Category: February

A Prayer for Gospel Pharisees and Scribes  

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they wor- ship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” (Mark 7:5–8)  

Jesus, these are strong words. What could be more tragic than to hear you say, “You talk about me a whole lot, using plenty of spiritual language and Bible quotes. You’re very quick to recognize and correct false teaching. You’re even zealous to apply what you know to others. But your heart is very far from me”? 

It would be one thing if such a rebuke came to us because we were acting like Mosaic Pharisees and scribes— distorting and misapplying Old Testament law; putting people under the yoke of performance-based spirituality; replacing your commandments with our traditions. But it’s an altogether different thing to be a gospel Pharisee and scribe. 

Forgive us, Jesus, when we love exposing false gospels more than we love spending time with you in prayer and fellowship. 

Forgive us when we are quick to tell people what obedience is not but fail to demonstrate what the obedience of faith and love actually is. 

Forgive us when we call ourselves “recovering Pharisees” or “recovering legalists” when in actuality, we’re not really recovering from anything. 

Forgive us when we talk more about “getting the gospel” than how we’ve been “gotten” by the gospel. 

Forgive us for being just as arrogant about grace theology as we were obnoxious about legalistic theology. 

Forgive us when we don’t use our freedom to serve one another in love, but rather use it to put our consciences to sleep. 

Forgive us when our love for the gospel does not translate into a love for holiness, world evangelism, and caring for widows and orphans. 

Forgive us for having a PhD in the indicatives of the gospel yet failing so miserably when it comes to the imperatives of the gospel. 

Forgive us when we love “the gospel” more than we actually love you, Jesus, as impossible as that may seem.

Change us by your grace and for your glory. We pray with convicted and humbled hearts.

Amen. 

A Prayer about a Fleeing Devil  

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:6–7)  

Gracious Father, at times I make things more complicated than they need to be (an enormous understatement). This is certainly the case when it comes to spiritual warfare. When I look back over the years at all the different teaching I’ve had about “fighting the devil,” much of it promoted more fear than faith, more phobia than freedom, more preoccupation with darkness than fascination with the Light of the World. Somewhere along the line, I missed the image of a fleeing devil. Alas, an other arena for gospel sanity. 

I know that we can’t afford to be naive about the destructive schemes of the enemy. Because of the cross of Jesus, the devil knows his time is short, and he is filled with fury. En route to his sure demise, he ramps up his seducing, tempting, and condemning ways, every opportunity he gets. 

I know even more surely that I can no longer afford to be ignorant of how to resist the devil with the gospel. So today, Father, because the gospel is true, I humble myself before you. Only the gospel frees me to see and own my weakness and susceptibility to the devil’s schemes. 

I’ll not be sucker punched by my arrogance and pride. I need the gospel today as much as I did the first day you declared me to be righteous in your sight. I trust you in this moment for all the grace I’ll need to live for your glory this very day. 

Accordingly, Jesus, right now I submit to you as my Prophet, Priest, and King. You’re my wisdom and my righteousness, my holiness and my redemption (1 Cor. 1:30). I boast in you plus nothing, for there’s nothing boast worthy in me. 

I’ll resist the devil’s deceitful and damning ways by looking unto you, Jesus, pondering your beauty and bounty. With the eye of faith, I set my gaze on you, the author and perfecter of my faith (Heb. 12:2). I’m not even going to glance at the devil as he flees, and flee he must. I pray in your powerful and triumphant name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Early Morning Love  

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, 
for in you I trust. (Ps. 143:8)  

Dear Lord Jesus, I understand that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What we consume early will greatly determine the rhythms of the rest of the day. I know this to be true, especially on the mornings when meager sleep segues into a way too busy day, and I choose to break the evening fast with too much caffeine and sugar. As they say, “Up like a rocket, down like a rocket.” 

But on a far, far more profound level, what I put into my mind and heart as the day begins affects a whole lot more than my energy level and how soon I’ll need a “power nap.” 

Out of equal measures of delight and desperation, I make the psalmist’s cry my own: “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love” (Ps. 143:8). That’s what I need more than anything else. 

Only your love is better than life, Jesus. Only your love meets the deepest needs of my whole being and satisfies my most intense longings. Only your love is unwavering, Jesus, for all other loves are filled with conditions and contingencies. Only your love is unfailing, Jesus, for all other loves are fickle and finite. 

Only your love can expose and replace my idols. Only your love can break my self indulgent chains and set me free to love well. Only your love can heal the greatest heart wounds I carry. Only your love can move me from navel gazing to kingdom living. And I can think of a lot more “only,” Jesus. 

So this morning and every morning— afternoons and evenings too— Jesus, preach the gospel to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The gospel is the word of your unfailing love, and only in the gospel do we hear and experience your unfailing love. We pray in your trustworthy name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about the Ultimate Romance  

I am my beloved’s, 
and his desire is for me. (Song of Sol. 7:10)  

Gracious Jesus, it’s the day in our culture in which red hearts, overpriced cards, dark chocolates, and cut flowers abound—Valentine’s Day is upon us. For some, it’s a day of incredible kindness, sweetness, and gratitude. For others, it’s a day in which brokenness, loneliness, and emptiness are magnified. For all of us, it should be a day in which our deepest longings for intimacy and connection find their way home to you, Jesus, the consummate lover. 

I praise you for your generosity, Jesus. You’ve given me incredible tastes of sensual wonder and joy in my marriage. There’ve been times when I’ve wondered how heaven itself could hold more joy than what I’ve known with my spouse. 

I equally praise you for showing me, time and time again, that no one human being (or any number of them), no human romance story, no torrid love affair can possibly fill the vacuum in my soul that’s uniquely Jesus shaped. Even the best marriage is made of two broken people, two redeemed sinners who will ultimately not be enough for the other. 

Grant me, no, grace me with a deeper and richer experience of belonging to you, Jesus. You’re the ultimate Spouse. I believe this, but I want to know it. One moment I believe you truly desire me, and the next I’m filled with disconcerting unbelief. 

It’s in those times when I’m not alive to your pursuit of me, love for me, and delight in me that I place unrealistic demands on other relationships. Instead of being a steward, I become a user of others. Instead of being a servant, I take up a score card to measure them by my expectations. Forgive me and free me from all such nonsense. 

Let me love as you love me, until the day my betrothal becomes the day of great banqueting— the day I long for more than any other— the wedding feast of the Lamb. I pray in your tender and tenacious name.

Amen. 

A Prayer in Praise of the God Who Knows Our Hearts  

Lord, you know everyone’s heart. (Acts 1:24 NIV)  

Heavenly Father, there are so many things attributed to you in the Scriptures that are clearly not our domain. Heart-knowing is one of them. We often speak of being drawn to someone’s heart, or of being offended, confused, or shut out from their heart, but only you really know what’s in each of our hearts. 

That’s why we pray with humility and joy, “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Ps. 139:23), for we cannot and must not trust our own diagnosis. There is nothing more deceitful on the face of the earth than the heart, including our hearts (Jer. 17:9). Only you understand the ways of the heart, Father. Only you can cure its great sickness. 

Sometimes we think of ourselves much more highly than we ought— so wanting to believe we’re more like Jesus than reality affirms. Sometimes we fall into shame and contempt and act like strangers to your mercy and grace, like orphans without a Father above or your Spirit within. Sometimes we just think about ourselves too much, period. Way too often we arrogantly assume we know what’s in the hearts of others, playing judge and jury. Forgive us and free us from such meanness and madness. 

Father, here’s our sure and only hope: Through Jesus, you’ve already sprinkled clean water on us and have declared us to be clean. You’ve cleansed us from our impurities and are freeing us from our idols. You’ve already given us a new heart and placed your Spirit within us. You removed our stony hearts and gave us hearts of flesh— hearts that beat for you and your glory (Ezek. 36:24–27). What a generous and powerful God you are! 

And you will complete this good work you’ve begun in each of us and in all of creation (Phil. 1:6). Justified sinners are destined to be your glorified children (Rom. 8:30). Oh, how we praise you for the peace and assurance we enjoy, all be- cause the gospel is true. Help us to walk in greater humility before you and in observable kindness toward one another. We pray in Jesus’ loving and heart- transforming name.

Amen. 

A Prayer in View of the Brevity of Life  

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13–15)  

Heavenly Father, you have made us not for “fifteen minutes in the spotlight” but for an eternity of glorifying you and enjoying you forever. As this day begins, I praise you for such a hope and future— a future that’s already begun for us in Jesus. Our eternal life began the day you “raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 2:6 NIV), to the praise of your glorious grace (Eph. 1:6). 

Yet, Father, these verses in James remind me that our life span in this body isn’t very long at all. We’re more like a brief mist than an aging oak. I feel this more than ever, and I’m both sobered and gladdened by the thought. 

Here’s my question and prayer: How would you have me live the rest of my “misty moment”? Only you know when I’ll “vanish” from this body. Only you know what’ll happen tomorrow. I’ll keep on planning, but it’s you who orders my steps (Prov. 16:9). 

In light of the gospel, what should I spend more time doing and less time doing? What have I been putting off that really matters to you? With whom do I need to spend more face to face and heart to heart time? Who am I still holding hostage by the chains of my unforgiveness and bitterness? What am I allowing to bug me that isn’t all that “bug worthy”? Where should I invest more of your money and less of my worries? 

Father, I praise you that I’m not going to merit any more of your affection by doing a better job with any of these things. None of these questions has a score card attached to it. It’s Jesus’ performance and record I boast in, but your grace frees me to ask the right questions and live a freer, more intentional life. Make my “gospel bucket list” for me. I pray in Jesus’ matchless and magnificent name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Being a Little Less Stupid  

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, 
but he who hates reproof is stupid. (Prov. 12:1) 

The ear that listens to life giving reproof 
will dwell among the wise. (Prov. 15:31)  

Heavenly Father, I’ll never tire of thanking you for the joy of calling you Father— Abba, Father. There’s no greater privilege, there’s no safer refuge, there’s no better address than to call your heart my home. 

Once I was separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in the true Israel, a foreigner to your promise filled covenants, without hope and without you in the world. But through the work of Jesus, you brought me near— you made me one of your beloved children (Eph. 2:12–13). I worship, praise, and adore you for such a rich and firm standing in grace. 

It’s only because you love us as your children that you discipline us as you do (Heb. 12:4–11). All of your rebukes are “life-giving.” None of them are meant to be guilt inducing, shame producing, or contempt fueling. You humble your children, but you don’t humiliate us. You’re firm but never harsh. You have my eternal glorification in view, but too often I’m only thinking about my instant gratification. 

On the cross Jesus exhausted the punishment we deserve. Now you delight in us, even when you confront our immaturity and irresponsibility. That’s why I’m a foolish man to play dodge ball with the convicting work of your Holy Spirit. You only purpose our freedom through the gospel. I’m a simpleton and stupid when I get defensive and try to make excuses for myself. What’s there to defend? 

Indeed, “stupid” has nothing to do with my IQ, my SAT score, or my GPA from various schools. Stupid is what we are when we hate correction, despise your discipline, or run from your admonitions. 

I want to be at home among the wise, Father, so whether you speak to me from your Word, by the voice of your Spirit, or even through my spouse, colleagues, children, or friends, I’ll trust you for a humble heart and submissive spirit. By the grace, truth, and power of the gospel, make me a little less stupid. I pray in Jesus’ life giving name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Times of Troubling News  

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. (John 14:1 NIV) 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)  

Jesus, yesterday’s troubling stories shape today’s morning prayer. I went to bed late last night, wearied with woes of good friends. I arise today hungry with hope in you, our great and gracious Savior. 

Thank you for being so honest with us about life this side of the new heaven and new earth. You’re not an on-demand panacea, promising the elimination of hardships and heartaches. But you’re a very present help, pledging your presence in every circumstance and trial. Troubling news doesn’t have to cripple our hearts. Indeed, may it carry our hearts to you today, for you are ever so trustworthy, Jesus. 

For our friends stunned with heartbreaking health news, we declare our trust in you, Jesus. How we long for the day when words like cancer, dementia, and heart disease will no longer appear in our vocabulary. Until that day, we unabashedly and earnestly pray for healing, and we trust you for all-surpassing peace and more than suffcient grace.

For our friends saddened with heart-ripping issues with their children, we declare our trust in you, Jesus. Few troubling reports carry more power to dishearten than those related to our children. Whether they’ve been vandalized by others’ darkness or victimized by their own foolish choices, it hurts real bad and real deep. We appeal to your covenant faithfulness and your powerful reach: capture the hearts of our children, Jesus, and help us love them well in the chaos and the crisis. 

For our friends saddled with heart wrenching financial burdens, we declare our trust in you, Jesus. There’s a growing number among us who have more month left over at the end of the check. There’s a growing number of us who are facing losing homes and hope. But things that are impossible with man are possible with you, Jesus. We pray not only for your provision but for our generosity with one another. May the law of love be fulfilled as we bear one another’s burdens— spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially.

Jesus, we can trust in you as we trust in God, for you are God— the Son of God and God the Son. We can “take heart” because you have already overcome the world for us. In the world we will have tribulation, but in you we find all the peace we need. We pray in your kind and overcoming name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Centering and Settling Our Hearts  

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Ps. 46:10–11 NIV)  

Sovereign Father, whenever I hear the command to “Be still,” my default mode takes me back to several elementary school teachers who consistently told me to “Sit still!” They had to, because I was a squirmy, restless little person. I had a hard time staying in my seat. But you’re telling me to be still, not sit still . . . and there’s a world and gospel of difference.

You’re not impatient or frustrated by me. I’m not disrupting your classroom, but I do have a disrupted heart, and you notice and you care. I’m squirmy and restless on the inside. 

I know that you’re with me and for me. I know this because of everything you’ve done for me in Jesus. You’re a fortress of comfort for broken people like Jacob and me; you’re a haven of rest, a strong tower of grace. 

When I’m still I remember that you are God and nothing and no one else is. That’s the best news of this or any day. You have no competition— counterfeits, but no competition. There are demigods, semi-gods, wannabe gods, but only you are God. 

Kings and nations are not God, for one day you will be exalted among all the nations. The nations are like droplets in your bucket. Storms and environmental disasters are not God, for you will be exalted in the earth. You send the earthquake and harness the hurricane for your purposes. 

Neither are my circumstances God, nor the opinions of others; nor is getting older, nor the choices of people I love, the mistakes I make and the sins I commit. In fact, the second most comforting news of the day is that I’m not God, though at times my attitude, prayerlessness, and unbelief would indicate a measure of self worship.

Father, be exalted in the dailiness of my today. Let me see your hand and heart at work in everything. I don’t want to be a practical atheist about anything, not any little thing. You are working all things together after the counsel of your will. You are working in all things for the good of those who love you, and that means me, but only because you first loved me in Jesus. 

I probably won’t sit still, but because the gospel is true, I will be still. With palms up in surrender and praise, I enter this day. I pray in Jesus’ excellent and exalted name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Moving from Cynicism to Servant hood  

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. (1 Pet. 2:13–17 NIV)  

Heavenly Father, it is Presidents’ Day in our nation— a perfect day for praying these words from the apostle Peter. But as this day begins I stand convicted of how little I’ve prayed for our past presidents and how very little I pray with faith for our sit- ting president. Forgive me, and by the power of the gospel, please give me a better attitude. 

I confess, I’ve been more of a cynic than your servant with respect to supporting our government. I haven’t been living with the confidence that you set up and sit down kings, presidents, premiers, and governors at your bidding. 

In many ways, I’m one of the “foolish people” Peter wrote about in this pas- sage— some one whose “ignorant talk” should be silenced by the gospel. Show me what “doing good” looks like as a dual citizen of the United States and the kingdom of God. Show me how to use my freedom wisely and how I’m to show proper respect to everyone, including our president. You’re not calling me to be passive, but neither are you calling me to be a pest. 

Father, I’m ashamed and humbled to realize that when Peter wrote this letter, the megalomaniac Nero was the sitting “president” in Rome. It’s obvious that Peter lived with more faith in the King of Kings than fear of the madman of madmen. Help me to do the same, Father; help me to do the same. 

Lord Jesus, yours is the only everlasting kingdom, and you are the only King worthy of my unqualified submission and obedience. I honor you as my King. I worship you as my Savior. I love you as my bridegroom. I pray in your name, above all names.

Amen.