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A Prayer about Being in a Spiritual Battle

by | Jul 24, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Being in a Spiritual Battle

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor, so you will be able to resist the enemy in time of evil. Ephesians 6:13

Lord of Angel-Armies,

May we never forget or discount the spiritual battle 

that rages right here right now. 

The evil one prowls around like a lip-licking lion, 

drooling over our vulnerability and frailty. 

He is a liar, a tempter, an accuser, and an adversary. 

His minions serve him, 

seeking to deceive us, 

to make us think 

lovely people are unlovely, 

to distract us from our mission to serve and glorify you, 

and degrade the dignity you have shaped into our image-bearing being. 

By the Holy Spirit, you have given us everything we need to defend ourselves 

against the accuser’s stratagems: 

the belt of truth, 

the breastplate of righteousness, 

the gospel slippers of peace, 

the shield of faith, 

the helmet of salvation, 

the sword of the Spirit. 

May we indeed arm ourselves 

against all the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (Ephesians 6:12),

and resist the devil, that he may flee from us (James 4:7).

In Jesus’ peace-bringing name. Amen.

Read Ephesians 6:10-18.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Respecting the Aged

by | Jul 23, 2024 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Respecting the Aged

Stand up in the presence of the elderly, and show respect for the aged. Fear your God. I am the LORD.  Leviticus 19:32

Eternal Lord,

We live in a culture that prefers agelessness, 

a culture that strives to remain eternally young. 

We live in an aging culture, 

where we see some who age graciously, 

and others who do not. 

In this season of the silver tsunami, 

may we obey your command 

to respect the aged. 

Forgive us for any harsh words 

spoken to aging parents 

out of frustration and fear—

words uttered out of 

concern about their driving when they shouldn’t,

impatience about their refusal to follow doctor’s orders, 

annoyance about their rejection of our offers of help. 

Replace our fears about their frailty 

with tender concern and honoring respect.

Help us to take the time to listen to their stories, 

asking them to tell us about the seasons of sorrow 

and seasons of joy they’ve endured and enjoyed. 

Help us to honor the wisdom of the aged (Job 12:12) 

and seek out their counsel 

on marriage and finances and work and children. 

Lord, slow us down 

so that we might truly respect the aged 

as you have called us to do.

In Jesus’ respect-full name. Amen.

Read Leviticus 19:32; Timothy 5:1-3; Job 12:12; 1 Timothy 5:8; Proverbs 23:22. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Being Homesick for Heaven

by | Jul 22, 2024 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living

A Prayer about Being Homesick for Heaven

I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. Philippians 1:23

Heavenly Father, 

Loosen our grip on this world. 

Make us more like Paul, 

torn between remaining on this earth 

and going to heaven to be with Jesus.

In a word, grow in us a “homesickness for heaven.”* 

Make us like the Scottish pastor Robert Bruce, 

who read Romans 8:38-39 aloud, 

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, 

nor angels nor rulers, 

nor things present nor things to come, 

nor powers, nor height, nor depth, 

nor anything else in all creation, 

will be able to separate us from the love of God 

in Christ Jesus our Lord,” 

And then told his daughter, 

“I have breakfasted with you, 

but I shall have supper 

with my Lord Jesus Christ this night.” 

Make us ready, Lord, 

to go and have supper with Jesus.

In his inviting name. Amen. 

Read Philippians 1:18-26; Romans 8:35-39. 

*Quote and story from Derek W. H. Thomas, Heaven on Earth: What the Bible Teaches about the Life to Come)



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Trusting God to Deliver from Trials

by | Jul 21, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Suffering

A Prayer about Trusting God to Deliver from Trials

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…. 2 Peter 2:9

All-Seeing God,

We confess, sometimes your Word seems to mock us. 

We read that you “rescue the godly from trials,” 

that you will “deliver…from the snare of the fowler…” 

and that danger will not come near your children (see Psalm 91:3, 7). 

And yet, daily we dodge fiery arrows shot by the evil one. 

Wise Pastor Spurgeon writes, “God loves the godly, or godlike, 

and he makes a point of knowing 

where they are and how they are.”* 

Stop us in our prayer 

to ponder this profound truth, 

massage it deep into our hearts and minds. 

You know where we are 

and how we are this very moment. 

Help us to believe that you know 

“whom to deliver, 

when to deliver, 

and how to deliver.” 

Help us to believe that you deliver in a way 

“that is most beneficial to the godly, 

most crushing to the tempter, 

and most glorifying to [your]self.” 

Help us to trust your goodness 

as we wait to see that goodness 

in the land of the living (See Psalm 27:13). 

Because of your Son 

who delivered us from all our sin and trials, 

we pray. 

Amen. 

Read 2 Peter 2:9; Psalm 91.

*This prayer was inspired by a devotion in The Promises of God by Charles Spurgeon, July 12. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Letting Jesus Lead

by | Jul 20, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Letting Jesus Lead

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16: 24

Precious Father,

How stunning that you, 

our heavenly, hallowed, (holy) Father, 

the perfectly right and just judge 

of the universe you created, 

invite us to call you “Abba,” 

best translated in English as “Daddy.”

You are a good Father,

Perfectly tender,

Perfectly strong,

Perfectly wise,

Perfectly loving.

You embodied your love in your Son, 

who, just before he died on a cross for our sins, 

told his disciples, in essence, 

“You must let me lead your life. 

You must release your white-knuckled grip 

on the steering wheel of your life.” 

When we do, we will discover that all along, 

it was an illusion, 

that you always had the wheel, 

that you were and are 

taking us on a ride 

that may not seem safe to us, 

but is definitely good for us, 

because it is part of your perfect journey 

of drawing us closer to you, 

of leading us to vistas of unspeakable glory, 

of transporting us to landscapes of our lives 

we never would have visited on our own.

Today we name the areas of our lives 

where we need you to unfurl our fingers, 

to hold our hands gently yet firmly, 

that we may not try to grip the wheel again.

[Name some areas you desperately want to control.]

Help us, Lord, 

to follow your beloved Son 

into the way of suffering, 

the way of glory. 

In his precious name we pray. Amen. 

Read Matthew 16:21-26. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

A Prayer about Becoming Aware of the Spirit

by | Jul 19, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Becoming Aware of the Spirit

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:31

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Forgive us for failing to recognize 

and celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

We are like “the husband in a bad marriage, 

living under the same roof as his wife, 

making constant use of his wife’s services, 

but failing to communicate with her, 

to recognize her presence, 

or to celebrate his relationship with her.”*

And yet, you, Heavenly Father, 

have chosen to communicate your presence 

in the Holy Spirit, 

so much so that David prayed, 

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? 

Or where shall I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).

And you, Lord Jesus, 

emphasized the necessity of the Spirit’s saving, 

helping, 

guiding, 

teaching, 

enlightening, 

comforting 

work in the lives of your disciples, 

saying things like, 

“And I will ask the Father, 

and he will give you another Helper, 

to be with you forever, 

even the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:17).

Assuring us, the Helper, the Holy Spirit…

”will teach you all things 

and bring to your remembrance 

all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

You, Holy Spirit, teach us 

and fill us 

and change us, 

and intercede for us, 

making us ever more like our Savior, Jesus.

Even now, may we take a moment 

to rest from our praying 

and meditate on 

the wonder and power 

of your indwelling presence in our lives.

Amen.

Read John 14-16. 



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Lord, 

We believe; help our unbelief.

We believe you have already come into our midst 

in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

We believe you are a mighty one 

who has already saved us from our sins 

through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

But in the next line of this magnificent verse, 

we stutter and stumble. 

We think that maybe you will rejoice in us 

some day in the future 

when we are more holy, 

that you will love us 

some day in the future 

when we never sin again,

that you will exult in us with loud singing 

some day in the future 

when we’ve finally earned our way to heaven.

But that’s not what Scripture tells us.

The gospel good news 

for all who trust in Jesus

is that right this minute, 

you are rejoicing over us, 

right this minute

you are quieting us with your love, 

right this minute

and you are exulting over us with loud singing. 

You saved us. 

You love us. 

You delight in us. 

You sing extra-loud over us, 

like the five-year-old who loves to sing 

at the top of his lungs 

because he’s so happy. 

Help us today to sit quietly 

and listen for the sound 

of your delight in us, 

and may that delight 

change the way we live and love 

today and every day. 

In Jesus’ saving name. Amen.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-20.



Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

author, life and legacy coach, speaker