Sunday Praise and a Prayer to Seek Him

“Thus says the Lord:

‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment,

and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you for all you are – for your great loving kindness, your justice, and your righteousness.  You have been so gracious to forgive us through your Son, to bring us this far through our temptations, our failings, our weaknesses, and to wisely use them all to train us up and sanctify us, purifying our faith, and preparing us for the day we meet you face to face.  Please forgive us for the times we’ve run ahead of you, for when we’ve focused more on what we’re doing, trying to serve you in our own strength, instead of just loving you, and understanding and knowing you, our God and our Savior.

Lord, give us a new perspective, that even more of our heart’s desire from this day forward would be to seek you, to know you, to understand you and your Word and your ways.  Help us to let the things of our flesh go, that nothing would come between us and You so that we might continually walk in your Spirit, bringing you glory through every blessing and trial we face in the coming year.  Lord, we ask you to break every stronghold in our lives that have kept us from fully committing our lives to you and serving you wholeheartedly.  As we seek hard after you, we know your love and your will will fill our hearts to lead us and make us fruitful for your kingdom.

Help us to not give way to fear, but fill us with your strength and courage, especially as the world turns against you and your people more and more.  As the evil one seeks to make us cower, help us remain steadfast upon You, the Rock of our salvation, the One who has overcome the world, the One who has already prepared us for eternity and a place with you forever.  We give you glory, Lord.  You are our glory.   In Jesus’ holy name we pray, amen.

 

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Healing

“Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all His benefits –
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Psalm 103:1-5

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  I come to you today and lift up to you so many us who are suffering with severe and prolonged physical illness.  Lord, it’s so easy to lose focus of you when we or a loved one is suffering and there seems to be no end. The day to day pull to focus on the pain, the illness, the medications, whatever it may be, can be overwhelming and exhausting. 

Lord, we need your strength.  We need your presence to overwhelm us and turn our eyes back to you, to gaze on your beauty, your grace and mercy, your compassion which never ends. Help us remember that our suffering is in your hands, and through it we can identify with Christ’s suffering, with His death and resurrection, for we have died to sin and you’ve made us alive in Him to the spiritual things which are infinitely of more worth. 

We ask for your peace that surpasses all human understanding, for your wisdom to lead us every day, and for your joy fill us to overflowing, that we would be a walking testimony of your love and goodness, of the fact that this is not our home, that we wait as we put our hope in a future home, a future life where all things will be made new.  So whether you heal us in this life, and I pray if that’s your will for any of us that you would, or if you heal us in the next life, may you be glorified in ways we can only imagine. 

Please use us Lord to proclaim your name, to have compassion on others, and to show the world your grace that many would be saved, and those away from you would return. 

“Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

May your will be done on earth, Lord, as it is in heaven.  May you bring a revival to our own hearts, to the body of Christ, and throughout the world.  Maranatha!  In the eternal name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Focus

“But no one who belonged to Christ’s churches in Judea
had ever seen me (Paul the apostle) in person.
They had only heard that the one who had been cruel
to them was now preaching the message that he had
once tried to destroy. And because of me,
they praised God.”
Galatians 1:22-24

 

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you for revealing yourself to us, for putting your Spirit in us and for giving us new hearts. You’ve replaced our hearts of stone and given us hearts of flesh, all for the sake of your holy name.  Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve let my heart get stony again. Please continually remind us to live in a way that reveals the new hearts of love you’ve given us so we might encourage, build up, and comfort our brothers and sisters, that they might praise your name, and so the world can see our hearts reflecting your love that they might turn, repent, believe in you, and praise your name.  Help us live lives worthy of your calling, to remember our purpose and stay focused on you so that through us you might bring peace to a broken and hurting world, and praise to your name.  In your name and for your glory, Lord Jesus, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Comfort

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

 

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise you.  We praise you that you are at once righteous and compassionate.  That you are holy and yet you draw near to us, and draw us near to you so that you may stand with us in our trials, identify with us in our pain, and comfort us in our suffering.

Thank you for the peace your comfort brings our hearts, the courage it gives us to walk in the midst of our trouble another day, and the compassion it fills our own hearts with for others who are suffering, too.

Lord, as you lay hurting or struggling people on hearts, or bring them into the scope of our lives, may you continue to fill our hearts with your grace and compassion and the boldness to step out in faith and comfort them with the comfort you’ve given us. May your love anoint our hearts with mercy and may we have deep and tender love for one another.

Help us continue to abide in you – never letting go for one second – so that you are glorified as the comfort you give us and that we share with one another is a bright light in the middle of a dark world. May our lives, as your Spirit flows through us, magnify your name and draw others to you.  In the precious name of Jesus, the Savior of the world, amen.

Sunday Praise and a Prayer for Victory

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. Ephesians 1:3-6

 

Heavenly Father, we praise you.  You know that many of us were not chosen in the world for much of anything.  You know that we were, and are, the neglected, rejected, and outcast. But you have chosen us.  You, the Creator of all the universe, the originator of all things, the LORD Almighty, the Beginning and the End, has chosen those the world deems as foolish and weak to bear your holy name.  You saw us and loved us, and drew us to yourself so that you could pour on us the greatest blessing of all – to receive the life of your Son, and be made holy and blameless.  You have made us the proof of your glory, and we are overwhelmed with gratefulness.  May we live every minute of every day in the victory you bought for us through the sacrifice of your Son.  May we walk in your glorious light, and never give the enemy a foothold.  Please keep us from falling into sin, so that our lives are an unbroken testimony of your glory.  And when we do stumble, help us to quickly repent, and receive your grace.  And Lord, please help us to freely give the love and grace and mercy and forgiveness that you have given us as an act of worship to you.  In Jesus’ holy and precious name we pray, amen.