Tag: Prayer

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God, the Merciful: Day Eight, Forty Days of Prayer

 

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Luke 17:13.

O’ Lord, Father of all mercies, whose compassions never fail and whose mercies never cease. Your mercy is gracious goodness to those of us who are miserable and distressed because of our sin. Look upon us, your servants, with Your never failing love, extend to us your compassion on our many struggles, failings, shortcomings, and sins. We are frail, yet You are strong. We are needy, yet You are compassionate. We are sinful, yet You are forgiving. Lord, your mercy is boundless and free through our Lord Jesus Christ, bestow upon us Your compassion now in our present distress; through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

~~ Fr. Glenn E. Davis

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Worshippers: Day Seven, Forty Days of Prayer

Yet a time is coming and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

John 4:23-24

Father, we love and adore you and we desire to worship you in Spirit and in truth. You seek worshipers who long for you as a deer seeks water. Only through your grace can we lay down our personal desires for our needs, set aside the way we want things to turn out and surrender our will to yours. As we release our demands, change our hearts so that we can be true worshipers; those who know the truth about you and your will toward us and who blissfully gaze on your holiness and are remade in your image. Let our hearts be flooded with the kind of love that leads us to seek your face, not your hand. In Your Blessed Name. Amen.

~~Nancy Beckham

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Your Presence: Day Six, Forty Days of Prayer

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4).

Lord God, you are always with us. Your Scripture teaches us that you will never leave us or forsake us. Even when we stray, rebel, and flee Your presence, You promise to pursue us and draw our hearts back to You. You are with us even when all seems dark and empty. You comfort us in life and death. We are grateful that Your presence goes with us and that You give us rest. Satan cannot take away anything you have promised. You protect us under your mighty wings. We praise you that we do not have to fear any evil because you have overcome darkness with your light. Let your light shine forever in our lives. We pray, teach us to trust Your Word and promise. Let your presence reign on Earth. In Jesus’name. Amen!

~~India B. Davis

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Spirit and Kingdom: Day Five, Forty Days of Prayer

 

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matt. 11:11

Insight: George Eldon Ladd, the American Biblical scholar, wrote about this verse that so much greater is this new age God ushered in with Jesus that even the least member in the Kingdom of God is greater than the greatest in the previous age. Imagine that! John the Baptist was greater than Moses who parted the Red Sea, received the Ten Commandments and led the children of Israel to the Promise Land. He was greater than Abraham who believed God to the point of being willing to sacrifice his own son. Greater than David, the man after God’s own heart. Greater than Solomon whose unsurpassed wisdom lead Israel in its most glorious days. This is the age we live in, the age of the Kingdom that advances across the globe, the age of free access to God through the blood of Jesus, the age when the Holy Spirit resides in every believer. The age the prophets of old strove to understand and angels longed to look. (1 Peter 1:10-13)

Prayer: Father, we thank you for allowing us to live in this new age of the Kingdom when we can experience you personally and intimately. We thank you for filling us with your Holy Spirit who is our counselor, companion, power for life and ministry. Above all we thank you for Jesus who made this all possible through his sacrifice of love. Amen.

~~ Fr. Scott Howard

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Miracles: Day Four: Forty Days of Prayer

 

 

The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11: 38-44).

Lord, Your miracles remind us of how powerful you are. You are a powerful God who leads all of us out of bondage, who delivers us from the grips of the evil one, who feeds the five thousand with one loaf and two fish, who heals the sick and raises people from the dead.

You are more powerful than oppressive governments, dictatorial authorities, extreme sickness and evil itself. Forgive us for not remembering Your miracles found in the Bible. We pray, increase our faith. Your awesome power is at work in our daily lives. You make the impossible, possible. You are worthy to be praised when the impossible happens, our lives are changed forever. Your great miracles come only from Your loving hands. We glory in your Name. Amen. 

~~ India B. Davis

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God’s Love: Day Three, Forty Days of Prayer

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 ESV

Our Father who are in heaven, we your children are often troubled in mind, hearing within us at once the affirmations of faith and the accusations of conscience. We are sure that there is in us nothing that could attract the love of One as holy and as just as you are. Yet, you have declared your unchanging love for us in Christ Jesus.

If nothing in us can win your love, nothing in the universe can prevent you from loving us. Your love is uncaused and undeserved. You are the reason by which we are loved. Help us to believe the intensity, the eternity of the love that has found us. Then love will cast out fear; and our troubled hearts will be at peace, trusting not in what we are, but in what you have declared yourself to be. Amen.

~~A. W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, 104 (updated language).

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Your Love: Day Two, Forty Days of Prayer

 

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You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

Job 11:16-18

Lord God, we worship you and put our faith in you because you are powerful and loving. You are a glorious representation of a father who lovingly adores his children and protects his young from trouble. Our hearts are overwhelmed by your goodness and kindness to us. Our hearts swell with humility and our eyes with tears for your unfailing love and goodness towards us. We rest in your arms, Lord.

It is Your arms that so carefully carry us in times of tribulation. We are secure because of your love. We continue to put our hope in You, our Creator, the God of the universe, who created the earth in six days and made us in Your image. It was Your love that sent Your only Son to be born of a virgin, to walk among us, die on the Cross, bear our sins and rise from the dead. We put our hope in You because You are God and worthy to be praised! We praise you through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

~~ India B. Davis

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Prayer of Dedication: Day 21: 21 Days of Prayer

“Then he said to me, ‘Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days” (Dan. 10:12–14).

Thank you for joining Lamb of God parish during our 21 days of prayer and fasting emphasis. As you prayed with us each day, many of you commented through email and Facebook, that the daily written prayers greatly encouraged you in your walk with God. For that, we are deeply grateful. Thanks to Fr. Glenn, Fr. Scott, India, and Nicholas for writing prayers that kept us focused on the magnificence of the Father, the beauty of the Son, and the power of the Holy Spirit. May your walk with the Lord abound and prosper as you continue to seek, follow, and obey our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

~~Book of Common Prayer, Prayer of Self-Dedication, 832.

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Proclaiming Jesus: Day 20, 21 Days of Prayer

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:21, 22 ESV).

Yesterday we prayed for boldness in our proclamation of Jesus. As we grow in our relationship with Him, our hearts are transformed and we share His loves, His priorities, His concerns. Our prayers contain a little less “Do this for me” and more “Your will be done, Your Kingdom come.” We will find ourselves yearning for others to know Jesus and, eventually, our hearts may begin to break for the masses of people who have never heard the name of Jesus or how He came to set them free from their sin and reconnect them with their Creator God. Some of us will hear a call to go or to release sons or daughters to take this message to these desperate people.

Prayer: “Dear Lord Jesus, every day the news brings before me the masses of people who have never heard your Name and who have no idea what you did for them. I pray, as you commanded us through your Apostles, that you send out workers into the harvest of souls (Luke 10:2). Bless those who labor now, both here and abroad. Grant them boldness and wisdom, direction, favor and protection. Empower them with your Holy Spirit to proclaim Jesus to those lost in darkness. Grant them signs and miracles that point people’s attention to you. And if you made me to be a worker in your harvest, give me faith to obey your leading wherever it takes me. And if my children or close friends are called away to be your witnesses, give me grace to release them on their journey and to pray fervently for them daily. For the glory of your name. Amen.”

~~ Fr. Scott Howard

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Boldness: Day 19, 21 Days of Prayer

“’And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:29-31 ESV).

The early Christians soon faced intense opposition to the message of God’s free salvation in Jesus Christ. Their response was to pray together for boldness to speak God’s word without fear and for God to back their preaching up with signs. We live in an age when people are rejecting Christianity, but many are rejecting a false idea of it. The Enemy uses this to keep us silent, “Surely your coworker doesn’t want to hear about Jesus. Of course, they won’t come to church if you invite them.” But so many are hurting and God is able to guide and embolden us to speak honestly to those around us who desperately need Jesus.

“Father, you know I am afraid of rejection, of being seen as one of those weird Christians, but I know that so many around me need Jesus as I need Him. Open my eyes to opportunities to tell people about Him, to share how He has been my help in times of need, my healer and friend. Give me boldness and words to speak when these opportunities come. And show yourself strong on their behalf by healing, providing, encouraging and meeting them in their deepest needs. Amen.”
~~Fr. Scott Howard