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A Prayer about Seeing the Light

by | Feb 25, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living, Lent

A Prayer about Seeing the Light

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:3

Glorious King,

As we revisit the story 

leading up to your death on a cross 

and your rising in glory, 

we’re still a long way away 

from your triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 

But the joy we know as Christians 

is that we’ve already heard the end of the story, 

and you win!  

In these gloomy, dark days of February, 

may we see your light burning 

through the thick darkness of our sin, 

the thick darkness of racial and political divides, 

the thick darkness of war and sickness and death. 

The day is coming, and it is coming soon, 

when we will arise and shine, 

when all nations and all kings 

will bow to the “brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3). 

Until that day comes, 

may our hearts be warmed 

by the radiating glory 

of your brilliant love.

In your kingly name. Amen. 

Read Isaiah 60. 

A Prayer about Longing for a Better Place

by | Feb 19, 2023 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Numbering Our Days, worship, gratitude

A Prayer about Longing for a Better Place

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord… Psalm 84:1

Heavenly Father, 

As we read the words of the pilgrim psalmist, 

who longed to be with you in your beautiful temple, 

to live with you forever in worship, 

may our longing for our heavenly home grow. 

We all long for the kind of place this “son of Korah” describes, 

a place where “birds find nooks and crannies” 

and “sparrows and swallows make their nests” 

because it is 

a safe place, 

a pleasant place, 

a peaceful place. 

Help us to remember that we are but 

“strangers” on this earth, 

scattered exiles (see Hebrews 11:13), 

that while we have work to do here and joys to experience, 

one day we will live with you forever, 

in your heavenly home. 

In that day 

our faces will shine “with your gracious anointing” (Ps. 84:9, The MSG). 

In that day, 

we will realize that 

“One day spent in your house, 

this beautiful place of worship, 

beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches” (Ps. 84:10, The MSG). 

In that day, 

we will see and sing with all your saints,

“All sunshine and sovereign is God, 

generous in gifts and glory” (Ps. 84:11, The MSG).

How we long for that day!

Amen.

Read Psalm 84; Hebrews 11:13. 

 

A Prayer about the Coming of God’s Kingdom

by | Feb 17, 2023 | Daily Prayer, kingdom living, Prayer

A Prayer about the Coming of God’s Kingdom

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for ever mumbling this prayer by rote, 

not really thinking about what we are asking for.

The fact is, this is a radical prayer. 

It is a prayer you invite us to pray daily. 

It is a prayer for when a marriage falls apart, 

for when a economic woes threaten our business, 

for when a house is under water after a flood. 

When we pray this prayer, 

we remember whose kingdom we’re seeking—yours. 

You are a God characterized by “holy stubbornness,” 

a “refusal to accept ruin.”* 

You are the God who repaired broken creation 

by becoming man and dying on a cross. 

Your kingdom is characterized by shalom, 

universal flourishing, “heavenly wholeness.”*

Your kingdom is the kingdom 

that opposes the kingdom of darkness. 

To pray “your kingdom come” 

is to ask Jesus to defeat the destroyer’s efforts today. 

To pray “your kingdom come” 

is to repent of our tendencies 

to create small kingdoms by placing ourselves, 

our loved ones, our work, our homes, 

or any other thing we see as ours, 

on the throne of our lives. 

Indeed, Lord, your kingdom come.

In Jesus’ coming name. Amen.

Read Matthew 6:7-15.

 

*Quotes from Nathan Bierma’s great book, Bringing Heaven down to Earth

A Prayer about Hope in a Dark World

by | Feb 7, 2023 | Daily Prayer, gratitude, Grief, kingdom living, Suffering

A Prayer about Hope in a Dark World

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:13-14

Father, 

I confess, 

sometimes the darkness of this world 

seems all-encompassing. 

The depressing news, 

the bent toward meanness, 

the joy in judginess

…I see it everywhere—

in my own heart and in the hearts of others. 

What good news it is to remember then, 

that we who are in Christ

no longer live in the “domain of darkness.” 

You have transferred us and transformed us. 

Now we have a rich inheritance: 

“the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:12). 

Now we are freed from the tyrant Satan 

to serve you, our redeeming and forgiving King. 

Now our primary language is “thanksgiving” 

and our primary work is “endurance and patience and joy” (Colossians 1:11). 

Now we have been “strengthened with all power, 

according to his glorious might” (Colossians 1:11).

to live as citizens of the kingdom of the beloved Son.

So very gratefully we pray. Amen. 

Read Colossians 1:9-14.

A Prayer about Honoring the Elderly

by | Feb 6, 2023 | aging, dying, and death, body, Daily Prayer, kingdom living, legacy

A Prayer about Honoring the Elderly

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. Proverbs 20:29

Everlasting Father,

In a world that often marginalizes or mocks the elderly, 

transform us into people who honor and value the elderly.

Even as we age, may we see your holy purposes for aging—

some may no longer have the energy to tend to babies all night long, 

but they do wake up in the night, 

and they can pray for those who do.

Some may no longer have the physical agility 

to perform skilled labor, 

but they do have years of experience 

and can teach those who do.

Some may no longer have the responsibilities 

of running a business, 

but they do have the ability and wisdom 

to give good counsel to those who do.

Lord, may we see the opportunities aging affords, 

and may we embrace not only our own aging, 

but the aging of others. 

May we see that you call the elderly 

to continue giving you glory 

by learning and leading every day of their lives. 

In Jesus’ redeeming name. Amen.

Read Proverbs 20:29; Titus 2:2-5; 1 Timothy 5:1 . 

 

A Prayer about Doing Hard Work Heartily

by | Jan 30, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living

A Prayer about Doing Hard Work Heartily

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…(Colossians 3:23)

Gracious Lord,

I remember well the days of four children under six years, 

the chaos, the clutter, the laundry, the diapers, the dishes, 

the drudge of work that had to be done over and over and over again. 

It could be disheartening if not downright depressing. 

Today, I lift up any and all who find their work disheartening or depressing. 

Help us to see beyond the micro-story of the dirty diapers we are changing 

or the droning demands of an impossible boss,

to your meta-story, the story you are writing in us 

through whatever work you have given us. 

Help us to see your kingdom and your mission and the part you have given us to play in it. 

How are you calling us to be an ambassador of Christ in our workplace? 

How are you conforming us to Christ’s image in the patience required to do our work? 

And what reward are you preparing for us even as we do this work (Colossians 3:24)? 

As we see these things, empower us and energize us 

to obey this command, 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, 

as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” (Colossians 3:23).

Read Colossians 3:22-24; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.