Everyday Prayers

A Prayer about the New Year and the Gospel  

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Josh. 24:14–15)

Gracious Father, as I sit here sipping fresh coffee and watching flames dance in the fireplace, it’s early into the first day of a new year. Tons of confetti cover the streets of Manhattan, and gratitude fills my heart. 

I’m thankful I’m beginning this year with a little better understanding of the gospel than I had last year and the previous years. I’m already praying that I’ll be able to say the same thing this time next year. For the gospel is not just good news for people getting ready to die— it’s good news for people who are now ready to live. 

In the gospel you lavish us with your love, liberate us by your grace, and launch us into your transforming story of redemption. What more could we possibly want or hope for, in life or in death? 

Because the gospel is true, I don’t respond to Joshua’s bold charge with a list of New Year’s resolutions—promises of what I’m going to do for you. Rather, I begin this year resolving to abandon myself to everything Jesus has done for us. Jesus is the promise keeper, not us. He’s the one who has promised to make all things new, including me. 

Father, that’s why serving you is much more than merely “desirable”; it’s the greatest privilege conceivable and the purest delight imaginable. For Jesus is our Joshua— the one who has saved us, is saving us, and one day will completely save us. Without any embarrassment or fear of cliché, I gladly affirm: Jesus saves! What other savior died for us that we might find life in him? What other god sacrificially serves us that we might gratefully serve him? 

Because of the gospel, throwing away my idols feels less like a painful sacrifice and more like a liberating dance. For all my “empty nothings” have ever given me is momentary pleasure and lasting regrets. Remind me of this all year long when I’m tempted to think otherwise. 

Father, may this be a year of considering our lives worth nothing to us, if only we may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given us— the task of testifying (by word and deed) to the gospel of your grace (Acts 20:24). In Jesus’ loving name we pray, with great anticipation and much thanksgiving.

Amen. 

A Prayer about “Blessing” God 

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 24–25 NIV)  

Heavenly Father, while many clamor about and try to “claim” more blessings from you, may this be a year in which we come alive to the multiplied blessings you’ve already lavished upon us in the gospel. Already you have rescued us from the dominion of darkness and have placed us in the kingdom of your beloved Son, Jesus (Col. 1:13). Already you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Already we are completely loved by you because of Jesus’ completed work on our behalf. As the year progresses, open the eyes of our hearts to see all these glorious riches more clearly and enjoy them more fully (Eph. 1:18–19).

All year long you’ll prove your covenant and capacity to keep us from falling. Though we may falter in the journey, the grasp of your grace is steady and secure. When we waver in our adoration of you, you will remain constant in your affection for us. When we are faithless and disobedient, you will remain committed and fully engaged with us. Even when you must discipline us this year, it will be in love, never in disgust or regret that you have adopted us (Heb. 12:7–12). We praise you for being the perfect Father to your daughters and sons. 

All year long you’ll be at work preparing us for the day when we come into your glorious presence. We’re confident and grateful as we face that day, because you have promised to complete the good work of the gospel you’ve begun in us (Phil. 1:6). Indeed, Father, if this should be the year in which you call me “home,” herein lies my humble confidence: I will stand before you without fault because you’ve placed me in the faultless Righteous One, Jesus. 

Our hope is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than Jesus’ blood and his righteousness. Jesus is the only reason we can be sure we’ll stand before you with great joy. Your joy is our strength (Neh. 8:10). Because of your great delight in us, we find great delight in you. Because you rejoice over us with singing, we will sing the new song of the gospel forever (Zeph. 3:14–17). 

Gracious Father, you are the only God, the only Savior— to you “be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!” (Jude 25 NIV). In Jesus’ merciful and matchless name we pray. Amen. 

A Prayer about Our Called and Shared Life in Christ  

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the fore- knowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Pet. 1:1–2 NIV)  

Gracious Father, we praise you for the gift of community. It’s a tremendous joy to begin this New Year together as brothers and sisters in Christ— adopted by your grace, shaped by the gospel, and indwelt by the Spirit. Bring much glory to yourself as you transform us and liberate us for your redeeming purposes. 

May this be a year in which we reengage with our corporate calling as your beloved people. We’re your family, not just your individual sons and daughters. Our selfishness and the busyness and drivenness of our culture conspire to make it easy for us to think only of ourselves. But the gospel contradicts all such isolated and independent living.

You chose us by your foreknowledge, redeemed us by your Son, and set us apart by your Spirit to demonstrate the reconciling and redeeming power of the gospel in cities and among the nations of the world. Indeed, you’ve called us to live as strangers in this world, not as strange people. If there’s to be anything offensive about us, may it only be the gospel of your grace. 

Renew our churches and help us plant new churches that make the gospel beautiful and believable. May we live as good citizens of heaven and the cities where you’ve placed us. May our neighbors be glad we are among them. Help us to offer a meaningful glimpse of the future we share because the gospel is true.

Lord Jesus, it’s only because you were obedient to death— even death upon the cross— that we can offer back an obedience of grateful faith. Live and love, in us and through us, all year long to your glory. Be magnified in our hearts, revealed in our cities, and revered among the nations of the world. We pray with great anticipation, in your most worthy name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Our Wanderings and God’s Mercies  

Remember my affliction and my wandering, 
the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it 
and is bowed down within me. 
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; 
his mercies never come to an end; 
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, 
“therefore I will hope in him.” (Lam. 3:19–24)  

Loving Father, another day and another fresh batch of your mercies greet us, even before sunrise. We join Jeremiah in calling to mind your great love and your great faithfulness. In fact, we can “call to mind” much more of your love and faithfulness than Jeremiah. Our place in the history of redemption is to be much preferred over his. 

Jeremiah lived looking forward to the coming of Jesus and the fulfillment of the promises of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34). But we live on this side of those blessed events. How much quicker should I be to praise you and how much greater should my hope be!

Lord Jesus, you’re the reason I’m not consumed with guilt and paralyzed with fear. Because of you, God has forgiven all my wickedness and will never remember my sins against me (Jer. 31:34). You became sin for me, and in you I have received the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). Thus I look at you and loudly proclaim, “The Lord Our Righteous Savior” (Jer. 33:16 NIV)— the Lord, my righteousness!

Father, it’s because of this gospel, this good news, that I also join Jeremiah in lamenting my wanderings. With humility I still sing, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” Oh, how I need the gospel every day and every hour. 

Don’t let me wander far. When I lose sight of Jesus, make the gall more galling, make the bitterness more bitter, make downcast feel even more downcast. I don’t want to ever get used to feeling disconnected from the gospel.

In view of your steadfast love and never-failing compassions, I proclaim, “The Lord is my portion” (Lam. 3:24). I will wait for you, my God. I pray in Jesus’ powerful and tender name.

Amen.   

A Prayer about Flabby Hearts and Love Handles  

It is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. (Heb. 13:9) 

While bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
(1 Tim. 4:8)  

Dear Father, the health clubs and fitness centers are packed with postholiday traffic. Yesterday I had to wait twenty minutes before I could even get onto my favorite elliptical machine. Once again, scores of us seem ready to leave the sugar/butter/carbo-drate binge of the past six weeks for the purge of exercise and sweat. This is a good thing, for stewardship of our physical hearts and bodies does have value, and it does bring you glory. 

Yet I’ve never been more aware that spiritual formation based on the “binge and purge” cycle simply doesn’t work. Our spiritual hearts need to be strengthened by the grace of the gospel daily, all year long. We cannot afford periods of “cruise control,” when we leave the banquet of your love for a buffet of comfort foods, fast foods, and junk foods. Just like the physical hearts you’ve given us, our spiritual heart muscles will atrophy if we don’t take care of them. 

So I thank you for the “means of grace”— the good gifts you’ve freely given us to help us grow in grace and the knowledge of Jesus. Thank you for the Bible, your written Word, through which you reveal yourself and feed us with the riches of the gospel. Thank you for prayer, meditation, and corporate worship, by which you meet and fellowship with us. Thank you for the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, these tangible expressions of your covenant love and grace. 

Father, you won’t love us more or less based on our use of these good gifts. But we certainly demonstrate and deepen our love for you as we do so. By the convicting work of your Holy Spirit, let us be far more concerned about flabby, graceless hearts than bigger love handles. Because you love us, don’t let us get used to being spiritually lazy. May we come to the point where we’d sooner avoid oxygen and water than the means of grace. Certainly gospel sanity is to be preferred over personal vanity, all the time. We offer our prayer in Jesus’ loving and faithful name. 

Amen. 

A Prayer about Resetting My Heart on Jesus  

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:1–4)  

Gracious Jesus, I don’t think I’ve ever praised you for a phone with GPS before today. But as someone born with neither an internal compass nor a gyroscope, someone who labors to find his parked car, someone who walks out of a hotel room not remembering if the elevator is to the right or the left . . . I give you praise for the good gifts of modern technology. 

Jesus, in a far more profound way, I’m praising you this morning for the Scriptures, for they are constantly redirecting my wandering heart to its true destination. And I’m praising you for the gospel, for the gospel is not only my GPS but the car that gets me home. Indeed, Jesus, I’m resetting my heart on you this morning.

You are my destination and my delight. By God’s grace, your death is considered to be mine. When you died on the cross, God punished you for all my sins. When you were raised from the dead, I was raised with you and was given a whole new life and story. 

Right now my life is safely hidden in you, for God has placed me in union with you, Jesus. I’m covered with your righteousness, completely forgiven and accept- able to God, and very much loved by him. I’m destined to become as lovely and as loving as you and to reign with your whole bride in the new heaven and new earth. There’s no other story I’d rather be in— and yet, until the day you return, I’ll be tempted to think otherwise. 

No one and nothing else is worthy of my heart’s adoration, affection, and allegiance— only you, though good things and bad things claim otherwise. I set my heart on you today, Jesus, as my ultimate good. Not on my reputation, my children, my marriage, my stuff, my job. Not on my desire to get even, to get out, to be liked, to be happy, to be in control, to be safe.

Jesus, you’ve done everything for me, and now I trust you to do everything in me that will bring you glory. In your matchless name I pray.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Not Being Idle about Idols  

Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:21 NIV)  

Dear Father, in Rome I’ve seen statues of the various gods that filled the temples and lifestyle of that great ancient city. In London I visited the biggest Hindu temple in the city and wandered from station to station as worshipers offered prayers and gifts to deities that looked so strange to me. In Israel I studied decaying remains of various idols that competed for the worship of the people of God. Idolatry is everywhere because there’s no such thing as a non worshiper. 

Yet for me to obey John’s command to keep myself from idols requires so much more than simply staying away from ancient sites, pagan temples, and man made idols. Father, I’ve never been more aware of the invisible pantheon of idols that are constantly angling and clamoring for my heart’s worship. How I wish that as soon as you placed me in Christ my struggle with idolatry would have ceased. That’s simply not the case, or this Scripture would be entirely irrelevant. 

Sometimes the approval or rejection of people has more sway over my heart than what you think about me. Sometimes my need to be right is more compelling to me than being righteous in Christ. Sometimes my desire to be in control of people and circumstances claims much more of my time and energy than seeking your face, savoring your grace, and serving your Son— the true King. These are just a few of the things that bear the marks of idolatry in my heart. 

Have mercy on me, Father, and free my foolish heart from giving anything or anyone the attention, allegiance, affection, and adoration you alone deserve. The fact that I’m one of your “dear children”— forgiven, secure, righteous, and beloved in Christ—should be all the motivation I need to keep myself from any form of idolatry. May the gospel of your grace relentlessly expose and dethrone all “empty nothings” from my heart. I pray in Jesus’ most worthy name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about God as Abba Father, Not Sugar Daddy  

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?” (Job 1:9) 

There are many who say, “Who will show us some good? 
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!” 
You have put more joy in my heart 
than they have when their grain and wine abound. 
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; 
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Ps. 4:6–8)  

Heavenly Father, today we want to affirm that nothing has to change for us to know your joy— neither people nor circumstances. We don’t love you simply because you make us happy. We reject Satan’s assumption that the only reason we, your children, love you is because you buy our affections with “the good life” (Job 1:9– 11). 

I never saw a carbohydrate (grain) I didn’t like, and I enjoy a glass of good red wine as much as anyone, but my love for you does not depend upon you being a 24/7 convenience store for me. Your name is Abba Father, not Sugar Daddy. 

I love you because you bought me back— you redeemed my life from sin and death by the perfect life of Jesus. I love you because you first loved me and gave Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement and propitiation for my sins. I enjoy the many creature comforts you give me, but I love you in response to your great love lavished on me in the gospel. 

Though many are asking, “Who can show us any good? Where is your God now? How can you say God is good? Where was your God when . . .? How could your God possibly . . . ? Why doesn’t your God . . . ?” yet, Lord, I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Father, there’s no safer place to be— in life or in death— than in Christ. Because you’ve hidden our lives in Jesus, not a hair can fall from our heads, not a breath can be taken from our lungs, and not a beat can be missed by our hearts apart from your sovereign purposes and pleasure. And should I die in the next hour, my heart will forever proclaim, “My God has done all things well.” I pray with great gratitude, in Jesus’ most worthy name.

Amen. 

A Prayer Warning of Cooling Affections for God  

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:12–14)  

Jesus, it is pipe freezing cold outside this morning, and it’s supposed to get even colder. One of my first concerns today is for the poor and elderly in our community— those whose homes are not insulated and heated well enough to withstand this kind of extreme cold. I pray for their safety, but I also realize that loving you involves putting legs on my prayers. To whom would you send me today, in my neighborhood or in my city? Whom should I call and check on? 

A concern for the poor is closely connected to your sobering words I just read in Matthew—words warning about the danger of our love growing cold. That’s a frightful thought, Jesus. I take it seriously, especially as I take stock of my heart relationship with you. When our affections for you chill, then our concern and compassion for others diminishes as well. What a tragic domino effect. What a grace. 

May I never stop singing the last line in the hymn “O Sacred Head Now Wounded”: “Should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for thee.” That’s my earnest, impassioned prayer, Jesus. I don’t fear losing my salvation. I will stand firm to the end because of my standing in grace. But what could be worse than for my love for you to cool down, degree by degree, as I get older? Don’t let that happen to me, Jesus. Don’t let that happen. What could be worse than to finish the race with an ingrown, icy heart? 

I do not and will not trust in my love for you, but only in your love for me. I love you, Jesus, because you first loved me and gave yourself as a sacrifice of atonement— as a judgment-exhausting propitiation for my sins. And now it is impossible for you to love me more than you do right now, and you are committed to never loving me less. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 

Holy Spirit, breathe upon the embers of my heart and rekindle the love I first had for Jesus when the gospel of grace was first applied to my heart, when nothing else mattered. Come, Holy Spirit, come in fire and power. Preach the gospel to my heart today— right now, as though it were the very first time. I pray expectantly, in Jesus’ kind and powerful name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about the Day Mountains Will Sing 

So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
(Isa. 55:11–12)  

Gracious Father, you know how much I love mountains of all shapes and sizes. There’s just something about mountains that causes my heart to feel the greatness of your glory and grace— the weightiness of your majesty and the endlessness of your mercy. What a Creator! What a creation! 

I guess it started with Boy Scout trips to the hills of western North Carolina, then on to exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains around Boone and Banner Elk, North Carolina. And I’ll never forget my first sighting of the Rocky Mountains in Estes Park, Colorado— the shimmering aspen leaves against the rich blue of a humidity and haze free fall skyline! 

But then there was the day I stepped off the train in the village of Interlaken, Switzerland, and got hammered with the holy wonder of three Alps: the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau. I can still see, smell, feel, and taste the sensual overload of that day. Indeed, Father, the works of your hands declare your glory, loud and clear. How can I keep from singing your praise? 

But, Father, these words of Isaiah envision a day when the mountains themselves will burst into song— the new song of the new creation. Though your glory is clearly revealed in the beauty of your creation, it is revealed ten thousand times more in the redemption that you freely give us in Jesus. Jesus is the Alps of your mercy, grace, and love for us!

Because of Jesus, we, your redeemed people, will go out in joy and be led forth into peace, into shalom— the perfect order, society, environment, and world of the new heaven and new earth. You have spoken, you have promised, and so shall it be! Your Word will accomplish everything you decree and all your delights. With great hope we pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.