fbpx

A Prayer about the Impossible Woman

by | Oct 17, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living

A Prayer about the Impossible Woman

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Jesus, our True Wisdom,

We thank you for your Holy Spirit, 

who gives us wisdom 

to understand life 

and to understand 

that this woman in Proverbs 31 is meant to be an ideal, 

a composite of various features 

that make a godly woman. 

As I was reading about her the other day, 

I thought of the high expectations placed on women in American culture: 

we are often expected to have highly successful careers 

while at the same time being highly successful mothers 

raising highly successful children. 

Lord, we pray for women in our world, 

that we might turn away from both cultural expectations 

and some supposedly Christian expectations 

that are not your expectations. 

Help us not to worry too much about charm and beauty, 

or other things that will fade away.

Help us to be wise women, 

and to know what work you have called us to do, 

whether that be 

running a business (Proverbs. 31: 18), 

being a realtor (Prov. 31:16), 

sewing quilts (Prov. 31:22), 

or raising children (Prov. 31:27). 

Help us to clothe ourselves in strength and dignity, 

not in comparison and competition. 

Help us, most of all, 

to live in awe and gratitude of you, 

to “fear the Lord,” 

to enjoy you and glorify you 

as the women you have called us to be. 

In your gracious name. Amen.

Read Proverbs 31.

If you want to receive the daily prayer in your inbox, be sure to sign up at link in profile or go here: http://eepurl.com/b__teX

A Prayer about the Saddest Verse in the Bible

by | Oct 15, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Gospel living

A Prayer about the Saddest Verse in the Bible

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. Genesis 3:7

Lord God,

These are some of the most painful verses in the whole Bible 

(right up there with Jesus agonizing in the garden and dying on the cross). 

Just a few verses before, we were told, 

“The man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed” (Genesis 2:25). 

You had created them in your image, 

formed their exquisite bodies from the dust, 

giving Adam just the perfect complement he needed. 

And now, in one instant, as Adam stood silently by 

while Eve listened to the words of the serpent, 

the man and the woman had committed treachery. 

They had turned against you, 

doubting your goodness and generosity to them. 

Forever, they would know shame, 

and their descendants with them. 

Today, we feel it, the shame of sin, 

and shame over our bodies. 

Like Adam and Eve, 

we often reach for frail fig leaves 

in efforts to cover our shame, 

but we know they can’t fully cover us, 

and besides, they wither and dry up and fall apart. 

Like Adam and Eve, we often try to hide from you. 

What wretched people we would be if not for your pursuing love!

You refused to leave Adam and Eve 

lurking in the bushes; 

neither do you leave us there. 

You cleansed us from our sin through Christ’s death; 

you sent us the covering of Christ’s righteousness, 

which we wear now as your new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). 

By your mercy, 

we are freed from living in the shadows of shame. 

By your mercy, 

we can celebrate again the bodies you have given us. 

In Jesus’ atoning name. Amen. 

Read Genesis 2:24-3:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21. 

If you want to receive the daily prayer in your inbox, be sure to sign up at link in profile or go here: http://eepurl.com/b__teX

A Prayer about Living Well and Wisely

by | Oct 12, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, kingdom living

A Prayer about Living Well and Wisely

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. James 3:13

Wise Lord,

Yesterday, we prayed for help with our tongues. 

Today, we see that our words and our behavior 

can reveal your wisdom, or they can reveal the world’s wisdom. 

Foolishness comes from “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:13).

When we try to show off how great our kids are, 

how great our vacations are, 

how great our homes are, 

or when we want to have what someone else has,

we’re living out of the world’s wisdom. 

There’s nothing wrong 

with enjoying the good and perfect gifts 

you give us to enjoy in this life, 

but when we consider these gifts essential or earned,

when we forget to be grateful 

and instead become demanding, 

we are living out of the world’s wisdom. 

Wise people, you tell us, 

speak and live differently: 

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, 

then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, 

full of mercy and good fruits, 

impartial and sincere.” 

Wise people are at peace and seek peace.

Lord, by the mercy and grace of your Wise Son, 

please fill us with your wisdom. Amen. 

Read James 3:13-18.

A Prayer about Taming Our Tongues

by | Oct 11, 2022 | Gospel living

A Prayer about Taming Our Tongues

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James 3:8

Holy Father,

We confess, 

when we are not rooted in your steadfast love, 

immersed in your Word, 

we can so quickly and rashly 

wield words that wound others. 

Help us to spend some time 

thinking through our words, 

asking, “Are my words full of deadly poison? 

If I type this comment, 

send this email, 

make this remark, 

will it hurt someone’s feelings?

If I share this rant, 

could someone feel guilty 

or ashamed 

or angry

or sad?” 

Change us, Lord, 

conforming us to the image of your Son,

because we know that our tongue tendencies 

are deeply rooted in sinful selves. 

Only through the love 

of your Son, 

only through the transforming power 

of the Holy Spirit, 

can we learn to speak words 

of wisdom, truth, and kindness. 

In Jesus’ kind name. Amen.

Read James 3:1-12.

 

A Prayer about Living in Faith, Hope, and Love

by | Oct 5, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living

A Prayer about Living in Faith, Hope, and Love

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

Faithful Lord,

In a world that nags us, 

“You need more, 

to get more, 

to do more, 

to be more,”

help us to see that you have given us 

the “full assurance of faith,” 

your finished work for us on the cross. 

Now we can draw near to you 

with hearts relieved of guilt, 

for you have cleansed us from our sins (Heb. 10:22). 

In a world that makes us feel despair sometimes—

rising inflation, rising crime rates, rising poverty, 

we can “hold fast the confession of our hope,” 

not because we are so faithful, 

but because you are faithful, 

and you have promised your shalom 

will reign eternally. 

And because of the faith and hope you have given us, 

we can “consider” (be considerate) 

“how to stir one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24). 

Lord, let us not forget 

that you are coming soon, 

and as we remember, 

may we live out your faith, hope, and love 

in a world desperate to know good news. 

In your re-creating name. Amen.

Read Hebrews 10:19-39.

A Prayer about Great Trouble and Shame

by | Oct 1, 2022 | aging, dying, and death, Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Suffering

A Prayer about Great Trouble and Shame

“The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah 1:3

 For the next few days, we’ll be praying one of Nehemiah’s prayers. If you’d like to hear the sermon that inspired these prayers (preached by our pastor at Pinewoods, Joel Treick), click here. It will be the first one in a series called Gospel Rebuild. 

Redeeming Lord,

As Nehemiah prayed for hurting people 

he had never met in a place he had never visited, 

we lift up hurting friends, neighbors, strangers, 

and even enemies.

Many are in “great trouble” in this world,

 as in the last couple of years, 

it feels like we have been pounded again and again 

by waves that knocked us down every time we almost stood up. 

Some suffer the loss of jobs or health or even relationships to Covid, 

others suffer the loss of homes and livelihoods 

to devastating natural disasters 

like hurricanes and earthquakes and wildfires. 

Still others suffer the ache of a lifelong dream 

seemingly stolen by circumstance. 

If “trouble” weren’t enough, 

there’s also the shame that plagues many.

Some suffer the shame 

of having sinned against people they loved; 

they wonder if they can ever repair 

the relationships they’ve severed. 

Some suffer the shame 

of having rebelled against you, 

thinking they knew better, 

and now they wonder if you’ll even have them back. 

Others suffer the shame of insecurity, 

thinking they’ll never win 

the spouse 

or promotion 

or the battle with infertility.

Lord, in the midst of “great trouble and shame,” 

we cry out. 

We remember your redemption and rescue 

throughout biblical history,

your redemption of the Israelites at the Red Sea, 

your return of the exiles to Jerusalem, 

your rebuilding of the walls there. 

But most of all, we remember 

your redemption on the cross, 

which is the very reason we can cry out 

with the “assurance of things hoped for, 

the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). 

Restore, renew, rebuild, redeem. 

For that is your way. 

And even as we pray for this restoration 

in our world today, 

we long for the day 

when we will no longer cry out 

about trouble and shame, 

because there will be no more crying or mourning or shame 

when you return. 

In your hope-full name. Amen.

Read Nehemiah 1:1-11.