Category: September

A Prayer about Peace  

Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
(James 3:18 NIV)  

Dear Jesus, it’s the day on our calendar that now has its own dark branding, “9/11.” There have been many days in history that stand out as graphic reminders of the pervasive brokenness of the world— of just how far we have fallen and just how fully the peace of creation has been violated by sin and death. But in my lifetime, no day in American history tells that story more clearly than September 11. 

I’ll never forget how it felt watching the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center crumble to the earth. It was chilling, frightful, and surreal. But as I remember that day of extreme terror and trauma, I also choose to remember you, Jesus. Otherwise I would stew in despair or simply be driven to rage. 

Lord Jesus, you are the Prince of Peace— the archetypal Peacemaker. You are the one who has come to make all things new, to restore broken things, to bring new creation delight from old creation decay. 

Your death on the cross was the ultimate sowing of peace. As you died, taking the judgment we deserve, you were planted as the very seed that has secured an eternal harvest of righteousness. Your death was the death of death itself and the promise of eternal shalom. 

Because of you, terror is terrified. Indeed, because of you, one day there will be no terror or tears. There will be no more brokenness or barrenness, no more heartaches or even heartburn, no more human trafficking or even human tooth decay, no more war or even aggravation, no more evil or even envy, no more poverty or even pouting, and no more “not yet,” “not enough,” or “not now.” 

Our labors in you, King Jesus, are not in vain. Because of you we can, and must, live as peacemakers, sowing the peace of the gospel of the kingdom, with the absolute assurance that a harvest of righteousness is being raised and will be reaped. 

We praise you that your name is Redeemer, Reconciler, and Restorer. We cry out loud, “Maranatha!” Come, Lord Jesus, come! Until that day, give us all the mercy, grace, and peace we need for this day. We pray with joy and hope.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Soul Rest  

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge. (Ps. 62:5–8 NIV)

Gracious Father, nothing compares with being certain of your love for me. The peace I have knowing I no longer have to perform or pretend with you about any- thing is incomparable. Today, in particular, I’m thankful for the freedom to pour out my heart to you. Because the gospel is true, I don’t have to measure or monitor my words with you. You don’t judge my prayers. You purify them as they meet you at the throne of grace. How I praise you for such a standing in grace! 

Here’s what’s going on inside of me today. I feel a restlessness that I cannot re- ally attach to any one thing. There’s a floating disquiet, a nibbling anxiousness, a low rumble of dread that’s just hanging there. It could easily morph into something much bigger if I’m not connected to you in a fresh and vital way. 

So today I echo back to you King David’s longing for soul rest, and I make his prayer mine. “Soul, find your rest in God alone! Don’t medicate with anything else. Don’t minimize or supersize your restlessness. Just go to Jesus. Go to Jesus right now!” 

Indeed, Jesus, I don’t want to waste energy on the “paralysis of analysis.” I don’t want to spend time navel-gazing today. I don’t want to treat my soul like an onion to be peeled, layer by layer. Whatever is repentable or repairable, I’m sure you’ll show me. I just want you, Lord Jesus. I ask you to bring your centering presence, your stabilizing mercy, and your calming peace to my soul. Kiss my heart with the gospel, and it will be enough.

I do trust you, Jesus, at this time, even as I want to trust you at all times. You are my rock, my salvation, my fortress, my honor, my refuge, and a whole, whole lot more King David didn’t mention in this psalm! I pray today with hope and anticipation.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Triumph  

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (2 Cor. 2:14)  

King Jesus, I greet and praise you this day for being a most merciful and mighty Savior. You completely save those who come to you in faith, and the very faith we need for coming to you, you freely give us in the gospel. You’re the great warrior of the heart. You’ve come to overthrow the reign of sin by the reign of grace. You are the victorious King. 

Jesus, I gladly take my place in the triumphant procession Paul described in this passage. I humbly assume the posture of both the conquered and the conqueror. I praise you for rescuing me from the dominion of darkness, a kingdom in which I was both a willing citizen and a desperate slave. Only the gospel was powerful enough to set me free. Thank you for triumphing over me and in me. 

I’m also grateful to be among those released for a life of announcing your triumph of mercy and grace. What more could I want for the rest of my life than to be someone through whom the fragrance of the gospel is released— the aroma of forgiveness and freedom, the incense announcing a kingdom of reconciliation and restoration? 

Jesus, how I praise you that life in the gospel is not a preoccupation with the “victorious Christian life” but a preoccupation with you, the victorious Christ! You are my loving master, not my private masseuse. Forgive me when my prayers reflect a greater commitment to my comfort than to your kingdom. Free me from “claiming” things you never promised. Give me much more joy in living for your glory than in living for my personal gain. 

Wherever you take me in the triumphant procession of the gospel is the best place to be. However you want to spread the fragrance of knowing you is the best way to live. I pray in your glorious name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Completion  

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)  

Gracious Father, today is a great day to be reminded that “salvation is of the Lord.” You’re the one who begins the “good work” of redemption in our lives. You’re the one who is carrying it on, even when you’re not working according to our timetable and agenda. And you’re the one who will complete our redemption on the day Jesus returns to finish making all things new. 

This is incredibly good news, I recognize as I ponder my story and the lives of other people you’ve placed in my life. I can’t be my own savior, and neither can I be anyone else’s savior. The pressure is off! What a great relief, but also what a critical truth to remember. This good news, this best of all news, leads me to offer these earnest prayers . . . 

Father, give me the same confidence for my friends you gave Paul for the Philippians. Sometimes irritation, worry, and fear loom larger in my life than patience, trust, and hope. When this happens, I’m pretty worthless as a friend. 

Teach me how to wrestle in confident prayer for others, like Epaphras, who wrestled in prayer for the believers in Colossae (Col. 4:12). My tendency is to wrangle emotionally rather than wrestle believingly. This leaves me worn out, and it simply frustrates others. They feel pressure from me to change, rather than encouragement in their journey. 

Keep me tender enough to engage in my friends’ broken stories but tough enough not to give in to the pulls I often feel from them. Help me not to get entangled in things that have nothing to do with me, but give me the tenacity to stay present. Teach me how to wait on you without falling into self-protective passivity or self-validating activity. 

Only the gospel is sufficient for the demands of loving well, so I abandon myself to you and your resources. Help me see others as you see them, Father, and help me to love them as Jesus loves me. I pray in Jesus’ compassionate name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Jesus Opening Our Minds  

“Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he [Jesus] opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:44–47)  

Lord Jesus, I’ve always considered myself to be pretty open-minded. Yet as I meditate on this remarkable scene in Luke’s Gospel, I realize I’m not nearly as open- minded as you intend. For myself and for my friends, I ask, help us to see you everywhere in the Bible, Jesus. Enable us to read the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the psalms with you clearly in view. 

For years I thought of the law only as a bunch of rules and principles by which I could earn God’s favor and blessings, or at least micromanage my life for greater success. Now I understand that the law was given to drive us to you, Jesus. It was never given as a basis of my acceptance with God. You’ve fulfilled the law for us by your perfect obedience, and you’ve exhausted its judgment by your death on the cross. I wish I’d understood this earlier in my walk with you. 

I used to read the Prophets with a fear of judgment and great intrigue about the future of Israel. Now I realize that all of God’s promises point to you, Jesus. You are the “Yes” and “Amen” to every promise God has made. The gospel of your kingdom claims the entire cosmos, not just the Middle East— not just Jerusalem but the New Jerusalem as well. 

I’ve always loved the Psalms, but until recent years, I read them more with an appreciation for David than with adoration for you, Jesus. But you are the King in- stalled by your Father, the one who inherits the nations and the ends of the earth (Ps. 2). Indeed, Jesus, continue to open our minds to understand how the entire Bible is a revelation of the gospel— the story of God’s commitment to redeem his people and restore the world by you . . . and through us. Show us more of you and our place in your story. We pray in your peerless name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Perfectionists  

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18–19)  

Gracious Father, I begin this day with a desire to live much less of a driven life and much more of a called life. In essence, I want to live with less fear and more freedom, less by frenzy and more by faith, with fewer obsessions and with much more adoration of you, the God of all peace. 

As I get older I just don’t have as much energy to juggle as many balls or spin as many plates as I used to. This is simultaneously a humbling thing and a good thing. For if greater grace comes to the humble, then accepting my limitations is essential for my liberation. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! 

It’s not difficult to see that my drivenness and busyness are rooted in fear— the fear of not being enough and having enough, the fear of losing face and losing control, the fear of missing the mark and missing out. 

Come, Lord Jesus, come. Your perfect love alone can liberate this poser, per- former, and perfectionist. Drive out my fears by a greater grasp of your grace. You lived a life of perfect obedience for me as the second Adam, fulfilling everything God requires of me. You died a death of perfect love for me as the Lamb of God, exhausting God’s judgment against my sin. Your resurrection from the dead on the third day is the first fruits and guarantee that one day I will be as lovely as you and as loving as you, Jesus. 

Indeed, one day I will be made perfect in love, all because of you, Lord Jesus, for perfection can only be found in you. I love you because you first loved me and continue to love me. May your perfect love continue to drive all pernicious fear from my life. I pray in your glorious name.

Amen. 

A Prayer for Treasuring Jesus  

For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious corner- stone, and the one who trusts in him [Jesus] will never be put to shame.” Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.
(1 Pet. 2:6–7 NIV)  

Jesus, when I hear the word precious, I immediately think about silver, gold, and platinum, all called “precious metals.” Or I think about “precious gemstones” like diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. 

But if anything or anyone deserves the appellation “precious,” it’s you, Jesus— God’s chosen cornerstone and precious capstone of our redemption. For the combined worth of all precious metals and gemstones that have ever existed does not compare with the unsearchable riches that are found in you.

To trust in you, Jesus, is to be free from the burden of our guilt and the paralyzing power of our shame. To trust in you, Jesus— to boast in the gift of your righteousness, to rest in the constancy of your love, to wake up each day to your endless mercies, to hear you sing to us in the gospel— is to feel the stranglehold of shame lose its grip over our hearts. 

Jesus, I praise you for taking the guilt of our sin and the shame of our brokenness on the cross. You became sin for us that in you we might become the righteousness of God. Because of you, judgment day holds no terror. The cross was our judgment day. We no longer fear the gaze of God because of the grace of God we have in you. 

May you become more and more precious to us, Jesus. May the gospel continue to change the price tags on everything in our world. May yesterday’s values be considered today’s loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing you. We pray in your glorious name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about a Fresh Encounter with God’s Favor  

The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18–19 NIV)  

Jesus, I know this passage very well, but today I feel my need for these truths in a desperate way. I’m zeroing in on the promise of God’s favor, which you proclaim. Several things have converged in the past few days that make me feel like the banner flying over my head isn’t love (Song of Sol. 2:4) but disfavor . . . failure . . . unwanted.

You’ve taught me in the past about the importance of stewarding my emotions— that is, about not reacting to difficult people with fear and anger but responding to them with listening and grace. Jesus, all of that just flew out the window yesterday, and I’m coming to you now in brokenness and sadness. I’m not proud of the way I acted, but I don’t want to settle down into a pity party or a blamefest. 

I’m a poor man in need of the Good News today, Jesus. I need you to proclaim freedom for my worn down, weary heart. I need you to open my eyes to see the gospel today as though I were seeing it for the very first time. I need release from the oppression of my introspection and the condemnation of Satan. 

Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor to my heart today, in this moment. I can explain this great truth to others, but right now I need to know it for myself. My theology is not in doubt, but my doxology is sucking wind. Wrap the good news of my justification around my heart all over again. The favor of people was never enough, and it never will be. Bring me the peace of knowing God’s favor is resting on me, only because of you. I pray in your most loving name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about the Longing to Belong  

And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. (Rom. 1:6 NIV)  

Gracious Jesus, so much of life is about the desire and delights of belonging. From the day we offered our first cry as a newborn baby, our deep longing for attention, attachment, and affection have been patently obvious. 

We were born into families, and our quest to find our place in our family has been a source of incredible joy for many of us and multiplied heartbreaks for others. This same story has played out in every other relationship context: friendships, work, romance. Wanting to belong is a constant theme. 

And yet “the belonging of all belongings” is found only in relationship with you, Jesus. I praise you today that the gospel is a calling to belong to you. 

The healthiest relationships we enjoy are good gifts to be treasured, but they are only a scent and symbol of what it means to belong to you. And our most painful and disconnected relationships don’t have to define us. We can grieve the loss and bring the wounds to you. 

We are “called” to belong— not merely invited, but subpoenaed into an eternal life of being wanted, desired, known, loved, celebrated, and enjoyed. We are “called” to belong—not owned like a new car but connected like a new bride. Lord Jesus, you have purchased us with the price of your life, and your love for us, alone, is better than life. We belong, now and forever, to you! Help me, help us, to come more fully alive to our “belongingness” in you, Jesus. We pray in your gracious name.

Amen. 

A Prayer about Praying for God’s Servants  

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
(Col. 4:2–4)  

Most loving Jesus, I stand convicted about how sporadic my prayer life has been of late on behalf of servants of the gospel. Unfortunately, it’s often a case of “out of sight, out of mind,” and therefore off the radar screen of prayer. That’s not an excuse but a lament and confession of sin. 

My great consolation is in knowing that no one is more watchful and devoted to prayer than you, Jesus. You’re always praying for us; indeed, you never stop. Because you pray, we can pray with great boldness, joy, and confidence. I’m so grateful for your steadfast, vigilant intercession, Jesus, especially in light of my own context and circumstances. Sometimes our weakness and needs become the best motivation and fuel for praying for others. Here’s who I’m thinking about today, in particular. 

Jesus, for missionaries seeking to bring the gospel to unreached people groups or in situations long resistant to the Good News of who you are, open doors no one can shut. You’ve bought a bride from every nation, so we pray with pation, not with doubt. Give your servants patience, provision, and enough fruit to keep them encouraged. May the gospel be clear not only through them but to them. Keep their hearts alive to your great affection and mercies. Shower their marriages and friendships with the gift of your real presence and gospel nourishment.

Jesus, for your servants seeking to bring the liberating power of the gospel to places of systemic brokenness and evil, grant them protection and success. I’m thinking about the women and men who labor in arenas like human trafficking, AIDS, hunger and poverty, and other places of cruel injustice. When your servants feel most weary in doing good, give them fresh manna of gospel encouragement. Grant them favor with local authorities. Grant them good working relationships with other agencies and missions organizations. Let them know for certain that a harvest of righteousness and peace is coming. 

Indeed, we praise you, Jesus, that our labors in you are never in vain, for we don’t minister for you but with you. You’re the one who is making all things right and new. Your kingdom of justice and mercy will prevail. The government of the world is already on your shoulders, and there will be no end to the increase of your redeeming reign and your healing peace. We pray in your name, with hope and encouragement.

Amen.