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A Prayer about Not Being an Orphan

by | Nov 14, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Gospel living, gratitude, Parenting, Theology

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 What We Believe

by | Sep 29, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Death and Resurrection, Scripture, Theology

A Prayer about What We Believe

“Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Risen Lord,

This is probably the most important question 

we will ever answer 

about the most important truth 

ever revealed:

Martha’s brother Lazarus had died, 

and she was grieving. 

You assured her, 

“Your brother will rise again.” 

And then you told her something 

you had not yet told others, 

“I am the resurrection and the life. 

Whoever believes in me though he die, 

yet shall he live, 

and everyone who lives and believes in me 

shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

Then you asked her, as you ask us, 

“Do you believe this?”

Lord, our answer to this question 

changes everything about today, 

tomorrow, and the rest of our lives on this earth. 

Help us to trust you. 

Help us to know that there is abundant, 

never-ending life beyond the life on this earth. 

Encourage our hearts with this heavenly hope today.

In your risen name,

Amen.

Read John 11.

A Prayer about Who God Is and Why It Matters

by | Jul 28, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Theology

A Prayer about Who God Is and Why It Matters

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God all my life long. Psalm 146:1

God-Above, Maker of Heaven and Earth,

How often do we pause to consider who you are, 

your graciousness, 

your goodness, 

your generosity? 

Not often enough. 

When we take time to consider 

your “wondrous works” and “mighty acts,” 

we receive a blessing—

our worry shrinks and our confidence grows. 

Let’s start naming just a few of the things we praise you for:

You “uphold all who are falling 

and raise up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:15)

[Name why this matters to you or those you pray for.]

You are our help and our hope, 

the God “who made heaven and earth, the sea, 

and all that is in them” (Psalm 146:6).

[Name why this matters to you pr those you pray for.]

You “execute justice for the oppressed, 

you give food to the hungry” (Psalm 146:7).

[Name why this matters to you or those you pray for.]

You “lift up the humble; 

you cast the wicked to the ground” (Psalm 147:6).

[Name why this matters to you and those you pray for.]

You “take pleasure in your people; 

you adorn the humble with salvation” (Psalm 149:4).

[Name why this matters to you and those you pray for.]

Good and gracious Father, 

for all of these things and thousands more, 

we praise your name, 

we rejoice in you, 

we adore you, 

we give you glory. 

Develop in us a regular rhythm 

of praising all of your goodness.

In Jesus’ wonder-full name. Amen.

Read Psalms 145-150. 

A Prayer about the Perfection God Promises

by | Jul 2, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Theology

A Prayer about the Perfection God Promises

You therefore must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Heavenly Father,

As a recovering perfectionist,

I confess, this verse always makes me anxious

when I first read it.

But then I reread Dr. Dan Doriani’s commentary on Matthew,

and he reminds me,

the command is also a promise as phrased in Greek,

“You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

As he says, the word “perfect” also reveals

how completely inadequate we are

to live out Jesus’ commands

apart from his mercy and grace

operating in our lives.

The word “perfect” means “mature and complete,”

but we know we’re nowhere near

as mature and complete as God is,

so it must be a process.

Indeed,

becoming mature and complete

takes a lifetime of your sanctifying work

through the Spirit.

Becoming mature and complete

doesn’t mean “work harder”;

it means “depend on God more,”

because you are the God

who makes new selves out of old selves (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Becoming mature and complete

doesn’t mean “never make a mistake”;

it means “run to God

with all of your mistakes,

weaknesses, and sin.”

To be perfect

is to trust in you alone

to finish the good work

you began in us in Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

In Jesus’ perfecting name. Amen.

Read Matthew 5:17-48; Philippians 3:12-16.

A Prayer about the Miracle of Life

by | Jun 27, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Parenting, Theology

A Prayer about the Miracle of Life

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13

Lord and Giver of Life,

As the grandparents of one baby born in February,

and two more to be born in the fall,

We’re more blown away than ever at the miracle of life.

As we have all become privy to the wonders of 3D ultrasounds

which take us into the womb to ooh and ahh

at the tiny little fingers,

the cute snub nose,

the long skinny legs,

of a 20-week-old life,

may we pause to consider

how wonderfully worked are your masterpieces,

the precious lives you have formed.

Lord, even as we marvel at the miracle of pregnancy,

may we serve every mother and every child,

finding ways to support them

in work and nutrition and childcare and healthcare,

that every child may grow to know

that they are created and redeemed by you.

In Jesus’ child-loving name. Amen.

Read Psalm 139:13-16.

A Prayer about What Justifies Us

by | Jun 25, 2022 | Daily Prayer, Theology

A Prayer about What Justifies Us

You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. Galatians 5:4

Faithful Lord,

May it never be!

May we never be alienated—

cut off from, severed from, estranged from

our one and only Savior, Jesus Christ!

The apostle Paul is pretty ticked in Galatians.

Some people have come along and told the Galatians,

who were “running superbly” (Galatians 5:7),

that they had to be circumcised to be true Christians.

That would be like someone telling me

right after I became a Christian

that I wasn’t a true Christian

if I did not tithe ten percent of my income every month,

attend church every week,

and read my Bible every day.

Of course, those are ALL good things to do,

ways we grow in knowing and loving you,

but they are not the basis of your love for us.

We must know beyond a shadow of a doubt

that it is “by grace we are saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8).

We must know that we don’t deserve our salvation;

we did nothing to earn it,

and we can do nothing to keep it.

That’s what it means to not “fall away from grace.”

Lord, humble us again.

Expose our folly —

Show us anything we do that we think makes us worthy of your grace.

And, so transform us that we live out of that grace,

running superbly

as we give and pray and seek and share

this amazingly good news!

In Jesus’ very-near name. Amen.

Read Galatians 5:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-10.