A Prayer For Purpose

[Roy Lessin]

Father,

My purpose in seeking Christ is that He will be my reward.

My purpose in knowing Him is that He will reveal Himself to me, and me to me.

My purpose in following Him is that He will at all times be before me.

My purpose for enjoying Him is that He might become my dearest friend.

My purpose for praising Him is that He might delight in me.

My purpose for trusting Him is that He might provide my every need.

My purpose for lifting Him up is that all men may be drawn to Him.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

Prayer Of Petition For Christian Graces

[Francis of Assisi]

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.  

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.  For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.  It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.  Amen.

Prayer Of Hope

[By Thomas Merton]

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.  I do not see the road ahead of me.  I cannot know for certain where it will end.  Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.  But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.  Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.  I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and will never leave me to face my perils alone.

The Serenity Prayer

~Reinhold Niebuhr

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

A Prayer of Praise and Petition

[Based on Psalm 90 and the work of John Ballie]

O LORD, through all the generations, You have been our home! Before the mountains were created, before you gave birth to the world, from everlasting to everlasting–You are God! You are not visible to our eyes and we cannot comprehend You with our minds. Your thoughts are infinitely higher than our thoughts and your ways are beyond our understanding. Yet…

•  You have made us in Your image.
•  You have breathed into us Your Spirit.
•  You have given us life both physical and spiritual.
•  You have given us the desire to know You.
• You have inclined our hearts to love You.
• You have put a thirst in our souls to know You.
• You have made us restless until we rest in You.
• You have given us a dissatisfaction with this world and a longing for the next.
• You alone know what lies in me and beyond me.
• Let me embark on no undertaking that displeases You.
• Let me not shrink back from sacrifice nor be insensitive to the needs of others.
• Let me take no step without Your direction.
• Let me engage in no endeavor without Your blessing.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

David’s Prayer In Psalm 139

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Amen!

David’s Prayer in Psalm 19

Clear me O God of hidden faults. Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins, from having proud and insolent thoughts; do not let them have dominion over me. By your grace I shall be declared blameless and by your grace, I shall be proclaimed innocent of transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable to You, O LORD my rock and redeemer. Amen!

Deliverance From The Evil One

[Based on I Peter 5:6-11]

Father, I am no match for Satan but neither is he a match for Your only begotten, my Warrior Savior. If I am to be delivered from the evil one and his schemes, it will be by Your grace. My only hope of victory is to stand on the ground that Jesus conquered and to keep Your armor on at all times. I cannot afford a moment of weakness. I can not endure by low resolve. I must be sober and alert. I must remain vigilant at all times. I must keep in mind that he has deceived many of your servants and ensnared them through some diabolical scheme. Pride is my greatest enemy and it lives within the fort. Father, I seek to humble myself before You. I know that You can do this for me but it is one of the few things that I believe to be best if we do it for ourself. Father, I am not strong nor am I a man of noble character. I often flinch at suffering and sacrifice and I have been known to fear the least reproach. I am nothing a part from Christ my holy Savior. If He was to remove His Spirit from within or His protection from without, I would fall in a split second. In the Mighty name of my conquering Savior, the LORD Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Praise and Thanksgiving For God’s Grace

[Based on the work of Soren Kierkegaard]

Our Father which art in heaven, hold not our sins up against us but hold us up against our sin so that the thought of YOU might be quickened in our souls and each thought of You should enable us to see our wretched sin in light of your perfect holiness. Deliver us always from making more of our sin than we do of Your grace. In the wonderful, majestic name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

A Prayer of Praise and Thankgiving

[Based on Psalm 37]

Father, please grant me the grace not to worry about the prosperity of the wicked–their judgment will come soon enough and I have other things to be concerned about. Help me to trust You will all my heart and to focus on doing the right thing. I want to begin by delighting in You and making my relationship with You the most important thing in my life. Help me to commit my way unto You and to leave all the matters of justice and vindication in Your competent hand. Help me to be still before You and to really listen to what You are speaking. Help me to focus on pleasing YOU and not others or myself. Give me the confidence and courage to do the right thing in every situation. Thank You Father for your faithfulness. Thank You for upholding me with your powerful grace. Thank You Lord Jesus for taking all my sin and shame and for taking care of my enemies: especially sin, death and the devil. Thank You Jesus. It is in Your perfect name Lord Jesus that I make these request. Grant them only for Thy glory. Amen!