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A Prayer about Praising Jesus

A Prayer about Praising Jesus

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…Matthew 11:29

 Gentle and Lowly Jesus,

To praise you 

is to name what is true about you every day, 

all the time, 

no matter how difficult 

our circumstances may be. 

You are compassionate and kind, 

even when a loved one is getting worse 

instead of better (Matthew 9:36),

You are gentle and forgiving, 

even when sin has gotten the best of us again (Luke 23:34),

You are patient and pain-bearing, 

even when hope for a baby has dimmed (1 Corinthians 13:4; 7),

You are the way, the truth, and the life, 

even when our hearts have wandered far off the path (John 14:6),

You are the bread of life, 

even when our budgets are shrinking (John 6:25-29),

You are the Good Shepherd, 

even when our children act like wayward sheep (John 10:11-14).

Precious Jesus, 

how we thank you for your 

steady, 

sturdy, 

always-loving heart 

for us. 

May we draw near to you 

every moment 

of every day 

for the saving help we need.

In your faith-full name. Amen.

Read Luke 23:34; 1 Corinthians 13; John 14:6; John 6:25-29; John 10:11-14.

 

A Prayer about Not Being an Orphan

A Prayer about Not Being an Orphan

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:13

Heavenly Father,

Although you are called Father in the Bible, 

may we never forget that you nurture and comfort us 

as a mother does her children:

To the rebellious Israelites, 

you are like a mother 

who will never forget her nursing child (Isaiah 49:15);

Over the city where he would soon be betrayed, 

Jesus cried, 

for he longed to gather Jerusalem 

“as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, 

and you would not!” (Matthew 23:37).

And here in Isaiah 66, 

you promise to bring a mother’s comfort 

in the day of restoration.

Because you comfort and care for your children 

as a mother and a father, 

because you have adopted us as your children, 

we lift up all who feel like orphans. 

Some have lost their mothers and fathers to death, 

others never knew the presence of a mother or father, 

still others have such broken relationships with their mothers or fathers 

that it would seem better to be an orphan. 

And yet, because you have made us your own 

through Jesus Christ, 

we need never feel that “it’s all up to us,” 

or that we are unwanted or unloved. 

Make that truth increasingly real to us, 

so that we may not live as orphans, 

trying to get through life on our own. 

When we feel alone, reach deep into our hearts 

through your Holy Spirit 

and bring us the comfort we crave. 

In Jesus’ assuring name. Amen.

Read Isaiah 66:7-24; Matthew 23:37; Isaiah 49:15. 

 

A Prayer about the Abundant Harvest to Come

A Prayer about the Abundant Harvest to Come

“…the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.” Psalm 65:13

Lord of the Harvest,

In this season of harvest,

May we join together 

with the hills and the meadows and the valleys, 

shouting and singing for joy.

Yes, it’s true, we don’t always see the bounty 

described in Psalm 65 

on this broken earth:

crops wither under drought and frost,

forests and trees are devastated 

by wildfires and hurricanes, 

and yet we know a day is coming

when you will crown creation 

“with your bounty,” 

when your paths will “overflow with abundance” (Psalm 65:11). 

We look forward to the day we will gather in your restored creation, 

in the new heavens and the new earth, 

and we will see how you have sustained us all along, 

not just spiritually, but also physically. 

We look forward to the day 

when you will “make the going out of the morning 

and the evening to shout for joy” (Psalm 65:8). 

We look forward to the day 

when we will join with all of creation 

in awe of the “awesome deeds” you have done (Ps. 65:5).

In Jesus’ restoring name. Amen.

Read Psalm 65.

 

A Prayer about Not Being Forsaken

A Prayer about Not Being Forsaken

He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:8

Faithful Father,

In times that we feel forsaken, 

whether because of betrayal or abandonment or loss, 

may we remember, 

“It is the Lord who goes before [us],” 

and you will never leave us or forsake us. 

You are a God who made a covenant, 

a promise of love to your people

that you alone upheld. 

Even after Adam and Eve disobeyed you in the garden, 

you promised to send your Son to destroy Satan (Gen. 3:15). 

You promised Abraham to make him a great nation (Gen. 12:2), 

and you continued to love your people, the Israelites, 

even though they continued to rebel against you: 

“For the mountains may depart, 

and the hills may be removed, 

but my steadfast love will not depart from you” (Isaiah 54:10). 

In your most stunning proof of your commitment 

to bring your people back to you, 

you allowed your Son to be forsaken on the cross, 

to die for our sins, 

that we might become your children. 

Because you will never leave nor forsake 

your children in Christ, 

when we feel lonely 

or exiled 

or forgotten, 

we need not “fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8). 

In Jesus’ faith-full name we pray. Amen.

Read Deuteronomy 31:8; Isaiah 54. 

 

A Prayer about Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

A Prayer about Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Gracious Lord,

For some of us, 

today’s circumstances may include

maple-smoked turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, 

Apple-crumb pie, and other rich and luscious fare. 

For others, it might look like a frozen turkey pot pie 

eaten in front of the TV. 

Whatever our circumstances 

on Thanksgiving Day in America, 

may we continue to rejoice and to pray, 

to give thanks, 

because it is your will for us in Christ Jesus. 

May we remember that the apostle Paul, 

who first penned these words, 

wasn’t sitting on silky sand 

drinking a Pina colada when he wrote them. 

He had suffered imprisonments, 

shipwreck, beatings, and betrayal, 

among other miseries. 

And yet, in such difficult circumstances, 

he discovered your kindness to him 

in the midst of suffering. 

He thanked you in the midst of grief 

because he saw you multiplying the good news 

in the hearts of many. 

Today, whatever food is on our table, 

whoever does or does not sit around it, 

may we see you multiplying beauty and hope 

and give you thanks 

for all of your gifts to us in Christ.

In the name of our Redeemer, Jesus. Amen.

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. 

 

A Prayer about Being a Saint

A Prayer about Being a Saint

Dear Friends,

This began as a personal prayer, but I invite you to insert your own gratitude for God making you a saint.

 

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you. Psalm 145:10

 

Author God,

You and I both know that in the world’s sense of the word, 

I am no saint. 

And yet, on this All Saints’ Day, 

as I celebrate 60 years of being in the world, 

I stand in awe of “your abundant goodness,” 

in choosing me to be one of your saints in Christ (Romans 1:7). 

Not only did you place me in a Christian school 

where I would hear the good news of the gospel and begin studying the Bible, 

[name some of the specific ways God has shown you the good news of the gospel]

but you surrounded me with “a great cloud of witnesses,” 

wonderful saints, ordinary people redeemed in Christ, 

who were living stories that led me to see my need and desire for a Savior. 

[Name some of the saints who have shown you redemption in Christ.]

Not only did you draw me to Christ, 

literally raise me from spiritual death, 

but you have continued to write your story of “steadfast love,” 

showing me day after day 

that your “mercy is over all that you have made” (Psalm 145:9). 

[Name some of the ways he has written his story of “steadfast love” and “mercy” into your life.]

How grateful I am/we are 

that you have called us to be your “saints in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:1). 

In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Read Psalm 145.