, and show them the love of God. Please give us another chance to serve you better--more fully--more sacrificially. May the church rise up--not as a political force-- but as the hands and feet of Jesus! He is the only one ...

Dear God of all comfort, You get grief. It sucks, doesn't it? Grief interrupts the joy of living and suffocates you. It's like dying but knowing you will eventually come up for air, and you will not pass out. You will live through it. You get it. You felt grief in the sharpest way possible. You were betrayed and rejected by the object of your love and sacrifice. And then you were rejected by your Father. You bore the weight of the sins of the whole world--the horrific acts of violence, cruelty, and debauchery. You felt them and You wore them as You died. And because You know what grief is, You are the only true comforter. So comfort us. Spread Your peace like a quilt over the shoulders of those who grieve parents, children, and the lives they hoped to live. Give each of us hope and confidence that You have a plan for us--You will prosper and keep us in Your perfect will. Grief is just a part of Your will. It's just not the part we wanted to experience. To und...

I'm in the middle of a pretty huge decision, regarding someone else's care. I've lost a good bit of sleep over it and spent a lot of time in research and analysis. I've been praying, too, for wisdom and direction. (Lightning bolts would be helpful.) Then Monday afternoon, I made a decision, which I obsessed over Monday night when I should have been sleeping. Tuesday morning I prayed again--this time, for peace, for an answer, and for my own faith to grow. I opened to John 14 because I know that's where Jesus talks to His disciples about peace. They're in the garden, and He knows that Judas Iscariot is showing up any minute to betray Him. He knows that torture, humiliation, and grief will follow. He knows His Father will reject Him, and His mother will weep before Him. Yet He says, "I am leaving you a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give  is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." (John 14:27) The worl...

Our Lord, our Banner and our Savior, I pray for your protection and blessing on the people of Belgium. I pray for you to reveal yourself to them through the love of Christ and those who believe on you. Give missionaries, pastors, and priests there the compassion and strength to share the love of God. Unite people in humanitarian efforts. Holy Spirit, halt the hate and the fear and cover people with your peace. Protect and keep us and draw us to yourself. I ask for your Spirit to convict the hardened hearts of the terrorists involved, causing them to confess their sins and assist authorities in stopping the violence. It would seem impossible, but with God, all things are possible! Prompt hearts and minds to turn toward you, the only protector of our souls and the one who loves us with everlasting love! I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. image from http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=belgium+flag

Below is an insightful post by Bob Hostetler , from Guideposts Dec. 15, 2015. A week before Christmas, our joy over the holiday and our fear and stress over a dark political climate can make faith seem impossible. These prayers might help. The Christmas season, for many, is a time of family, friends, memories, beauty and warmth. But for others it can be a time of struggle. They may grieve a loss or feel lonely. Or the holidays may stir up difficult memories. Christmas peace  and  Christmas joy  are not automatic, and neither is Christmas hope. Hope can sometimes surprise us, but it can also be awakened. It can come, even to those in difficult circumstances, as a fruit of prayer. Here are nine prayers drawn from the Bible that can help foster an attitude of hope, not only at this time of year but all year long: 1)  Hope for the Whole Day Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long (Psalm 25:5, N...