Sahed – Page 25 – Everyday Prayers

August 29

A Prayer about No More Death

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Rev. 21:4–5 NIV)

Dear Jesus, I’ve never longed for the day of “no more death” more so than today. It’s a source of immeasurable comfort to know this promise is trustworthy and true, for your death was the death of death, Jesus. Indeed, Jesus, you are making all things new. Your resurrection is the guarantee and first fruits of a whole new order. Decay and death, in every form, will be gone forever. Hasten that day, Jesus; hasten that day.

No more picking out caskets for loved ones. No more compost piles of yesterday’s bouquets. No more walking to divorce court with broken friends. No more death of innocence. No more life robbing cancers. No more burying of unrealized dreams. No more environmental disasters. No longer the heartache of “putting down” a beloved pet.

Jesus, this is the first day in nearly sixteen years I wake up minus a faithful friend. The void is great and the tears are many. Luther had it right: some of the greatest companions you give us in life are our pets. I never dreamed a Yorkshire terrier could have been such a declaration of your glory.

A part of me is embarrassed for feeling so sad. The other part says, “Go for it. Let yourself go. Grieve the loss; grieve the ugliness of death that you might advocate for the promise of life— resurrection life—eternal life.” Surely that’s the way of the gospel, Jesus.

So as you wipe my tears, please fuel my hope and focus my gaze. Death is defeated but not yet annihilated. Decay will be no more, but not yet. Send us forth as your people, Jesus, into the valley of the shadow of death with a glimpse of the first sunrise in the new heaven and new earth. It’s supposed to feel like hurt and hope at the same time.

You will make the written saying true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:54–55 NIV). You are the grave robber, Jesus. Our labors in you are not in vain. In your trustworthy and triumphant name I pray.

Amen.

August 30

A Prayer about a Third Kind of Son

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20)

Heavenly Father, I’m not beginning my day in a faraway country, derelict and destitute. Though I’m capable of anything, I’m not sitting here filled with shame for squandering an inheritance, and neither am I out in a field feeding somebody else’s pigs.

I’m in a comfortable chair, sipping a fresh cup of coffee, surrounded by more than my share of creature comforts. And yet I’m just as much in need of fellowship with you as any of your broken children . . . so here I come.

Because the gospel is true, I bring you my busy, bland, somewhat disconnected heart. I feel like a third son right now. I’m not struggling with the extremes of either of your boys in Luke 15. I’m not acting out in destructive “fleshy” ways, and I’m not presently wallowing in the ugliness of my self-righteousness. I’m just some- where in between. I still hear and love the wonderful music of the gospel, but I just don’t feel like dancing right now.

So, Father, as I come to you today, I take great comfort in knowing that I’ll always find you filled with compassion for me, even when my feelings are not fully engaged with you. As I saunter toward you, you’re always running toward me in Jesus. As I’m glad to see you, you see me from afar and are thrilled at the sighting.

When I’m not as inclined to lift my arms in praise to you, your embrace is the most predictable element in my day. You don’t just put your hand on my shoulder; you throw your arms around me in the gospel. And though my affection for you wavers, you will shower me with multiple kisses all day long, for you love your children with an everlasting, unwavering love.

Because the gospel is true, I’ll seek to live to your glory today, neither by sight nor by my feelings but by the faith you’ve given me to trust and love you. It’s not my grasp of you but your grasp of me in the gospel that matters the most. It’s not the enjoyment of my peace with you but the assurance that you are at peace with me that is the anchor for my soul. I pray in Jesus’ wonderful and merciful name.

Amen.

August 31

A Prayer about the Impossible

But he [Jesus] said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

Gracious Jesus, you offered these words of hope to disciples trying to picture a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle. You speak the same words to me in light of many situations for which I need to accept my limitations and lay hold of your sufficiency.

I begin this day remembering that your commitment is to make all things new, not make all new things. There is an enormous difference between the two. Indeed, Jesus, you’ve placed us in a story of restoration, not replacement. You are actively at work in the broken places and among broken people, including me. Through your resurrection, we’ve been given great assurance and hope for a redeemed universe. This is incredibly good news— the best news ever.

The hard news is that I have to accept that many things are impossible for me. My best intentions, efforts, and resources are simply not enough. I see this especially in my relationships. This requires a humility and faith the gospel alone can provide. Grant me both, Jesus; grant me both.

I cannot change me, so why do I assume the omnipotence to fix others? As much as I long to see friends freed from addictions, marriages brought back from the brink of death, and stubborn people made gentle and kind, Jesus, you alone have the power of resurrection. Maybe the greater challenge will be for you to make me a patient, caring, present friend. Please show me the first nose hair of this camel poking through a needle’s eye. Hasten the day of perfect newness in my heart. I pray in your majestic name.

Amen.

September 1

A Prayer about Death by Resentment

Resentment kills a fool. (Job 5:2 NIV)

Gracious Jesus, it’s been entirely too hot in our city this summer, and I’ve been registering that complaint entirely too many times— so much, in fact, that I can now see how my complaining has been morphing into resenting. It came to a head yesterday when I walked out my front door for a jog, only to find myself cursing the humidity, the temperature, even the sun.

I came back inside and inaugurated a thirty-minute pout. That’s when you convicted me, when you let me know the weather’s not the only thing I’ve been resenting lately. I resent having to explain and repeat myself. Why can’t everybody instantly intuit what I’m thinking?

I resent grocery stores running out of my favorite cereal. Who does their stocking, anyway? I resent gossips, so much that I gossip to others about their gossip. I resent change and transition. Why can’t everything stay the same, or at least disrupt my plans and “groove” minimally?

I resent resentful people. Why can’t they stop their whining and be more content with what they have? I resent roads that are always being repaired, drivers that delay moving four seconds after the red light turns green, birds that do their business on my windshield. I resent good grass dying and crabgrass thriving. I especially resent that people I love suffer too much, too soon in life. It just doesn’t seem right or fair.

Jesus, my resentment will either kill me as a fool or drive me to you for life. I choose the second option. Forgive me for fertilizing a spirit of entitlement. Forgive me for not pulling up the roots of bitterness sooner. Forgive me for being better at resenting than repenting of late. Forgive me for demanding life in the “not yet” before the “already” is over. Forgive me for preaching the gospel to others but not to myself. Forgive me for telling others of the sufficiency of your grace while looking for some other balm for myself.

I make no excuses or promises. Today, right now, I simply collapse upon you afresh as my wisdom, my righteousness, my holiness, and my redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). I praise you that I’m not feeling condemnation, for there is none. I praise you that I am feeling conviction, for there is plenty. I pray in your patient and loving name.

Amen.

September 2

A Prayer about Jesus’ Joyful Kingship

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”
(Heb. 1:8–9)

Lord Jesus, there’s really nothing that affects my life more than how I think about you. The more I see you everywhere in the Scriptures, the more I understand why you alone are worthy of our adoration, affection, and allegiance. I expect to say the same thing ten thousand years from now.

Today I’m marveling at your joyful kingship. It’s stunning to see the relationship between your joy and your hatred of wickedness and love of righteousness. Jesus, you delight to crush evil and you rejoice in making all things new. Indeed, your kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:7). The Father has placed the government of the entire cosmos on your shoulders, and your reign of grace and peace is expanding all the time. You are the joyful King of the ages.

But I also marvel at your request for the Father to fill your church with this very same joy—the fullness of your joy— the joy you have eternally enjoyed within the Godhead (John 17:13).

May an increase in our joy propel us into expanded servant hood. May it be the fire we need for doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God. May the oil of your joy encourage and refresh us lest we grow weary in the battle.

Jesus, Satan was crushed under your feet on the cross, and he will soon be crushed under our feet at your return (Rom. 16:20). Your throne will last forever and ever, and your kingdom will never end. We pray with joy, in your triumphant name.

Amen.

September 3

A Prayer about Sex

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter. (1 Thess. 4:3–6)

Jesus, a part of me is blushing and squirming as I pray through this text. The word sex engenders the widest range of thoughts and emotions. There is no part of our being that carries a greater capacity to reveal beauty and evil.

Grant us grace and wisdom to steward the precious gift of sex. In our marriages, may your servant love be revealed in the way we honor and care for one another. In the ebb and flow of sexual desire, give us kindness to be for the other.

In our singleness, give grace shaped for each situation. When good desire gets hijacked by sinful choices, forgive us and strengthen us. In our struggles, grant us a loving and holy commitment not to exploit anyone else’s heart or body to satisfy ourselves.

For those of us engaged in sinful indulgence—pornography, prostitution, infidelity, and other expressions of broken sexuality— have mercy on us. Give us convicted hearts, repentant faith, and a willingness to get help. For those of us married to someone sinfully entrapped or addicted to sex, grant exponential grace, wisdom, safety, and more grace. May the pain of betrayal not preclude the desire and hope of redemption.

For those of us wounded and broken by stories of sexual abuse or sexual misuse, bring your healing heart and hand to bear, Jesus. Take us on the path to safety, beauty, and restoration. For those of us married to a husband or wife wounded and broken through sexual sin, grant us kindness, mercy, patience and hope.

Lord Jesus, in all of these situations and stories, convince us that what we need more than anything else is to connect with you intimately. Even the best marriage and most fulfilling sex life is no substitute for the wonders of marriage to you. You are the spouse we always wanted and needed. That is not hype, Jesus; it is our hope. We humbly pray in your great and tender name.

Amen.

September 4

A Prayer about Fear and Trusting God

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
(Ps. 56:3–4 NIV)

Heavenly Father, as the reach of the internet keeps getting bigger, my world keeps getting smaller. More so than ever, I’m aware of my brothers and sisters all around the world who are clinging to you and to this Scripture today. Be praised, O trust worthy Father, even as we bring our family before you.

I pray for the Christian community in Pakistan. The recent flood has been inconceivably devastating for the whole nation, and yet even more so for the 2 or 3 per- cent of the population who are followers of Jesus. They’re already persecuted, and now they’re being neglected in this time of crisis. For the glory of Jesus, I pray for enough clean water and food to meet their needs and enough to share with their Muslim neighbors. May the gospel advance in Pakistan by way of this horrible crisis, through your faithfulness and the servant love of your people.

I also pray for our brothers and sisters in North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Maldives, Bhutan, Yemen, Vietnam, Laos, and China— the ten places in the world where Christians are most likely to be singled out for persecution. Father, may your perfect love drive out their fears and strengthen their trust in you.

What can mortals do to us? Plenty, Father, but in view of who you are and what really matters, very little. Grant us all the same grace and courage you gave Justin Martyr. When facing those who would take his life, he responded, “You may kill us, but you cannot harm us.” What but the gospel can create such a people?

Lastly, gracious Father, for friends on our streets and in our churches facing hard medical reports, dwindling financial resources and other hard providences, bring the gospel to bear in tangible and faith-producing ways. And use us, Father, as answers to the very prayers we pray. We pray in Jesus’ most glorious name.

Amen.

September 5

A Prayer about Temptation

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor. 10:13)

Faithful Jesus, as you know, this was one of the very first verses I memorized back in the summer of 1968 as someone who had known you only a few months. It was timely and encouraging then, and a little over four decades later, it’s still the same. The seizing power of temptation is just as real to a sixty-year-old as to an eighteen year old.

It would be one thing if temptation came like junk mail, quite easy to recognize, ignore, and discard. But at times temptation comes with such enticing, alluring, and promissory power that “standing up under it” doesn’t appear possible. I would despair and question the reality of my faith if I didn’t have the assurance that temptation itself is not sin (James 1:13–15). Jesus, the very fact that you suffered the full fury of temptation also gives me hope and keeps me sane.

The encouraging and timely parts of this verse, Jesus, are the commonality of every temptation and the promise of a way out of any temptation. This assures me that no matter how dark, foolish, or destructive are the things that enter my mind, such temptations are not unique to me. Such temptations are common to other believers, just like me. I’m not terrible because I’m tempted, but I am tempted to do terrible things.

Jesus, I ask for myself and for a host of friends, bring the hope and resources of the gospel to bear at the very places we feel the seducing power of temptation the most. Whether our temptations are sexual, financial, relational, or alcohol or drug related, it makes no difference— show us the way of escape, and give us strength to choose that way. Jesus, give us enough grace in this very day to prove your faithfulness and to keep ourselves free from acting out in ways we will surely regret. We pray, Jesus, in your all-sufficient name.

Amen.

September 6

A Prayer about the God Who Encourages

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
(2 Thess. 2:16–17 NIV)

Gracious Father, just reading your Word encourages me. You could delegate a legion of angels, you could send a bird to sit on my shoulder, you could have a few friends call me— any of which would be nice— but you, yourself, come to us in the Bible. I’m humbled and I’m very grateful.

The Scriptures are such a gift to us. They are a treasure trove of hope, an artesian spring of well-timed refreshment, a perpetual supply of redemptive surprises and return trips to gospel sanity.

Father, because of the “eternal encouragement and good hope” of your grace for us in Jesus, I can risk making myself vulnerable today and cry out to heaven with- out muting or masking my weariness. Lord, I’m more than a bit weary as the day begins. I feel tired, discouraged, listless, on edge, and uptight.

I don’t know if I’ve tried to get too much done in too little time. I’m not sure about the spiritual warfare issues swirling about me; it could be the accuser whispering lies and condemnation. Perhaps it’s just that I’m getting older and I don’t have the same energy I used to have. It could just be the tension of life in the “already and not yet,” or maybe I’m trying to do life with too little sleep. Then again, possibly it’s just the groaning of birth pangs in my heart, so wanting to be much more like Jesus than I already am. Probably it’s all of the above.

In any case, and every case, I look to you to encourage my heart and strengthen me for gospel deeds and words all this day long. I cast my care on you because I know you care for me. I pray in Jesus’ name, with thanksgiving and glad anticipation.

Amen.

September 7

A Prayer about the Process of Forgiving

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(Col. 3:13 NIV)

Gracious Jesus, every time I pray the Lord’s Prayer, I’m confronted with the dailiness of the call to forgiveness. Usually that’s not a big deal. Maybe it’s because I’m conflict avoidant and would rather wave off an offense than deal with the chaos and mess. But you’ve been forcing the issue over the past few weeks. There’s brokenness all around me and in me.

My conflict avoidance is a thin veil for the serial killer that lives within. Even as I write and pray this prayer, two names and faces come before me that I know I haven’t forgiven. I’ve so enjoyed holding them hostage emotionally by my critical spirit and self-righteous smugness. Help me, Jesus, and others like me. Though I’m convicted, I can’t say that I relish the idea of letting go of my pain. Have mercy on me, Jesus. I praise you for already forgiving all of my sins— past, present, and future; every sin of word, thought, and deed.

I praise you for not merely waving off my sins but wading into the mess and paying the supreme price of your life and death. As I ponder the riches of your grace, I realize that unforgiveness is the greatest non sequitur of all. I purpose to begin forgiving these two people and anyone else you bring to mind. I repent, but I do not promise anything. You must help me, Jesus. I cannot and I will not do this on my own. I pray in your holy and loving name.

Amen.