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A Prayer about Being Saved from Folly

by | May 22, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Being Saved from Folly

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 26:12

Wise and Gracious Lord,

In our world, 

foolishness seems more prevalent 

than wisdom. 

As we read Proverbs, 

we discover that folly 

can be as destructive as evil. 

We urge you, make us wise. 

Turn us away from the world’s folly, 

the kind of folly that closes our minds, 

the kind of folly that refuses to listen, 

the kind of folly that runs off at the mouth 

about things we know nothing about, 

the kind of folly that thinks we know everything, 

the kind of folly that makes us lazy as a brick, 

the kind of folly that makes us repeat our folly. 

Instead, make us foolish in the gospel, 

proclaiming what will sound like folly to fools: 

“For the word of the cross is folly 

to those who are perishing, 

but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 

(1 Corinthians 1:18). 

In your wisdom-giving name. Amen.

Read Proverbs 26.

A Prayer about Seeing the Glory of Jesus

by | May 21, 2023 | Daily Prayer, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Seeing the Glory of Jesus

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Matthew 17:2

Glorious Jesus,

How we long to see your glory,

to really see it,

the way Peter, James, and John saw it

in the transfiguration.

You took them to a high mountain,

and as you were praying,

you began shining like the sun,

your face lit up in fierce, overpowering light,

your clothes whiter

than newly bleached sheets.

Even though we have not yet physically seen you

in your glory,

help us to engage our imaginations

so that we see what Peter, James, and John saw.

Dazzling in your glory,

you spoke with Moses and Elijah,

two men who had caught glimpses of God’s glory.

God’s glory-cloud descended on this whole bunch

gathered on the mountain,

and the voice of your Father spoke,

“This is my beloved Son,

with whom I am well pleased.

Listen to him” (Matthew 17:5).

The disciples sank to the ground,

terrified by it all.

But you, the fiery yet gentle Jesus,

touched them,

telling them,

“Rise, and have no fear” (Matthew 17:7).

Lord, may we see your glory

even in this very story.

And may we imagine your glory

shining today into every crack and crevice of sin,

every rupture and ravage of evil,

healing and cleansing

and bringing hope to hurting hearts.

In your beautiful name. Amen.

Read Matthew 17:1-13.

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A Prayer about Days When You Can’t Take One More Thing

by | May 20, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Days When You Can’t Take One More Thing

I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me. Psalm 118:13

Lord Almighty,

On those days 

when we can’t take 

one more phone call lodging a complaint, 

one more text sharing sad news, 

one more best-laid plan going awry, 

one more thing—

Help us!

Help us to remember that you are our helper.

Who is our helper?

Our helper is the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 146:6). 

Our helper is the one 

who has “answered [us] and set [us] free” (Psalm 118:6).

Our helper is the one 

who “keeps faith forever; 

who executes justice for the oppressed, 

who gives food to the hungry, 

who sets the prisoner free, 

who opens the eyes of the blind, 

who lifts up those who are bowed down, 

who loves the righteous, 

who watches over the sojourner, 

who upholds the widow and the fatherless, 

who brings the wicked to ruin” (Psalm 146:6-10).

Our helper is the one 

whose steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 118:1-3).

Our helper is you, our Heavenly Father, 

who has adopted us through the precious blood 

of your very own Son.

In Jesus’ helping name. Amen. 

Read Psalm 118.

A Prayer about Ascribing Glory to the Lord

by | May 19, 2023 | Daily Prayer, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Ascribing Glory to the Lord

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Psalm 29:1

Glorious Lord,

It’s easy to come to you in prayer 

with a grocery list of wants and needs. 

Forgive us for forgetting 

that the best prayer starts 

with recognizing your glory, 

your strength, 

your splendor, 

your holiness, 

your majesty, 

and your might. 

Thank you for Psalm 29, 

which reminds us that we join

with heavenly beings 

when we pause to reflect 

on your glory. 

Today, we join David in awe 

at just a few of your many marvels:

Your “voice” is “over the waters” (29:3), 

waters which in ancient times were chaotic and dangerous. 

In other words, you establish order in the midst of chaos.

Your voice “breaks the cedars of Lebanon” (29:5), 

the renowned and majestic trees 

of the great ancient city of Lebanon; 

in other words, your power overcomes 

the most powerful forces we face.  

Your voice “shakes the wilderness” (29:8), 

a dangerous and murderous world in ancient times; 

in other words, you grab what threatens us 

and shake it to its core.

And on and on we can go 

ascribing your glory to you.

Thank you for these reminders of your glory 

that change the list of requests we name. 

For indeed, what we truly want and need most 

is for your glory to reign forever and ever. 

In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen. 

Pray Psalm 29 (aloud).

A Prayer about Not Wearing Purple When We’re Old

by | May 18, 2023 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer

A Prayer about Not Wearing Purple When We’re Old

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

Holy God,

With all due respect to the delightful poet Jenny Joseph, 

who wrote the humorous poem, “Warning” 

about how she would become a rebel when she was old 

and “wear purple with a red hat that doesn’t go,” 

help us to resist the temptation 

that often faces us as we age. 

We are told by our culture 

that we should relax and take it easy. 

While there’s nothing wrong with 

relaxing or enjoying life or even slowing down a bit, 

what we must resist is, to quote 87-year-old J.I. Packer, 

“practicing self-indulgence up to the limit….

[filling [our lives] with novelties and hobbies, 

anything and everything that will hold [our] interest.”

Indeed, our spiritual gifts and calling to minister the gospel 

do not “wither with age.” 

You have called us to live each day to the full, 

going where you call us to go 

(even if it’s to a hospital bed to pray), 

doing what you give us to do. 

Until the end, we are called to present our aging bodies 

as “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to you….” 

Until the end, we must “not be conformed to this world, 

but be transformed by the renewing of our minds…” (Romans 12:1-2). 

Help us, Lord, to fight the good fight and to finish the race well.

In Jesus’ ancient name. Amen. 

Read Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Timothy 4:6-8. 

*Quotes are again from J. I. Packer’s book Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging

A Prayer about Living Like We’re Dying

by | May 17, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Numbering Our Days

A Prayer about Living Like We’re Dying

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12

Heavenly Father, 

In the novel I just read, 

a professor gives her English 101 students a short essay question: 

“What would you do if you knew 

you only had forty days left to live?”*

At its core, this is what Psalm 90:12 asks us to do, 

to “number our days,” 

to recognize that our earthly days have a limit, 

that our life has an expiration date. 

This is the way to “get a heart of wisdom,” 

to become loving, discerning, 

knowledgeable about the things 

you are knowledgeable about.

So today we ask you to help us think or to journal, 

if only for a few minutes, 

about how we would want to spend our days 

if we only had forty of them left.

I like what theologian J. I. Packer wrote at age 87,**

First, wake each day with the question, 

“How do you want me to glorify and enjoy you today?”

Second, “Live practicing the presence of God in Christ”

 — yes, Lord, help us to have less of this world’s noise 

so that we may rest in the gentle and lowly presence 

of our Savior.

Third, may we finish the course well: 

“Our last sprint should be a sprint indeed.” 

May we not waste our four or forty or four hundred or four thousand days 

on trivialities 

but may we spend each of them 

sharing the good news 

of our hope of glory 

in Jesus Christ 

by setting our affairs in order,  

by serving friends, family, strangers, and enemies, 

by speaking and writing 

the many stories of redemption 

God has written in our lives.

In Jesus’ living and dying and resurrected name. Amen.

Read Psalm 71, Psalm 90; Psalm 92.

*This was in Book 3 of the Sensible Shoes Series by Sharon Garlough Brown.

**I highly recommend Packer’s little book, Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging