19th - 25th August 2024
As Christians, we are told to pray often and continually. But many of us, including mature Christians, struggle with prayer – sometimes it seems unrewarding and sometimes we feel we should pray more, or maybe we feel stuck in a routine. And, although we know it is very important, we find the problem hard to talk about. Some people find it easy to pray and others don’t; we all find different ways of praying helpful. What matters is that we get out of our comfort zone and pray – we are told in Scripture to persevere and to learn from others. The more we pray, the easier it will get. We need to make a plan to pray, every day if possible, even if we don’t feel like it – without a plan, it just won’t happen!
I have based this week’s Prayer Diary on the book “Fresh Pathways in Prayer” by Julian Hardyman (with permission!). I’ve known Julian for 40 years and have found his ministry extremely helpful. He has so many helpful chapters that I found it impossible to choose which to use, so I have included a couple of extra “days” at the end!!
Guest Contributor - Belinda Millar
MONDAY
We have been given a model for prayer – the Lord’s Prayer – so that is a good place to start. When we pray, we are talking to our Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We know He wants to hear us pray, incredibly it pleases Him when we do and we can come without fear. God is holy, He should be honoured as such and He is the most important person, not us. We want His kingdom (His rule) to grow and His desires to be done. We must align ourselves with His will. He cares about our needs too. We can ask for practical needs and spiritual needs – seeking forgiveness and protection from evil – we need God’s help to fight spiritual battles. To Him be the glory!
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:9-13
TUESDAY
“God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Luke 18:13
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3
Prayer doesn't have to be complicated – God knows my needs, so a simple request is enough at times. We need to beg for mercy – for we are utterly dependent on God’s grace. We often mess up and need forgiveness. Each day we need to remember He is Lord and so submit to His will.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we can come to you just as we can to an earthly parent. Thank you that you love to hear us pray. And thank you that it doesn’t have to be with wonderfully crafted words – the thoughts of our hearts are what you want us to pray. Help us not to spend time carefully crafting what we think you want to hear but to come simply into your presence and talk to you.
WEDNESDAY
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” Psalm 103:1-2,13
“To the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:25
Sometimes we don’t feel like praying – maybe we are distracted, busy or lethargic. Scripture can really help us pray and the busier we are, the more we need God’s help. The words of the Bible remind us that God is the one and only God, that He deserves praise, that He has done many good things for us. As we fix our eyes on Jesus in love and wonder, as we see Him there, our love and hope will be aroused in personal response to His personal love for us. The Bible reminds us that He is great and deserves our praise whether we feel like it or not and that we will praise Him for all eternity. We can use Scripture to rekindle praise in our hearts and be reminded that He is great and can help us cope with all He asks of us.
God, our Saviour, we worship you for who you are. We praise you for your glory, majesty, power, authority, goodness, love and faithfulness. We confess that at times we don’t want to pray, or just feel we are too busy. Help us to use your Word to inspire us to pray and help us to remember that you deserve praise whether we feel like it or not. Help us to pray in the most difficult times most of all. Help us always to remember to pray and to give you thanks.
THURSDAY
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Sometimes we feel so frazzled that the very idea of focusing on God in prayer seems impossible. We have to choose to set aside what we can’t control and leave it with God, to deliberately calm and quiet our inner selves. Not always easy things to do! We need to seek stillness before God and rest in Him. He both invites and commands us to do that. In God’s presence there is safety and peace. Sometimes I imagine myself in God’s arms and that brings comfort!
Prince of peace, today we come before you and ask that you might still our minds, that you might help us find rest for our souls. We know that you reign and are in control of all our lives, so we ask that as we draw near, you might draw near to us and give us your peace.
FRIDAY
“Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.” Psalm 31:9
“He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
Am I too sad or angry to pray today? We know the world is definitely broken and full of sin and, as a result, we may and indeed should grieve. If we are honest, we often have negative emotions – but these times are perhaps when we most need to pray. There are many examples in Scripture of people crying out to God in this way. Groaning is not the same as grumbling – the first is acceptable before God, the second is not. Thankfully we have a future hope that we will ultimately experience eternal joy. The psalms give us many words to express our pain and God listens and understands. We should be sad when we hear of injustice, we should pray for those in authority to rule well and we should pray that God will work through social breakdown and war to bring salvation.
Thank you, our God and Saviour, that we can come and talk to you however we feel. We praise you because when we are upset, angry, anxious or in mental or physical pain, we can come before you and cry out. You long to comfort us and to heal us. We worship you afresh.
SATURDAY
“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!’’ Matthew 7:11
“Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Mark 14:36
God commands us to ask Him for things and for Him to do things for ourselves and others. We are dependent on Him and need His help. Jesus frequently prayed like this. We should ask for whatever enables us to fulfil God’s will in our lives – food, protection, money, work, relationships, a home – yet we ask in the form “not my will but yours be done.” God knows what is best for us. And we should never want anything more than we want Christ. God plans everything in advance, but He also tells us to pray. He tells us He acts because we pray. We don’t understand this mystery of God, but we have to obey His command to pray.
Father in Heaven, it is amazing to us that you should want us to pray to you, that you want to give us many good things when you have given us so much already. We thank you that you love to hear us pray and you answer our prayers. Help us to look out for answered prayers, even if the answers are not always what we want and help us always to be thankful for how you use our prayers.
SUNDAY
“Pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Ephesians 6:18
We are commanded to pray continually – what does that mean? Maybe it means that we are to pray as a part of what we do throughout the day – maybe during or after a coffee date for example. We are to seek a moment-by-moment relationship with God and to expect the Holy Spirit to prompt us to pray (be ready to listen!) We lift our phones often during the day so we can use our many short spaces to pray too. We can briefly rest in God’s presence during the day and so remember to depend on Him not ourselves. We can repent or pray about a situation or a mood. Our souls will be refreshed if we often remember to get back in step with God.
Heavenly Father, we confess that often we say we are too busy to pray and yet we have plenty of time for our phones! Forgive us for this and help us to remember to pray throughout the day, about all sorts of things. Help us to be led by you and to stay in your path. Help us to bless others with prayer.
Bonus Day 1
Do we feel at times that we aren’t good enough for God? We know we are not what we want to be or should be. Our critical feelings, our nastiness, the shameful things deep inside, or when our mood takes over … Why should God want to listen to sinners like us? And yet God chose us knowing exactly what we are like, the sins we have committed and the ones we will commit. He forgives us when we ask Him to. Jesus came to die for us because He loves us, He has always loved His chosen people. Like the prodigal son, God welcomes us back and draws near, lifting us up. When we feel least worthy of God is when we most need to call out to Him in repentance and trust. And we can be certain He will listen. Whatever we have done, however we feel, He wants us to turn to Him. There is no place so deep we cannot be found.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51: 1-3, 10-12
Bonus Day 2
“It is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge” Psalm 73:28
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus … let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” Hebrews 10:19, 22
God fills the universe; He is near to us and invites us into His very presence. Isn’t that an amazing thought that should make us long to praise Him?! And yet often we feel He is unseen and far away. Again, we need to choose to draw near and seek to know His presence. He calls us to come close, despite our sin and pain. We have access to God through Christ – grasp this fact because it is real. We should live as if Jesus was standing next to us. We can know the security of resting in the reality of His love. God is transcendent, majestic and holy and yet He is present with us. We are loved, we are safe.
Thank you, my God, that although you are great and mighty, beyond our understanding, we can come into your presence and talk to you. Thank you that you are always with us and thank you that this is possible because Jesus died for us to make a way back to you.