THANKFUL

Relationship with You, Lord God

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord God, You created us to be in relationship with You. In Your love, You didn’t make us mindless robots, programmed to say and do things from a mechanical heart. Instead, You trusted us enough to create us with a free will, just as You have. We can choose to respond to Your grace and love You in return, or we can reject Your grace and do our own thing. You knew our sin would create a roadblock between us, yet You desired our companionship to the extent that You sent Your only Son Jesus to pay for our sins so we could be in a personal relationship with You. Today, we choose to love You from our grateful hearts. We choose to be obedient to You as Your Holy Spirit leads us. May our motives come from a pure heart when we interact with others. And for everyone on this prayer list and beyond, let us feel Your love today, especially when we have trouble loving, or even liking, ourselves. The devil is nonstop in reminding us of our mistakes. Help us remember what Your grace so clearly states in Romans 8, that as Your followers, our sins no longer condemn us, because Jesus paid for our sins. We’re grateful You have removed our sin from us as far as the east is from the west and You will never mention them again.

We pray that You are the center of our families. Give us Your wisdom to teach our little ones the joy of knowing You Jesus. And when the time is right, help them understand what it means to ask You into their hearts.

Bless and protect our spouses, who are a gift from You. We know You will lead us in the right paths when we seek You and desire to be what You created us to be.

Be real to those who face medical issues, those who live with afflictions. Build their faith and may their joyful attitudes reflect Your incredible grace. Even in their afflictions and illnesses, You can use them to bless others and demonstrate Your goodness.

Forgive our sins. Heal our nation. Amen!

Heal our Hearts, Lord

Good morning, Jesus

This world needs to turn to You now more than ever. We are seeing Romans 1:28–29 lived out before our eyes. Hate rules the lives of billions of people. Their actions speak of the unbound evil in their hearts. Compassion for others is nonexistent. Many hide their contempt for others behind their faux religions, thinking they are doing divine work. Nothing could be further from the truth. You’re the God of love and compassion. You’re the God of mercy and grace.  You have not hidden Your loving character from men, but man has chosen to ignore who You are.

We can’t understand why these acts of evil occur, but we know evil is bound up in the hearts of men. Help us to trust You when these mass-slaughters happen. Only You can bring something positive from these senseless murders. Cause this tragedy to draw people to You and to seek You again. Not only our nation, but the whole world, has repeatedly rejected You and Your principles. Forgive our sins. May we truly repent in our hearts and look to You for comfort and answers. Human efforts to change the biases in our hearts are futile. Only You, Lord God, can change the hearts of men to live together in peace.

Comfort those families and friends of those innocent Muslims slain in New Zealand.  Reveal Your Love and draw them to You, Lord God.

Heal our hearts, Oh, Lord. Only You can.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Grateful for Blessings Prayer  

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord, may we live each day with a grateful heart to You.

I pray Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Let us begin each day thanking You for saving us from our sins and giving us eternal life with You.

I pray today Romans 5:8 in that God demonstrated His love for me in that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me! We’re grateful how You loved us first before we could love You.

I pray Romans 8:1-2 today with a joyful heart since I am no longer under condemnation for I am in Christ Jesus. For in Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. We’re grateful how You loved us when we were so unlovable. We’re grateful how You forgave us when we didn’t deserve forgiveness, but You openly poured out Your grace on us and claimed us as Your own.

Today, I pray 2 Corinthians 5:17 Since I now belong to Christ, I have become a new person. My old life is gone; my new life has begun! We’re grateful that the instant we placed our trust in Jesus for salvation and forgiveness of our sins, we became a new creation. We’re grateful You do not leave us as we were. 

I will lift my voice in praise today to proclaim 2 Corinthians 5:21 For my sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him, I might become the righteousness of God. We’re grateful You no longer see our sins but now see Christ’s righteousness in us.

I declare to the skeptical world and to God today the truths of Psalm 103:12 that as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed my transgressions from me. You have chosen not to remember what and who we used to be.

I gratefully pray Ephesians 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because I am united with Christ. Now that we’re called Your children, You have made available to us every spiritual blessing in heaven.

Lord God, You took every dumb thing we did before and turned those things into a testament of Your grace to forgive and forget. Our lives demonstrate how You still make a new person out of someone who acted foolish. We must live in this fallen world until we are home with You, so help us live every day in Your presence. Forgive us when we make bad choices and stumble in our walk with You.

I will pray Hebrews 13:5 and be happy and victorious in life for You will never leave me nor forsake me. We’re grateful You don’t cast us aside but pick us up and help us move forward. I’m grateful it will always be You and me, Jesus.

Grateful for Your incredible love for us, Jesus. Amen.

Poor in spirit Prayer

Good morning, Jesus.

Oh, Lord, before placing our trust in You to save us, we were spiritually bankrupt. When we surrendered our lives to Your Lordship, You took ownership of our spirits. We belong to You, but taking a stand as a Christ-follower in this fallen world will always be a work in progress. Lord Jesus, in one of Your great sermons, you taught that “Blessed, or happy, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). What those people discovered when You walked with them, and what we realize today, is we still struggle with issues that reveal areas of our lives that remain poor in spirit. But the good news is You never leave us on our own to figure it out. Your Holy Spirit within every Christ-follower makes available every spiritual blessing that Heaven has to offer. All Your power, Lord Jesus, is ready 24/7. In our battles with addictions, we call, and Your Spirit gives us Your strength to resist. If we have trouble forgiving, we cry out and Your grace enables us let go and let You deal with those offenders. When we ask, Your Spirit strengthens us to eliminate areas of pride, greed, jealousy, strife, lust, every ungodly trait that keeps us from being all You want us to be. Thank You, Lord, for pouring Your spiritual blessings on those who seek You. Even in the heat of battle, Your grace gives us Your peace, joy and contentment.

Becoming richer Your Spirit, Lord Jesus, Amen.

Working in the Kingdom of God prayer

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Good morning, Jesus.

Today, Lord, may we understand what You meant when You said the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Your Kingdom is all about You, Jesus, not about us. We bow before You to surrender our wills. In this fallen world, we’re still tempted to be self-centered. If we aren’t careful, we slip into the attitude that everything revolves around us [me]. We become the center of our lives and put You in second place. No, You don’t desert us and we lose out on Heaven, but we miss out on blessings You’re eager to bestow on us. We repent for our selfishness. We reject the lie our pride tells us that we’re self-made people.

Our prayer is not for You to do something for us. Instead, we pray You to do something through us. Encourage the downhearted—through us. Help those who struggle with addictions—through us. Strengthen the faith of our weak brothers and sisters—through us. Reveal to the demoralized their value to You—through us. Accept the ones who society has rejected—through us. Show kindness to the stranger—through us. Give mercy to the repentant, to those who need a new lease on life—through us. Be joyful with those who rejoice—through us. Comfort the grieving—through us. Give grace to the offender—through us. Increase our obedience. Open our spiritual eyes to see the kingdom of God is working Your blessings in our lives—through others.

Let us be a part in Your Kingdom, Lord God.  In You, Jesus. Amen.

More of Your Spirit prayer

Good morning, Jesus.

Our request is simple this morning, Lord. We’re not asking for wealth or any material blessings. We’re not wanting praise from men since our pride tends to let flattery go to our head. Our request is simply this: Lord God, give us more of Your Spirit working in our lives so we can be imitators of You in all we do. As Your representatives here—You call us Your “ambassadors”—we want to honor You in all areas of our world. We want to follow Your example of loving others from a pure heart and not from selfish motives. Your Word says in Ephesians 5 how You love us extravagantly, without restraint. May we love that way. Give us resolve, yet with Your comfort, when the love we extend to others is rejected. We can only imagine how You feel, Jesus, when people reject Your love and Your sacrifice for their sins.

By Your grace may we be quick to forgive when we’re unjustly wronged, even if the offender doesn’t think they’ve done anything wrong. Let us give others a second chance, like You have given us second, third, fourth—countless chances. You see our tears and hear our prayers of our children have lost their way. May our faith never waver, knowing You never give up on our prodigal children, but are faithfully reaching out to them to bring them to You. Keep us from a judgmental attitude. May we speak with grace to all we encounter. May Your kindness be seen in us.

Forgive our sins. Heal our land. May those who call You Lord act accordingly.

In Your holy name, Jesus. Amen.

Seeking You Jesus prayer

Good morning, Lord Jesus.

Thank You, Lord, for another week under our belt. As Christ-followers living in this fallen world, we face difficulties daily. We’re not exempt. But, Jesus, since You are our God, we have confidence to face these challenges since Your Spirit living in and working through us is greater than whatever we face. We are touched how the great apostle John tenderly called us “dear children” when he wrote his encouraging epistle of 1 John 4–“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [challenges], because greater is He who is in you than he [devil] that is in the world.” Again, You explain in Proverbs 8 that if we seek You, when we come looking for You, there You are, waving Your hand saying, “Over here!” We acknowledge we need Your help and guidance. Give us Your wisdom to face every challenge. So, Lord, help us trust You in all things, so that we are not rattled when the storms of life rage, or when we find ourselves in the lion’s den. You are faithful to be with us every step of the way. And thank You, Jesus, for the peace you give when life’s “stuff” tries to overwhelm us.

Forgive our sins. Change our hearts to seek You first. Heal our nation. In Your authority, Jesus. Amen.

Good morning, Jesus

Oh, Lord, today we need to love one another as You love us. Our culture needs to experience Your sincere, unconditional love. When did we learn to hate others by judging their value according to their ethnicity, gender or political ideology? Some boast of their [false] love for others to make them look noble in their peers’ eyes, or to make brownie points with You, but You know their hearts harbor contempt for those they feel are inferior. This isn’t anything new, is it Jesus? Man’s heart has been corrupted with fake love since man began interacting with one another. When the apostle Paul observed the hypocritical lifestyles of the Corinthian elites, he set them straight by describing what Your love is. First Corinthians 13, called the Love Chapter, exposed their fake love. Their higher education caused them to boast of knowing everything about anything, or they made sure the public knew their generosity to the poor, while most faked sympathy with empty words from their equally empty souls. God said, all those good works are just a bunch garbage if you don’t have love for others. Those nice words meant to flatter the poor and downtrodden are meaningless is you have no love for them. It is all noise in My ears. Paul then described the details of Your love. Learning to consistently love others is a lifelong process only Your Holy Spirit living within us can teach. Change our hearts, Lord Jesus. Help us to see others not for their flaws but for their value to You. Only by Your Spirit can we learn to love others as You do.

Let us love and forgive one another as You have forgiven and love us, Jesus. Amen.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019 Morning Prayer

Good morning, Jesus.

Lord God, You are our solid rock, the One we lean on when the storms of life in this fallen try to break our spirit. We ask that Your peace will bring calm to our troubling circumstances. The devil uses our troubles in attempting to build a wall to separate us from You, Jesus. Help us cling to You, even when our prayers seem to hit a wall and our circumstances remain unchanged. Help us recognize Your sovereignty. You do not always change our circumstances, but Your Spirit works to change our attitude to accept what You want to do in us. You told us that if we desire to become everything You created us to be, then it would require us to put no one, no entity or any other desire ahead of You (Luke 14). Lord, You know we desire to please You, but we can never live up to what You demand 100 percent of the time. Every day we fail to keep You first in all things, and yet, You never give up on us. This is our prayer, Lord: we give You permission to use our circumstances, whether they are good or not so good, to mold us more into Your image and further Your Kingdom’s work here on earth.

Bless, comfort, strengthen and provide for our friends in Alabama and Georgia, affected by the killer tornadoes that left such devastation. Comfort those who lost loved ones. Extend Your mercy to the survivors. Be the Great I AM they need You to be. Use this tragedy, Lord, to bring diverse people together in unity and may they seek You. Let Your Church rise to the challenge to show Your love and care. Bless and protect all the rescue and recovery workers, firefighters, police, first responders, emergency personnel, the thousands of volunteers, all the medical personnel from across the country who are working tirelessly to serve and heal. We are not Republican or Democrat, left or right. We have no prejudice, no racism, no bigotry—in our humanity, we’re just people helping people.

You are the Great I AM in all circumstances, Jesus. Amen.

March 4, 2019 Morning Prayer

Good Morning, Jesus.

On this cold winter morning, we find our soul’s warmth in You, Lord Jesus. We want to know more about who You are. Reveal to us new revelations of Your character that have been hidden. Show Your glory to Your followers today. Help us understand why You would want to save us when we are such a rebellious and stubborn people. Open our minds to comprehend the extent of Your grace freely poured out on us. Teach us Your paths. Guide us in truth today. Write Your truths upon our hearts and in our minds. The enemy of our souls, the devil, craftily presents lies in attempts to make us doubt if You will keep Your Word to us or not. You are our God. In Your mercy, You have taken our sin debt when we placed our faith in You, Jesus, to save us. May we never stop speaking Your truths to ourselves to remind our inner man of who You are and what You have done for us. Let us never hesitate to speak these truths to one another, to build up one another in our most holy faith. In Psalm 25, King David eloquently wrote how our hope in this life and our eternity is with You, Lord God. Let us live humbly today in the overflowing joy of knowing we belong to You, Jesus.

Thank You, Jesus. Amen.