Week Of Prayer – Week 8
July 11 – A Prayer of Relinquishment
Today, O Lord, I yield myself to you.
May your will be my delight today.
May your way have perfect sway in me.
May your love be the pattern of my living.
I surrender to you my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions.
Do with them what you will, when you will, as you will.
I place into your loving care my family, my friends, my future.
Care for them with a care that I can never give.
I release into your hands my need to control, my craving for status, my fear of obscurity.
Eradicate the evil, purify the good, and establish your kingdom on earth.
For Jesus’ sake, Amen.
Richard Foster in Prayers of the Heart (New York: HarperCollins, 1994) 24.
July 12 – A Prayer for Emotional Healing
Father, I’m praying for ___________ and others in my circle of family or friends in need of Your healing touch for their hurting hearts. Some of them have received emotional wounds, some of them severe. Help them be willing to let you heal those hurts so they won’t become increasingly destructive over time, for You are the Lord who heals.
I come to You with the same spirit of helplessness and dependence that Moses had when he was leading Your people through the desert. They came to water, but it was bitter and the people had nothing to drink. Moses cried out to You, and You showed him a piece of wood; when he threw it into the water, the water became sweet. I’m now coming on behalf of these who are carrying emotional pain. In my heart I bring the wood of the cross, asking that Christ, who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds, would bring healing to any bitterness He finds in their hearts.
No matter what pain they’ve suffered, help them not to give into anger, resentment, unforgiveness, or bitterness and become captive to sin. May their hearts not become calloused or hard, but refresh them in Christ. May they not lose heart but be inwardly renewed day by day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Jim and Kaye Johns, https://www.womansday.com/life/g25224950/healing-prayers/
July 13 – The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr, beliefnet.com/prayers/protestant/addiction/serenity-prayer.aspx
July 14 – Prayer for Counsel
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 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 I will 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 You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton, womansday.com/life/inspirational-stories/g28783957/daily-prayers/
July 15 – Prayer to Stand Strong
Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today. But I do know that You are my Rock and my Fortress. You are my Shield and my Strong Tower. Help me to anchor myself to You today. Teach me how to stand strong in You and choose only Your way today. Help me walk by Your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as an opportunity to point others to You. Thank You that You love me and nothing can ever take that away from me! Even if I fail today and fall short, You whisper Your unconditional love deep into my soul and remind me that Your mercies are new every morning. That truly amazes me, Lord. Thank You for meeting with me today. Would You wake me again tomorrow with the same sweet whisper of Your love? I can’t wait to meet with You again. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Wendy Blight, womansday.com/life/inspirational-stories/g28783957/daily-prayers/
July 16 – Prayer for Hard Times
Dear Lord, times are really hard right now and life has really got me down. I don’t know what to do. I ask that You bestow Your wisdom upon me. I don’t want to lean on my own knowledge anymore, because it has let me down so many times. I need to hear Your voice. Give me the discernment to hear Your voice and Your voice alone. Speak to me in the way You know I will hear you best. I also pray for Your Will, Lord. I give You the praise and the glory in my circumstances because I know that I am exactly where You want me. I know this is to teach me something or to help me to grow. No matter what, I trust you and ask You to show what is best in this situation. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.
Carrie Lowrance, crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/3-things-to-pray-when-life-gets-you-down.html
July 17 – Blue Grass Prayer
“O Glorious One, we pray that we would bring you glory by completing the work you have entrusted to us. As we go about your ministry and mission, may we know the full measure of Jesus’ joy. As we go about your work in a hostile world, we plead that you would protect us from the evil one who wants to destroy your work in us. And by the power of your word, we ask you would make us holy, a pure bride for our coming Groom. Keep us in love and unity with one another to be a positive witness to the world so they might believe that Jesus is the way to life. We deeply desire to be known as your people so that we can always be with you and see your glory both on earth and in heaven. Amen.”