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A Prayer about the Hope of the Last Supper

by | Mar 18, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about the Hope of the Last Supper

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take, eat, this is my body.’ Matthew 26:26

Lord God,

I confess, I too often read past Jesus’ profound words 

to his disciples without stopping to think 

how revolutionary they were (and still are).

The disciples were enjoying a Passover meal with Jesus. 

(They didn’t know it would be their last Passover with Jesus.) 

At Passover, the head of household 

recounted the day the Lord “passed over” the Israelites 

when he rescued them from the Egyptians. 

On that day, the Israelites marked their doorframes 

with the blood of a lamb, 

the sign to pass over that house 

and spare the firstborn sons (Exodus 12:12-13). 

Now Jesus says to his disciples, 

“I am becoming that lamb offering; 

I will be the substitute who takes the penalty for your sins.” 

Today, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, 

the cup of communion and the breaking of the bread 

are the sign and seal of his eternal blessing on us.  

May we settle our hearts in the hope and security 

this meal promises to every believer.

In the name of Jesus’ holy blood and body. Amen. 

Read Matthew 26:17-29. 



 

A Prayer about Doing the Lowly Things

by | Mar 17, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Doing the Lowly Things

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

John 13:14

Lord Jesus,

You know not many of us in Western culture 

understand about washing feet. 

Most of us wear shoes and take showers regularly. 

Help us to see you 

performing the act of the lowliest servant, 

kneeling before your disciples, 

taking their dirty, dusty feet into your hands, 

and wiping them gently with a clean towel. 

Help us to understand the relief you gave them, 

the cleansing they felt. 

Help us to understand 

and obey your call to “wash one another’s feet.” 

May we not avoid the most undesirable tasks; 

may we instead seek to serve one another 

by doing the hard things, 

whether it’s changing out dirty diapers, 

handing out food to the homeless, 

or working out math problems with an angry teenager.

Show us today and every day

what it means to follow your command 

to serve this world wherever you call us. 

Read John 13:1-20.



 

A Prayer about Being Betrayed

by | Mar 16, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Being Betrayed

And as they were eating, he said, ‘Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’ Matthew 26:21

Faithful Lord,

Being betrayed makes our hearts sick. 

When someone we confided in, believed in, trusted in—

a friend, a spouse, a co-worker, a sibling, 

turns on us, 

we want to make like a turtle 

and pull our head and our heart into a hard shell. 

We ache to think of how you were betrayed 

by your disciples—

Judas, who sold you out; 

Peter, who denied ever knowing you; 

and probably most of the others too. 

We are amazed that you submitted to such betrayal, 

and you did so for us, 

we who have betrayed you. 

Lord, may the true story 

of your betrayal on our behalf 

radically transform us. 

Make us willing to risk again, 

to poke our heads and hearts out of that shell, 

that we might live and love as you have led us to do. 

In your faithful name. Amen.

Matthew 26:20-25; 30-35.



 

A Prayer about Answers to Prayer

by | Mar 15, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Answers to Prayer

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.

Mark 11:23

Miracle-Working Father,

We confess, 

we’re a little confused about what Jesus said 

to his disciples about prayer. 

If someone suffering from mental illness 

truly believes that you will heal her psyche, 

will it come to pass?

If someone suffering from quadriplegia 

truly believes that you will make her walk, 

will it come to pass?

What do we make of Jesus’ words, 

“whatever you ask in prayer, 

believe that you have received it, 

and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24)? 

There are no easy answers to these questions. 

What we do know is that we are called to trust in you, 

and we are called to surrender to your will (Matthew 6:10). 

We are called to believe 

that you can toss a mountain into the sea, 

you can heal a hemorrhaging woman (Mark 5:25-34), 

and you can raise your Son from the dead. 

We are also called to pray as Jesus did, 

“Father, all things are possible for you…

Yet not what I will, but what you will…” (Mark 14:36).

Help us Lord, to persist in as-yet-unanswered prayer. 

Help us Lord, to submit to your will 

in the way you answer prayer, 

knowing that you always give us good gifts (Matthew 7:11), 

even if they are not the gifts we think we need.

In Jesus’ trustworthy name. Amen.

Read Mark 11:20-25; Mark 14:36; Matthew 6:9-13.



 

A Prayer about Dying to Bear Fruit

by | Mar 14, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Dying to Bear Fruit

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

John 12:24-25

Lord Jesus,

I’m not much of a gardener, 

but I do know that you begin by burying a seed in dirt, 

and then, if all goes well,

a few days or weeks later, 

something green starts to poke out of that dirt. 

I also know that if properly nurtured, 

that green poke 

will turn into a stalk 

and eventually bear the fruit 

of a cherry tomato 

or a mammoth sunflower 

or a juicy piece of corn. 

As we approach the days 

when we celebrate your death and resurrection, 

may we remember our calling 

to be buried with you 

that we might rise with you. 

May we learn to let go of the things 

we think are so precious and necessary in our daily lives 

in order to discover 

the precious and necessary life you have for us, 

a flourishing life of bearing fruit, 

an eternal life of joy and glory. 

In your fruit-bearing name. Amen. 

Read John 12:20-26.



 

A Prayer about Loving God and Loving Others

by | Mar 13, 2024 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Loving God and Loving Others

‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Mark 12:30-31

Triune God,

In a day when hatred seems more common than love, 

when mocking seems more common than meekness, 

when taking offense seems more common than taking up our cross, 

we confess, the greatest commandment seems impossible. 

And yet, you have not only called us to love you 

with all of our beings, our hearts, our souls, our minds, our strength, 

you have empowered us through your Spirit to do so. 

You have not only called us to love you in this way, 

but you have called us to love our neighbors 

(including strangers and enemies) 

as much as we love ourselves (which we have to admit, is a lot!)

Thank you for Jesus, who loved us, 

Your enemies, 

so much that he died 

so that we might become your friends. 

May we live and love 

out of our gratitude 

for his sacrifice 

and out of the power 

of his resurrection. 

In Jesus’ loving name. Amen.

Read Mark 12:28-34.