A Prayer for Peace

We pray for peace, and in our prayer we know
That only Christ can give it — To him we go,
To him we point when others moan and sigh
And want the world to cease its conflicts, try
As it might in human councils. Lord, it takes
Conversion — how well we know — to put the brakes
On man’s agression. Use us as your agents
Of reconciliation, give us patience
To speak and point to Jesus as the way —
To call for our repentance, for comes the day
Of judgment, when every soul’s deep thought is bared
For your appraisal — when only the saints prepared
For the end will enter that city’s calm to share,
When we’ll experience the peace of answered prayer.

Let me forget self

Blessed Savior, let me die to self and to the world that you may be glorified through the fruit born in my life. Let me forget self in order to find life in you.

  • Keep the USA secure today and in the days following the election.
  • Help our people to see how the denominations offer nothing of spiritual benefit, how only the family of faith can transmit your presence and power.
  • Keep the door of opportunity open so that your people may use the internet and other technologies to teach the gospel.
  • Strengthen every good effort for the truth, so that people may understand clearly your eternal plan and the path to enter the kingdom.
  • Make us more generous every day as we understand that all we have comes from you and makes us responsible as stewards for the use of what you have given us.
  • Thank you for so many good resources to understand the Word better. Let us be devoted to knowing your will.

The Saints Are People Just Like Me

The saints are people just like me:
A mix of passion and holy desire,
A fight between the world and heaven,
Decision to make your will prevail,
Commitment to follow the risen Lord.
Make my love for them sincere,
Devotion to your people strong,
Unfeigned and brotherly, deep and pure.
Among us, Lord, be honored and praised,
Your exalted name be glorified,
As we, together, walk in faith,
In fellowship of eternal tones.

God of Mighty Acts and Words

God of gods, Lord of lords,
King of kings, Almighty I-AM,
God of mighty acts and words,
God who promised to Abraham,
Who sent to earth the living Lamb.

Hear us now, O Lord, we plead,
Before your throne your people bow,
Meet us at our point of need,
Come to us in the here and now,
As silent snow on the barren bough.

Cover us with your sacrifice,
Cleanse us by your perfect blood,
Let Jesus for our sin suffice,
None is there but he who’s good,
Who comes again in power and cloud.

Glory to God, to God all praise,
His the honor, his the power,
Pleasant and kind are all his ways,
Devil and demons before him cower,
For us he’s rock and shield and tower.

JRMatheny

Gratitude for coherent vision

Thank you, Lord, for a coherent vision of life. Under your guidance, all things make sense. Those things we’ve not figured out yet, we recognize that you understand and in your time will reveal them, even though it be in the final judgment.

So we trust in you.

Thank you, heavenly Father, for the strength to tackle each day and the power to be different, to make a difference in people’s lives.

So we ask for your Spirit.

Thank you, O God, for revealing your will to the little people in the world, who receive it gladly.

So we seek for it humbly.

Thank you, O Revealer of truth, for free and easy access to your living Word, which guides us, instructs us, transforms us, and gives us hope of eternal life.

So we guard it in our innermost being.

Things that don’t make sense

  1. Zeal without knowledge, Prov 19.2; Rom 10.2.
  2. Riches without wisdom, Eccl 4.13; Mark 10.17-27.
  3. Sex without commitment, Gen 2.24; Heb 13.4.
  4. Hope without reason, Prov 10.28; 1 Pet 3.15.
  5. Faith without obedience, Acts 6.7; Rom 1.5; Jas 2.14-26.

What points might you add?

We never want to see death

What power in Jesus’ words! They shake our world, and challenge our most cherished beliefs. They show our self-reliance to be a sham.

I want to find a place in my heart for his words, O God. Let them penetrate and transform. Let them bring to me the Spirit of truth.

I hear and respond, O Lord. In my hearing and responding, be my Father. We honor the Son, whose day Abraham saw, and we honor the Father, who sent us the Son.

We never want to see death, our Father. So help us to obey the Lord Jesus, whom none can prove guilty of sin.

Use the truth to free us so that we may be really free. As your children, we desire to remain with you forever.

We Ask in Joy

Before you, Lord, a day of prayer and fasting,
We humble ourselves, we praise and plead and bow;
You are our God, the Sovereign everlasting,
You work your powerful will, we not know how;
Oh, hear us, Savior, relieve our anguish soon,
We ask in joy: fulfill your covenant vow,
That in your grace your people might commune.

We have experienced your goodness

Thank you, heavenly Father, for another opportunity this year to focus on prayer. Impress upon our hearts yet again what a privilege it is to be able to have an audience with you at any time. Make this month special to us as we devote ourselves more intently on our prayers and on seeking your face.

We are grateful that when two or three agree in the kingdom and ask that your will be done, that you will do it.

Thank you for hearing us individually when we pray to you in private.

We have experienced your goodness, often shown to us in answered prayers. Let us never be bashful in seeking your blessing for ourselves and our neighbors.

Jesus is our example in prayer, so we praise you for the revelation of his life and relationship with you.

Help us to be more like him every day, in our prayers and in every way.