7 Prayers That Work

Lord God, Heal us, physically , spiritually , emotionally. Heal our families , our churches, our schools , our halls of justice, our country . Heal our wounds , our betrayals, our guilt, our embarrassments , our disappointments. Heal our past, present, and future. You, only, are our hope and our Healer. We cannot endure or prosper without you. Lord, save us with your healing hand. In Jesus' name,  Amen. "I have seen their ways, but I will  heal  them." (Isaiah 57:18 ) free image by Pixabay

  Did you know that many of the key characters in the Christmas story left  prayers for us to read ? They were overwhelmed, amazed, frightened, and thankful. They were like us, really. They witnessed Emmanuel "God with us," just like we do. They had to stop in their stress and anxiety and notice God's wonder. And let that experience change them. Below are 7 prayers from that first Christmas.  Plus one from me.  They all address the issues we feel on a regular basis. The first 7 prayers are by the Christmas story characters themselves. Read their stories. Pray the prayers. Then watch and wait--God will fill you with wonder. I just know it! He really does wonder well. Prayer #1:  Mary--"How is this possible?"--a request for understanding ( Lk. 1:21-28 ) Prayer #2:  Mary--"Glory to God!"--a song of praise ( Lk. 1:21-55 ) Prayer #3:  Joseph--"What should I do?"--a prayer of grief and confusion ( Mtt. 1:18-20 ) Prayer #4:  Wisemen--"Where is ...

  Oh, Lord, our Comfort and our Hope-- I'm grieving a loss. I don't have anywhere to turn but you. I don't know what to say or how to feel. I can't navigate the breadth of my emotions and fears. Only your words and your truth can help me rest in the peace that you alone are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Stronghold ( Psalm 18:2 ).  I don't need to be afraid. But I am. So help me steer through the fear and the pain to the hope that waits on the other side of grief. When I'm ready-- and every time I'm not ready-- you are present to comfort and re-orient me. Your words are truth, and I will eat them ( Jeremiah 15:16 ). Thank you. In Jesus' name, Amen. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of ...

Lord Jesus, Great Physician , Thank you for saving my husband's life last night. Thank you for protecting him as the doctors worked on him, and worked on him the next day. Thank you for giving us the wisdom to take him to the hospital, when a health problem was so uncharacteristic of him. Thank you for sitting in the waiting rooms with us, hearing our prayers,  and being present in our fear. Bless the nurses and doctors who immediately gave assistance  and thoroughly investigated his symptoms,  who found irregularities and took them seriously. Thank you for modern medicine, for safe blood tests, EKGs, Ultra-Sounds, MRIs, catherizations,  blood pressure machines, heart monitors, and X-rays-- and everything else available to doctors and patients. Thank you for the cardiologist who didn't say "Let's wait and see how he does during the night." He took him in, found the problem, and fixed it. He re-examined the pictures in the middle of the night and went back in th...

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...

  Lord God, Creator and Regenerator of all things new , Bring newness and freshness into my life through the power of your Holy Spirit. Keep me from looking for a new fix through new relationships, new church , new causes, new addictions, new distractions, or new indignations. This is not the newness you want growing in my life. May I pursue righteousness because you are doing something new in my life. You want to change me-- to make me new , each and every day -- by offering up my pride and my insecurities to you and letting you change anything you want, introduce anything you want, tear down any idols you want. That's how you make me new. You save me, then you keep redeeming my carnal mind and heart every day if I stop fighting you. If I stop protecting all the things I don't want to change, all the comfort, all the traditions, all the safety nets, all the presuppositions. As long as I hold on to these things, I will never be made new. I will just change what I want to an...

Lord Jesus, I'm weary .  Will you carry me for awhile? Wherever you want. Just hold me tight. Amen.

  Dear Lord Jesus, You talked a lot about the kingdom of heaven . That term seems a little mysterious. I guess your listeners didn't understand it either because you explained it over and over. I'm asking your Holy Spirit to help me understand it. I'm praying for the kingdom of heaven in my life. Help me to sow good habits into my life so I can grow (Matt. 13:24) Make me like a mustard seed, small and humble, but fruitful. May my life grow to be a shade tree for everyone else (Matt. 13:33) Help me seek your kingdom because it is a great treasure . Make me brave enough to give up everything for it (Matt. 13:44) Give me perspective to live with a kingdom mindset--to see your gospel as a pearl of great price (Matt. 13:45) May my life be like a welcoming household, filled with treasures (Matt. 13:52) Give me your power, to bind evil in your name (Matt. 16:19) Make me humble , teachable, and joyful like a child (Matt. 18:4) Build into me responsibility, stewardship , and ear...

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, Today is a grief-day for me. You know this. Nothing can change that or fix this. I can only lean into you. I seek refuge in your arms in and the truth of your words. Answer me in my distress. Protect me. Send me help from your sanctuary-- Will you give peace? Renewed faith? A call to action? Surround me with your angels. Remember my faithfulness and forgive me of my unfaithfulness. I confess and repent of all of it. I know that you will give me the desires of my heart and make all my plans succeed because you save me when I call on you. You reward me according to your faithfulness and goodness. You are everlasting. You are comfort. You are peace. You are enough and more than enough for me. Thank you. I love you, Amen. Psalm 20 Other prayers about grief: Prayer to fill the grieving space Praying comfort over grief How to pray a Bible verse when you're grieving How to pray when you're overwhelmed with sadness How to pray a pra...

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...

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...

Lord God, You are the God who Heals. You can stop this virus whenever you want. Lord, I don't want to interfere in your larger plan but could you slow down the path of this virus? Would you please in your mercy, protect the old from getting sick? Would you guard the children as they try to do school? Would you give parents grace, patience, and safety from getting sick? Lord, give the medical personnel strength to resist the illness, patience to tend to the sick, and time to recover ? Make this virus die out quickly. Reduce its reach. Let all those who know you rejoice and praise your name. Convict Christians who are being rude, selfish, bigoted, or judgmental to close their mouths and repent before you. Help those who follow you to be shining examples of love and mercy in action. May the whole world feel your love through the actions of your people. We give you praise and honor for your healing power and your relentless pursuit of those who don't k...

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...

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,...

Lord God in heaven, We've entered the holiday season of giving. Thank you for giving Jesus as a Savior to save my soul. Thank for you for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for this season of peace, hope, gratefulness, and love. Fill me with your Spirit so I radiate your love during the next month. I want to be like you--completely generous, compassionate toward the poor and needy, thankful for your generosity, full of contentment and grace. Show me where and how to give of myself, my resources, my patience, my compassion, and my faith this season. May I not hoard the blessings you've given me. Make me a cheerful giver! In Jesus' holy name, Amen. For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ( John 3:16) Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a  cheerful   giver . ( 2 Corinthians 9:7 )

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...

Dear Lord Jesus, You are the great Teacher. You opened minds, explained truth, challenged cultural norms, welcomed questions, defended the outcasts, championed justice, presented absolute truth with absolute grace and mercy. You loved the unlovable. You confronted the arrogant. You encouraged the weak. You comforted the grieving. You were the ultimate Teacher. This is my wish, my goal, my calling-- to recognize those that need a gracious word, to challenge those whose minds are made up. To call students to a greater work than they have ever imagined. (Click here to read "The Abolition of Man: i.e. The end of real education") Mold me into the kind of teacher you are, as much as possible. Give me your wisdom to recognize need, to see beyond the subject material and personalities. Help me see people like you see them. Make me an instrument of your love and grace this year. (Click here to read "Believe, love, learn: how thinking like a ch...