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A Prayer about What to Pray For

by | Oct 8, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about What to Pray For

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding… Colossians 1:9

Heavenly Father,

Today we allow your Word to give voice to our prayers for particular people:

[Try inserting your name or a person’s name in this prayer]

We pray for [name], 

May they grow in spiritual wisdom, not wisdom of the world, 

so that they may be filled with the “knowledge of [your] will,” 

not merely knowledge about Calculus, or parenting, or the stock market.

With this knowledge and wisdom, 

may [name] “walk in a manner worthy of you,” 

always seeking to bring you glory and honor 

and to love others well. 

May [name] “bear fruit in every good work” 

even as they continue to know you more intimately 

and learn more about your goodness (Col. 1:10).

May [name] be strengthened with your power,

not Powerade power or strong girl power, 

but the kind and humble power 

that comes from your glorious might.

May this glorious power strengthen [name] 

to endure suffering 

and to be patient in trials, 

that they may know the deep joy of your comfort. 

May [name] give you thanks all day every day 

for your forgiveness, 

for your redemption, 

and for calling them “saints in light,” 

In Christ’s delivering name. Amen.

Read Colossians 1:9-14.

A Prayer about Praying for Children and Grandchildren

by | Aug 16, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Praying for Children and Grandchildren

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Ephesians 6:18 

 

Heavenly Father,

I confess, as a parent, 

I so often forget 

the powerful tool 

of praying for my children. 

I remember when my kids were younger, 

I would often ask a friend just ahead of me 

if her child ever exhibited a certain behavior 

(biting, not eating her whole meal, talking back, etc.), 

and her answer became my go-to 

when younger moms asked me later, 

“Yes, my child did that, 

and I don’t remember what I did, 

but I know I prayed.” 

Father, today I pray 

for all of my parenting 

and grand parenting friends out there. 

As we feel the normal anxieties 

over our children and grandchildren, 

draw us by your Spirit to lay them all before you:

Worried about our granddaughter getting a job? 

Ask you to provide for her.

Worried about our baby sleeping through the night? 

Ask you to grant sleep and rest.

Worried about our son being overwhelmed as he enters high school? 

Ask you to guide and keep him. 

[Name some worries you have for your children and/or grandchildren. Ask the Lord for help.]

Thank you for the powerful peace 

that comes from entrusting our children 

and grandchildren to you. 

In Jesus’ comforting name. Amen.

Friends, if you have children or grandchildren or simply want to pray for children, be sure to check out my printable guide to creating prayer cards for children. Go here to get it: http://eepurl.com/b__teX.

Prayer about Praying for Miracles of Healing

by | Jul 30, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

Prayer about Praying for Miracles of Healing

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ Mark 1:40

Life-Changing God,

Thank you for inviting us 

to bring all of our prayer requests before you, 

especially regarding healing. 

Throughout Scripture, we see you reversing the course of nature, 

healing supernaturally, 

as you did when the leper asked you to make him clean. 

Because you healed many people, 

we are invited to pray for healing.

And yet, may we remember, 

we should never treat you as a magician, 

asking you to wave a wand 

and reverse the course of nature. 

When our loved one is suffering and dying, 

eaten up with disease, 

may we pray to accept the reality of death

in your timing and in your way

as an answer to our prayer.

May we continue to lament the horror of death 

until the day Jesus returns to raise us all to new life 

in the new heavens and new earth.  

May we never forget 

your most miraculous healing work—

the raising of the spiritually dead 

to new life and eternal life. 

Lord, give us wisdom when we pray for healing, 

and give us acceptance of your every answer to prayer. 

In Jesus’ healing name. Amen.

Luke 2:29-31; James 1:4-5; Mark 1:40-44.



A Prayer about Being Truly Transformed

by | Jul 2, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

A Prayer about Being Truly Transformed

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2

Everlasting God,

I did it again.

I just scrolled away twenty minutes, 

looking at this and that, 

following this trail on someone’s post about their wayward cat, 

clicking on this headline about a bizarre tragedy on a remote island, 

checking the weather for Wimbledon…

Have mercy on me, have mercy on us.

Sometimes it seems we have no self-control 

when a screen is in our hand or at our fingertips.

We long to know the “rest for my soul” 

that Jesus has promised (Matthew 11:28-30), 

and yet so much of what we do 

fills our heads and heart 

with noise and trivia 

that is impotent to change our lives.

Transform us, we pray, 

renew our minds by the work of your Spirit, 

so that we can sit still 

and remember that you are God (Psalm 46:10). 

Speaking of sitting, 

help us to do just that sometimes, 

to sit quietly with no phone, no tablet, not even a book, 

and listen for your voice delighting in us, 

for in this very moment, 

you are singing over us, 

quieting us with your love (Zephaniah 3:14-17). 

In Jesus’ life-changing name. Amen. 

Read Romans 12:13; Matthew 11:28-30; Psalm 46:10; Zephaniah 3:14-17.



A Prayer about the Best Heart Transplant

by | Jun 5, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Prayer

A Prayer about the Best Heart Transplant

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26.

Lord God,

I’ve always been fascinated with the strange prophecies of Ezekiel. 

I love the part where you tell him to breathe into the dry bones, 

and “there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, 

and the bones came together, bone to its bone.”

Then you tell Ezekiel to breathe some more, 

and all of these skeletons are covered with flesh  (Ezekiel 37:7-10). 

It is a vivid picture of the new life you give us in Jesus Christ. 

We were walking skeletons in our sin (Ephesians 2:1), 

but you raised us to new life. 

Not only that, you gave us a heart transplant, 

so that we would be your people, 

and you would be our God.

Fill our imaginations, Lord. 

Help us to see our new hearts 

learning to pump out the lifeblood of love. 

Send us as your grace-plump, enfleshed people, 

into a hurting world that desperately needs new hearts.

In Jesus’ life-giving name. Amen.

Read Ezekiel 36:22-38; 37:1-14.



A Prayer about the Gift of Prayer

by | May 12, 2023 | Daily Prayer, Prayer

A Prayer about the Gift of Prayer

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say:….’ Luke 11:1-2

Holy Father,

Thank you for the gift of prayer.

Grow our understanding of the power and richness of prayer.

Thank you for David Powlison’s words 

that remind us of a key feature of prayer we often forget:

“We usually ask God to change events in people’s lives…

But [we need to] think about the spiritual needs of each of these life situations….”

So, even as we pray,

“Lord, please bless my friend’s business,” 

we can also pray, 

“Lord, please give my friend faith that you will provide for her in this business….”

Even as we pray,

“Lord, please heal my friend from chronic pain,” 

we can also pray, 

“Lord, please sustain my friend’s hope in this hard season….”

Even as we pray,

“Lord, please bring my friend’s daughter back home,” 

we can also pray, 

“Lord, please help my friend forgive her daughter for causing so much pain….”

[Name some prayers of your own following this model….]

Thank you Lord, for the privilege of prayer. 

Please shape us more and more 

into the image of your Son as we learn to pray. 

In Jesus’ praying name. Amen. 

Read Luke 11:1-13.