Please Pray for These People

TIM

Recently I requested prayers for my relationship with Tim. We had a wonderful time together thanks God answering much prayer. He came to faith in Christ late in life, in his 50s. He had attended Roman Catholic Church as a child. He admitted that he has not read or studied the Bible. He is in a Christian discipleship program at the shelter. He said that will lead him to read the Bible, answer workbook questions and memorize verses. He said that is want he needs at this time but is not sure he will make it to the end of the 10 month program.

During our conversation he asked many excellent questions. That led me to make a list of websites that might help him. I shared them with and put a copy of most of those links to share with others on this blog post.

I gave Tim a copy of the gospel of John. It was printed by Pocket Testament League with helpful notes https://www.ptl.org/code/products.php . Pray for him to read the entire gospel and may the Holy Spirit make the Word alive.

May God guide and bless our future relationship.

RON

I asked prayers for Ron recently that he get more sleep. He has had a very stressful job and he has been processing grief due to the deaths of his mother, brother and girlfriend recently. God made a way for him to get much more sleep because his job responsibilities were changed so that it takes less time and is less stressful.

Pray for him to process his grief and take good care of his health.

PHILLIP

Phillip is a naturally gifted teacher. He is making plans to teach online and offline. May God grant him wisdom and guidance as he explores this new adventure.

He admitted that he hates public speaking. But God keeps putting him into those situations. He will speak to a large church group on Christmas Eve. Pray for that event to go smoothly. And may God guide him to become an excellent public speaker.

I sent him links for Toastmasters Dallas http://dallastoastmasters.com/ and International  http://www.toastmasters.org/

JOHN W.

John has been a male nurse for many years. He left his job to provide hospice care for his father at home as he slowly died. He maxed out his credit cards to stay afloat. Now he is returning to the marketplace to find another job as a hospital nurse. This has been a long and complex process.

Pray for God to soon open the door to the right job. May he get back on his feet financially. May God make a way for him to grieve the loss of his father.

BETTY

Betty has had health challenges with her heart, eyes and hand. She has been to doctors and had tests. May God guide her to the best treatments and make a way for her to afford them.

Prayer for October 9 2014

THANK You God for Nurses

God I say that You have blessed us with nurses and the entire nursing profession.

During my lifetime I have had only wonderful memories of nurses.

I am grateful for those who have dedicated themselves to help others in this way.

Historically there was a time when nursing was very crude.

People suffered and died due to injuries and illnesses.

Apart from proper care that is happening even today in the poorest countries.

You great God gave us humans understandings about nursing and sanitation.

THANK You God for such a gift of knowledge and THANKS for the nurses that use it.

I have spent a few fleeing moment with doctors.

Mostly there was a choppy conversation that led to prescriptions.

But I have spent wonderful times with nurses.

They seemed to care and had the needed aid to apply personally.

There is a convention of nurses in Dallas this week.

That is what got me reflecting on the nursing profession.

Your holy Word says in James 1:17 that every good gift comes from You.

I acknowledge that the nursing profession and nurses are gifts from You.  

Prayer for October 4 2014

God, two months ago I was experiencing many financial challenges.

I prayed much and I requested many prayers.

I drew near to you like never before.

You answered those many prayers in amazing ways.

Recently I have not had financial challenges.

For that I am grateful.

But my prayer life and intimacy with You has decreased.

I have been consistently active in working on ministry projects.

I enjoy these kinds of activities.

They are needed to prepare me for the next season of my life.

On the one hand I seek to draw near t You more and better.

But on the other hand I do not want troubles with my finances, health, safety, etc.

I ask You to gradually work into me healthy habits so I want to pray more.

May I enjoy prayer and intercession more than ever before.

May I become motivated to pray due to genuine love for You and love for others.

May I rest in You and trust You are in control of my life.

This is a season that will end and another season of my life will begin.

I can only take this journey one day at a time.

May I seize the day.

May I learn the lessons of each day.

May you open doors for me to teach the lessons You taught me to the right people.

Prayers for October 2 2015

God I have been inconsistent in writing out my prayers.

I am grateful that Your love and care for me is not dependent on such things.

When I do not renew subscriptions or pay monthly bills then services stop.

But Your love for me does not stop.

Your grace and mercy have no limits.

I honestly want to pray better and more.

But just wanting to do that has never been enough.

I need Your help inside of me to actually improve my habits.

By faith I thank You for Your goodness.

I thank You for Your faithfulness.

May You work in me to write my prayers more often in the future.

Prayers for September 29

I request prayers for wisdom from God for best of uses of my time.

These days I especially want God to guide me in how to best use my time to complete the ebook that 

I have been working on for a long time.

I need many hours of anointed time in the creativity zone free from distractions.

This ebooks casts the vision and presents the gameplan for the launching innovative educational nonprofit named Our Stewardship Community. It will provide educational modules in many languages for those in severe poverty in developing countries. We will sow and grow community centered libraries in remote villages. These will gradually transform lives for generations. The content we will provide includes basics of agriculture, animal husbandry, literacy and Christian Education. The Bible based lessons will gracefully lead many to become born again and to grow as Christians. 

Prayers for September 4 2014

Praise Report

I finally got the crowd funding platform to connect to my Pay Pal account yesterday. That took many attempts over the course of more than a week.

Prayer Request

Today I will be putting the finishing touches on the crowd funding platform. I will be sending out promotional messages.

May God make a way for lots of people I know go there.

May they be favorably impressed.

May they pray, give and promote it to their contacts.

This is a major milestone. God has answered hundreds of prayers. God did a deep work in me to get over my fears of rejection, failure and success. God gave victory over distractions, detours, depression and more. There were lots of technical challenges along the way.

The money raised from this will get the ball rolling. It will pay for marketing tools, start me on the road trips and my living expenses. Then from this momentum I might use crowd funding again to keep moving forward.

It has been a bumpy path along this adventure for many weeks.

God has improved my faith and increase my skills.

I had lunch with a friend recently. I gave him a summary of my dream. And he commented that I was able to communicate the vision and game plan more clearly than ever before. It took these difficult weeks to get to this point.

God has been at work in me to will and do of his good pleasure. (Phil 2:13)

Prayers for September 2 2014

God I honestly thank You for the public transportation system in Dallas.

Today I went on 2 errands using the bus and light rail.

For one reasonable price I traveled many miles.

It was cool inside while hot outside.

It is possible I could have walked to both locations.

But that would have taken all day and been exhausting.

I say that You were behind and with the clever people that set up this system.

Thanks too for the good bargains I made today.

I got great value for reasonable prices. 

Prayers for August 30 2014

God I find myself at the end of this day.

It seems like time flew by faster than normal.

I got deeply involved in completing the project You started me on a long while ago.

The additions and changes I made today took much longer than I expected.

It was all useful and bigger than I had planned.

The text part is about done and the video part will follow.

Help me to relax and not get stressed about how long these creative projects take.

Prayers for August 29 2014

God THANKS for bringing me this far.

I have wanted to quit many times over the years and lately.

You continue to work in me so that I continue to move forward.

Today I completed a project that took much longer than expected.

Tomorrow I might complete another project that has taken a long time.

I admit that I did not naturally have the tenacity to preserver.

But You have been working in me at depth to gain that quality.

It will surely serve me well in the future.

I wish life was easier and smoother.

But it is not.

So perseverance is a great need as is patience.

THANKS again for working those into me for Your glory.

Prayers for August 28 2014

God I have had troubles praying or considering what prayers to request today.

It is just a dull day that requires for me to plod along.

I thank You for the guidance and provisions to make this day possible.

I thank You that I do not need to be in crisis or pain to turn to You.

I thank You that You love me unconditionally on just plain days like today.

Prayers for August 26 2014

My 3 ongoing prayer requests are:
1. Think clearly
2. Choose wisely
3. Be grateful.

Prayers for August 25 2014

God I admit that following Jesus one day at a time is not easy or pleasant.

One of the difficulties is knowing how to measure success.

In the business world they can easily measure success by the amount of net profits. In the athletic world there are scores for games, stop watches for track events, weighs for strength training and more. In the academic world there are grades, certificates, degree and more.

But God in my life dedicated to launching this ministry I have had untold numbers of delays, distractions, setbacks, interruptions and more over these many years. I have estimated how long it would take to complete projects and it always took longer.

It has been a battle to stay focused and motivated.

By Your grace I have grown stronger spiritually and my faith has improved.

But God if I was You then I would have fired me long time ago for taking too long.

God if I could turn off the calling of God on my life and live a normal life I would.

The best advice I have heard over the years is to just focus on staying faithful to You. Then leave the results put to You. That sounds good in theory but doing on a day like today it is challenging.

I am not sure how to pray today except to say THANKS for being there to hear me.

Prayers for August 23 2014

Some Basic ???

May I seek first the kingdom of God with all my heart and soul.

May I trust and obey the Lord Jesus Christ one day at a time.

May I discipline myself to use my time and talents for God’s glory.

May I continue to dive into the Word of God and be a doer of His Word.

May my will be totally surrendered to know and do the will of God, period.

Prayers for August 22 2014

This morning for the first time in many years I was excited to get back into the Bible.

Yesterday I requested prayers to get into a habit of Bible study.

I admitted that I have started and stopped that dozens of times over the years.

Every Bible reading plan rarely lasted more than 2 weeks.

Then last night God gave me an inspiration.

The Holy Spirit built on a Bible study I have stopped and started many times.

This time it has a depth and width that it did not have before.

Like I stated on the prayer request yesterday, maybe I need to study in order to teach.

God has given me many insights and much understanding during the last 4 decades.

There is much I wish others had told me along my spiritual pilgrimage.

I invested much time this morning dealing with how I might pass along what God taught me.

My typical workbench is to use an online mind map.

I set up the five main headings that will organize future lessons.

I am not in a rush to go public with this.

Instead what I hope to do is invest some time each day as part of my spiritual disciplines.

Then in due season this will bear fruit in terms of lessons in the format of audio, video and text.

I have seen interviews of movie directors on the bonus materials of DVDs.

Many of them said I made a movie that I would want to go see.

So I am crafting Bible lessons I wish I had received long ago.

Pray for me to make this kind of study, thinking and lessons preparation a healthy habit.

Believe with me that in due time the fruits of these studies will benefit many others.

Prayers for August 21 2014

This is the season to improve my daily Bible study.

May God guide my plans and actions so that I develop a habit I will stick with consistently. Over the decades I have started and stopped Bible studies more times than I could ever count.

What I have done fairly well is to meditate on key passages during the day and night. I use 3 by 5 index cards to prompt me to focus on those verses that are speaking to my heart.

Maybe I can combine Bible study with meditation.

I enjoy writing and publishing on my blogs daily. So maybe I could combine teaching with my daily Bible study.

I know God wants guide me in this arena. May I be very receptive and responsive. 

Prayers for August 20 2014

title

God Your Word informs me that I have three invisible enemies.

They are the world, the flesh and the devil.

Somewhere and somehow they have been assaulting me.

At this moment I do not know where when and how that has been happening.

But I feel sure that it has happened during the past weeks, months and years.

I ask You for discernment about these matters.

Open my spiritual eyes to see and open my spiritual ears to hear.

I do not want to know all the details.

I do not want spooky visions or nightmares.

I just want to know enough to make important changes.

Make me aware one day at a time of these matters.

May I promptly make adjustments as needed.

May I be willing to forgive those who have hurt me.

May I be willing to humbly confess my sins to You.

May I repent of unhealthy habit patterns.

May You work in me so I walk in fellowship with You more intimately.

May I serve as a bright and shining examples for others to follow.

Prayers for August 19 2014

God it seems that there is far too much to do.
But You can direct my steps.

Lord Jesus Christ guide my plans and actions daily.

May I learn to continually improve at using my time and energy wisely.

May I find balance and harmony along the path You set before me.

May I complete important projects on time with minimum stress.

Help me to gracefully weave meditation and prayer into my routines.

Prayers for August 18 2014

God the path You have put before me is full of uncertainties.

The coming weeks and months will be unlike anything in my past.

I do not know anyone that has gone down this particular kind of path.

I do not yet have mentors or guides to lead the way.

Where I am headed is into new and different kinds of challenges.

I admit that I have been feeling afraid and unsure. 

When I pray and get still I feel sure that You are guiding me.

When I journal I see  and feel the path unfolding in front of me.

I sense that You have been preparing me for this next chapter of my life.

I have an abundance of research, plans and preparations.

But Lord I admit I have felt scared.

I have not been bold and courageous.

I appreciate that there has been some steady progress for weeks.

The best motivational videos say to feel the fear and yet take action steps.

I have been doing that much of the time.

Help me to just keep moving forward.

I tend to quit on the inside several times a day but then restart again.

God I do not know what to pray for just now.

I thank You that You are with me along this journey.

I trust You will continue to provide the needed grace and mercy one moment at a time.

Prayers for August 15 2014

God Make Me More Grateful

God it is easy to want to have more and better things.

I admit that I think about newer computer, new shoes and better meals.

But God I ask you to work deeply in me.

May I genuinely become more content and more grateful for what You have provided.

You have brought me a long ways.

I feel more grateful and express my thanks giving more often.

I just ask You to take that to the next level.

May I gradually and gracefully improve.

May I gain more of an attitude of gratitude.

May I gain more of a genuine heart of thanksgiving.

I am in no rush.

I know You to Your best work slowly.

I will be patient as You reprogram and tune up my innermost outlook on life.

Prayers for August 14 2014

God I have been feeling weary.

The day to day grind has not been yielding the results that I expected. So I feel disappointed with myself. That has led to less enthusiasm about plowing ahead.

If I had the time and money I would ask You to make a way for me to have a vacation. And I hope that will come later.  

What You can do for me soon is to grant me to take a refreshing pauses at one or more oasis. You can guide me to times, places and ways to recharge my spiritual batteries.

Also I ask You to help me plan and use each day wisely. Also may I have balance within each day and week so I do not burn out.

You know how to communicate with me. So I expect you to guide me to greener pastures.

THANKS

Prayers for August 13 2014

God Help Me Make a Big Difference

God I get weary of seeing the images on TV of death and destruction.

I no longer pay attention to the news stories and so I do not feel as depressed.

Guide my life so that I will be Your instrument to bring hope, help and healing.

Clear my pathway and bring me together with likeminded people.

Let us work in coordinated teams.

I cannot stop the bad in the world.

But I want to contribute generously to the good before my last day.

Prayers for August 12 2014

Thank You God for Literacy

Today God I thank You that I can read.

I have spent much time today both reading and writing.

The reading inspired and instructed me.

There would be no use to the writing if others could not read.

I am very fortunate to live in a country with such a high literacy rate.

I have been laboring today toward launching and leading an educational nonprofit.

One of our services will be to help children in developing countries to learn to read.

Reading is such a critical part of our modern life.

I feel honored to enroll many to work with me so the next generation will become readers.

Thanks again for putting that passion in me and fanning those flames lately.

Prayers for August 11 2014

Thank You Lord for Sight

THANK You Lord, for granting me my ability to see.

I am a visual kind of person.

I appreciate the sights and especially the colors every day.

I am grateful for those who have invested in landscaping.

I am grateful for women who dress in beautiful ways.

I am grateful for nature videos that let me see Your creation.

Prayers for August 9 2014

God there are times I feel slightly overwhelmed by how many people there are. I notice huge apartment complexes, sprawling suburban neighborhoods and high rise luxury condominiums. That is just what I see as I travel around this large city. I know there are thousands of other cities with far more people than I can imagine. Yet You know me personally and intimately. Yet You care about me. Yet You have heard and answered my prayers. WOW You are awesome God!

I used to live near a busy airport. I often saw passenger airplanes taking off and landing. Each one had hundreds of people in them. There were that many people coming from that city to this one or going from this city to that one. And later in the day hundreds of more will make the same journey. I see the hotels near the convention centers that must have lots of occupants every night. You are fully aware of all the details of each business trip, vacation and visit to family. Your mind is so vast that it staggers my understanding. And all this is based on my passing observations. Yet You are fully aware of each of my thoughts, feelings, intentions and more. WOW You are an awesome God!

God You know that I can get very depressed if I pay too much attention to the news. I can feel distressed to notice grown up acting so foolishly. There seems to be no end of how humans can harm one another with street crimes and wars. You gave us free will. You led us to create laws. You help law enforcement. But still there is violence, injuries and death. Lord I do not get it. I know You are a good God and You are powerful and You are love. But we sure make a mess of things. You have given us Your holy Word. Clever people have attempted to use Your Word to explain our mess. None of them have fully explained all the craziness. But in Your Word You did promise that after this life there will be a place of eternal rest. We will not have this spiritual darkness. We will be in a haven saturated by Your love and truth.  WOW You are an awesome God!

Prayers for August 8 2014

THANKS God for Practical Blessings

God today and right now I pause.

I genuinely THANK You for some very practical blessings in my life.

THANK You Lord for

Air conditioning

It has been very hot outside today. That is normal for this time of year in Dallas. But even after a short walk I broke out into a sweat. I was glad to get back inside and cool down. I was able to focus on my writing instead of the weather.

Flush toilets

God today I have been writing about those many millions in developing countries. Those in remote villages have never seen a flush toilet or even a latrine. Wow I am blessed to have such a device in my life all these decades.

Plenty of Water

What got me into seeking and finding ways to help those in developing countries was deep concern that they have enough water. Thank you Lord that I have access to plenty of good water.

Prayers for August 7 2014

God Help Me Manage Time Better

Lord help me to become a more effective steward of my time.

Guide me in setting wise priorities and smart goals.

May I minimize distractions daily.

May I focus on the most important projects.

May I give myself fully to complete the tasks.

Lead me to develop ways to better balance my life.

Help me to make my times of prayer and Bible study a top priority.

Prayers for August 6 2014

Lord God I THANK You for Your grace and mercy.

These recent weeks have been stressful.

You have made a way for my basic needs to be met.

You have sustained my health and strength.

I have enough restful sleep.

My digestion and elimination have been good despite the unusual kinds of foods.

You have improved my faith in Jesus Christ.

You have improved my prayer life.

THANKS

Prayers for August 5 2014

Thankful for Health Care Fields

This morning I overheard a man say he was going in for surgery today.

I did not know the man or the kind of surgery.

That reminded me of the whole field of surgery.

I considered that surgery is not possible without anesthesiology.

It is a little amazing that a patient can have minor or major surgery and not feel it.

There are those in the field of anesthesiology that are critical but do not get much recognition.

That led me to think of other areas of health care that I feel grateful for today.

I have had many dental challenges all my life.

I have had lots of fillings, braces, crowns and now dentures.

I am glad that my dentures fit and work so well.

I can eat foods I could not before these dentures.

The field of dentistry is amazing.

I wear reading glasses that are 3.0 magnification.

I had my eyes examined and got costly prescription glasses.

But they broke and I could not afford to replace them.

Instead I got some readers from the discount store for only 6 dollars.

They have been working great for a very long time.

I cannot read without these.

The whole field of eye care is amazing

Then I was thinking about the field of prosthetics.

Those who were injured can get an artificial replacement.

This includes feet, legs, arms, hands and more.

There are videos of wounded soldiers using them.

Also those that were in auto accidents or sports injuries use them.

This whole field is amazing.

Finally I thought about how while many have access to these others do not.

My heart hurts sometimes when I see videos of those in developing countries.

They do not have access to the most basic health care.

There are children dying daily of preventable diseases.

There are parents that cannot afford medicines for their children and for themselves.

I am grateful for those organizations that have been reaching out to help them for decades.

There are more than 7 billion people on our shared planet.

I was fortunately to have been born into the top 1 billion.

Those in the bottom 2 billion barely survive on less than 2 dollars a day.

I have been working hard on launching an educational nonprofit.

It will be used to help bridge that gap with awareness, links and educational modules. 

Prayers tor August 4 2014

Simplicity of the Gospel

God I thank You for the grace and simplicity of the gospel message.

You have revealed Your saving power to all kinds of people all over the globe.

They have become born again into the forever family of God.

I thank You for the hope of heaven our eternal resting place.

Thanks for the promise of the resurrection body.

Prayers for August 2 2014

Thanks for the Blessings

I take this time God to THANK You again.

Thanks for the many blessings You have been providing.

I could make a long list of spiritual blessings and I might do that later.

But today I thank You for these temporal blessings.

My health

A place to sleep that is clean and safe

A place to work during the day that has:

air conditioning

WIFI

a place to plug in my laptop

My laptop that keeps working great

The various online services I use each week

The Internet including all the many people and computers that make that happen

My cell phone

The safety and cleanness of the downtown district – it was not this way decades ago

The religious freedoms that the USA has

The Bible translated into my mother tongue

Easy access to flush toilets – that many millions around the world do not have

Many choices of food at the grocery store and when I eat out

Especially treats like: chocolate, premium ice cream, ripe fresh fruit, candy

Prayers for August 1 2014

God what follows are some Bible verses that I am not sure what they mean or how they apply. So I ask You for Your wisdom and insights about these matters.

God Your Word says that if a person loses their life for the gospel and Your sake they will find it. (Matt 10:39)

Your Word says we are in the world but we are not to be of the world. (John 15:19)

You said to seek first the kingdom of God and promised all these things will be added to us including food and clothes. Matt 6:33

Prayers for July 31 2014

Father God Your Word has thousands of verses and some of those are difficult for me to understand. I can read the words but I am not sure how to interpret them and make personal application. I have not heard much great teaching or preaching about some of these most challenging verses. So I ask You to grant me Your wisdom from above and Your insights. Keep it simple God for I tend to make my life too complicated. Some of the verses I refer to deal with how Jesus said that if a person wants to become His follower they must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Him. This appears in Luke 9:23, Mark 8:34, Matthew 10:38 and Luke 14:27. I seek to understand and apply the whole counsel of Your Word. Then I might know You better and by my example make You known better.

Father God Your holy Word gives hints of the reality of spiritual warfare that is happening all the time. You led Paul to go into some detail about the armor of God in Ephesians 6. I have witnessed those verses taught to children many times. There have been lots of clever ways used to teach children about those few verses. But what I want to know is how do those verses related to me as an adult in my daily life? How to I put on the whole armor of God? How to I use it day and night as I go about my ordinary responsibilities? How do I include this in my prayer life in my private prayer closet? You have given me the Holy Spirit that amazingly dwells inside of me. Surely He understands spiritual warfare. Surely the Holy Spirit and Your dear Son can train me in using the armor You provided. I admit that there is a part of me that does not like to fight. But when I think of fighting it is me against another human. These verses say my real battle is with spiritual forces. I cannot just opt out of the conflict. It is happening. So I must learn to use what You have provided so I will gain spiritual victories for Your glory.

While we are on the subject of hard to understand Bible verses what about the Lord’s Supper. Your Word clearly states that You ordained for us to observe this ordinance. Honestly I have felt very disappointed that most churches gather around the communion table so infrequently. There are some local churches that are the exceptions when they observe it often and for those I am grateful. Yet God out of Your whole Word this is one of the most mystical lessons that has personal application. I admit that I desire to go deeper and wider in my understanding of what You have for me in partaking of the bread and the cup. I ask You to guide into greater comprehension and more childlike faith on these matters. I am in no rush. I will likely live many more years. So I request for your to gradually and gracefully take me into this arena with You. 

Prayers for July 30 2014

Lord Jesus Christ Your Word says we are to love you with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. WOW I am not sure what that means. I do not know if I have ever met a person that loved You that totally. That verse uses the term all several times. All is repeated with the mention of heart, soul, strength and mind. So obviously there is lots of room for improvement in my life. Please work in me and through me to love You more and better.

Your Word goes on to say we are to love our neighbor as ourselves in Luke 10:27. That seems so simple because there are so few words. But again I am not sure I have been an effective doer of Your Word. Please work in me and through me to love my neighbor more and better.

The Bible has 66 books with thousands of verses. Many of those verses are easy to understand on the surface but very challenging to apply on a consistent basis. I know that You gracefully do spiritual transformations from the inside to the outside. You use Your Word and the gentle Holy Spirit to gradually make the lasting changes. I just again surrender my will to know and do Your will. I look unto You to complete the good work You began in me. I expect great things to happen for Your glory. 

Prayers for July 29 2014

Thank You Lord that You are the Lord of all the ordinary days. I do not need to be in a crisis or on a mountain top to have Your love and grace.

THANKS again God for the wonderful friends You have put in my life. And thanks for the cell phones that let us connect so easily.

Thank You Lord that we have such easy access to drinking water. There are many millions of people all around the world that do not have easy access to drinkable water. Please work in my life so that my time and talents can lead them to workable solutions that are sustainable. May many more people have much easier access to drinkable water because You used me to enroll and work with partners who made this happen.

Prayers for July 29 2014

God You gave us Your holy Word. It has thousands of verses. Some of those are full of inspiration and comfort. But other verses are full of challenges and conviction. I admit that I am like others. I tend to steer away from those Bible verses that I do not like. You stated that without faith it is impossible to please You. You made it clear that faith needs to be accompanied with works. That is easy to say but God it is not easy to apply. Just like most folks I would rather drift along in the river of life. I do not prefer to swim upstream against the currents of worldliness, carnality and idolatry. God I seek to know You and please You with every moment of my life. Let me be conformed to the character of Christ by hearing then doing Your Word.

God as You know I have been on this Christian path for a few decades. I my journey has taken me far and wide in terms of the variety of believers I have met. I have met many Christian women that had an intimate prayer life but I have met very few Christian men that had such a prayer life. I am not attempting to compete with men or get into a self righteous rut of religion. What I want God is to become all that You have created me to be and to fulfill Your call on my life. Lord like Your disciples asked You I am asking You to teach me how to pray. May I pray prayers that are in alignment with Your Word and prompted by the Holy Spirit.

God You have bountifully blessed the USA for centuries. This nation has an abundance of natural resources and lots of hard working people. You gave our founding fathers great wisdom and courage to start this republic. God I am grateful for the religious freedoms we have enjoyed here. Lord I have often felt badly that we have so much while those in some other countries have so little. Please cause more American Christians to lift up their eyes and see the desperate needs internationally. Guide them in how they can make a difference. Let them know that their contributions to missionaries and international mission agencies will have an eternal impact. Raise up and send out workers into Your harvest.

Prayers for July 28 2014

Father God Your Word says we who have been born again have direct access to You due to the finished work of Your Son on the Cross. Direct access to You is a wonder and a privilege. It is possible only because Jesus Christ had been totally obedient unto His death. His substitutionary sacrifice opened this way for prayer and praise. Yet I confess Father God that I neglect to pray much or well. I hardly ever praise You in my prayer closet alone. I have been the beneficiary of such great grace due to Your gospel but I fail to take advantage of what You did for me. It would not help for me to wallow in my guilt about this spiritual laziness. Instead help me in the coming days, weeks and months to better appreciate this direct access due to what Your Son did. Guide me to gracefully and gratefully improve my spiritual disciplines.

Lord Jesus Christ You said in the Great Commission of Matthew 28 that You are with me and You have all power. I admit that mentally and emotionally I doubt those promises. I do not fully believe You are here with me in the ordinary challenges of life. And I do not fully trust You have all power to help me. May I come to more deeply know that You understand me and my life. May I look to You by faith in prayer to use Your power is graceful ways to solve my problems and meet my needs.

God here I am on this earth for yet a while longer. Someday I will finally go to live with You in heaven for all eternity. Here I am as a pilgrim just passing through this temporal world. Your Word says I am a citizen of heaven so that is my true home. I will receive a resurrection body that will be more wonderful than I can possibly imagine while here. Meanwhile God there is this tension between taking care of my physical needs while also growing spiritually. God it is not easy sometimes to discern between what are my real needs and what are just my wants. Help me to navigate the abundance of options. Lead me in setting wise priorities. May my plans and actions lead to a lifestyle that is Christ honoring. Guide me in living a balanced life for Your glory.

                                                                                                                                                                       

Prayers for July 27 2014

Jesus Your Word declares that one of the reasons You came was to reveal the Father. And You were successful to do that to those who followed You during Your brief visit to earth. I ask You to reveal the Father more and better to me. Work inside my inner most being so I will know the Father in wider and deeper ways. May You gradually and gracefully do that revealing so that I really sticks with me.

Jesus Your Word says that when we are reborn then we are children of God. That is such a simple term but surely there are layers of meaning and application. I ask You for wisdom and insights about what it means for me to be a child of God. Renew my mind with Your Word related to this. May this also relate to my knowing God as my Father in a greater way.

Truthfully I like it when Christians call one another Brother and Sister. I was visiting a church recently and the man I met wrote his phone number on my index card and listed his name as Brother Kevin. I heard other members of this tiny church as referring to one another as Brother X or Sister Y. I accept that most Americans do not like that. But I pray that in my heart I will relate to all those called by Your name as closely and kindly as if they were my cherished brothers and sisters.

Prayers for July 26 2014

Hating Sin While Loving the Sinner

God there is that saying about hating sin while loving the sinner. That is so easy to say. It is just a combination of words. But the practice of that is not natural.

You are our grand example and You do it perfectly all the time.

It seems that most Christians get out of balance by ignoring one part or the other part. They tend to hate sin in others and tilt into self-righteousness without any compassion for the sinner. Others can tend to get so soft with the sinner that they ignore or neglect the sins.

Then there are many who just drift along in life and do not take a second thought for anyone but me and maybe my immediate family.

Lord God I pray for You to help me find the right balance in my life. Let me learn how to suitably hate sin while loving the sinner.

I do not request super challenging ways to learn this lesson quickly. Just please gracefully weave this into my life during the coming years. May others notice that Christ like quality of my character that was Your workmanship.

Amen 

Prayers for July 25 2014

God I admit that I wish my life unfolded much faster. I confess impatience. That just reminds me of how extremely patient You are with me and others. Thank You again for Your wonderful patience You have shown toward me over the years.

God I admit I wish life was much easier. I confess I can be lazy. I do not like doing unpleasant things and I tend to avoid them. God gently guide me to suitably embrace the challenges You have put along my path. Please guide me from making my life overly complicated and difficult by taking on more than You know is best for me.

God this crazy world is seriously messed up. The news reports can be depressing and distressing. I am glad You understand all the issues in the Middle East because that is far beyond my mental capacity. I choose to leave all the details up to You. May I find Your way for me to make a useful and lasting contributions to this passing world during my remaining days.

Prayers for July 24 2014

God Your Word says to care all my cares on You knowing You care for me. (1 Peter 5:7) That is so simple yet so challenging. Lord may I improve in how often and how well I cast all my cares on You. And may I know more deeply inside that You do truly care for me.

God Your Word says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) Again You packed so much truth into so few words. It is easy to understand the meaning of the verse but to apply it consistently takes Your grace and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Help me Lord to live out this verse in my soul.

In Your Word You go on to say in Proverbs 3:6 to acknowledge You in all my ways with the promise that You will make my paths straight. May I abide by the conditions of this precious promise and enjoy the provisions.

Prayers for July 23 2014

Lord God today it is difficult to even write a prayer. I trust You are who the Bible says You are. You continue to have unconditional love for me. You understand all the details of my life. But God at this moment I do not know what to requests. So I ask You to bless me in ways that help the most both internally and externally.

God You have brought me a very long ways and through various difficulties. You have done a great work inside my soul. That work is not nearly complete. So I trust that as You began it You will complete it.

God I can see the people on the sidewalks and in the vehicles. All I see is their external reality. I see the clothes, hair and other things they are willing to show others. You God see inside each and every heart. You know the needs, wants, desires, hurts, fears, dreams and possibilities of every human. God You have blessed me with understandings of Your holy Word. That is what will set people free. I am not asking to become a rude street preacher or self righteous religious person. God I knock that You open the right doors right on time for me to speak the truth in love to those who are made ready by You. 

Prayers for July 22 2014

God Your Word says that You are the Potter and we are the clay. That is a simple and strong image. I accept it and respect what that implies. But there are times I do not like it. I am not complaining. I just wish my life unfolded in ways that were more fun and less uncertain some times.

God I find myself in relationships with different kind of people. You are a good God that loves each one of them. You know how to communicate Your will to both me and them. We do not always hear real well and we do not always obey perfectly. But still You work with us. Let me be ever more diligent to trust and obey the Lord Jesus Christ one day at a time. May I take care of my business and let You take care of the rest.

God let me know deep inside that You really do hear and answer prayers. Let my doubts and fears dissolve and may my faith in Your Son improve based on hearing Your Word. 

Prayers for July 20 2014

Prayers for July 21 2014

Your Word says that Jesus Christ is the True Vine. We are the branches. And we can bear good fruits only as we abide in the True Vine. That is simple yet profound. May I learn to abide more and better in the True Vine. May I trust You to prune me as a branch so that I will bear more and better fruit. May I not discount my abiding and fruit bearing. But leave the outcomes up to You.

God I want to get more done faster. I sometimes hate how slowly I progress. I get impatient with myself and the processes. It never helps to beat myself up. Lord may I be patient with myself like You are patient with me.

God there is so much to be done. My To Do list is long and complex. I am ready and willing to apply myself. But I need to pace myself so I do not burn out or get discouraged. Work with me as my personal trainer deep in my soul so that there is steady progress for Your glory.

Prayers for July 20 2014

God Your Word states that Jesus Christ is the Head of the body of Christ. That is an eternal and settled fact. But Lord why is it that so many Christians I have known have had a such a hard time finding a local church home where they are glad to stay and served for many years? Please give me a little insight about this and lead me to help improve these matters for those who will come behind me.

God there are many kinds of local churches and denominations. During the past decades I have been a member of a wide range of these. Why do they not communicate, collaborate and coordinate better when it comes to community outreach and other matters. Please give me a little insight about this and lead me to help improve these matters for those who will come behind me.

God those young people in their teens and twenties are online many hours each week. They are interacting with a wide range of materials for a variety of purposes. During the coming years I ask You to make a way for me and the ministry You birth from me to intersect their online paths. May the Good News of Your gospel message be presented in ways that are appealing and compelling. May You draw them to saving faith. May they gracefully grow in their faith. May we work together to trust and obey the Lord Jesus Christ. May You form us into flexible teams that fulfill Your great commission for Your glory.

Prayers for July 19 2014

God the Bible says You are the Creator. I can witness Your handiwork at the zoo, at the planetarium, on nature videos and in the backyard. I can see the external parts of what You made. I can look in the mirror and see my exterior. But God I also have an interior. You created me with a special combination of personality, spiritual gifts, talents, passions and so much more. There have been times You sent to me tests to help me understand better my interior. For those times I thank You.

God I am not getting any younger. Every day that passes brings me closer to my last day in this physical body on this earth. Lord I ask You to reveal to me with clarity and simplicity the passions You put inside my soul. Help me to better understand my divine design. What are the motives, intentions, drives, desires and other factors You wove into my inner being. I want to know these so that I can better use my time, energy and money to do Your will for Your glory.

God the video You sent to me recently said that it is wise to clearly express my passions. This will both energize me and guide me in enrolling others to support the vision for the ministry. That seemed like a simple assignment but God I have gotten tangled up in the many thoughts, feelings, memories, concerns, Bible verses and much more. God move inside of my mind and heart. Help me to come to some useful conclusions in the short term that You can improve and refine later.

Prayers for July 18, 2014

God all I can do and all we can do is our best one day at a time. That involves planning, organizing and implementing. We can do our best to get the job done. But there are always interruptions and distractions. We can work long and hard on projects. But the results are up to You. Like Your Word says we can do all things through Christ who strengths us but apart from You we can do nothing.

God guide my intentions, plans and actions. May my life be a testimony of how You worked through me for Your purposes.

God there are so many ways to waste my time and energy. Keep me from those ways that might drain me. And keep me steadily working to accomplish good works for Your glory.

Prayers for July 17 2014

God I thank You that You are totally perfect. There is no possible way for You to improve. You put in us a deep desire to become like You. But that will always be impossible while we live in these earthly bodies. Help me and us to both aim for excellence while accepting our imperfections.

God I cannot ever be justified by any good works I do. My acceptance by You is due to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Yet You put in me a desire to do good works to shed Your truth and love with others. Help me to be zealous for good works in ways that please You.

God You have provided 24 hours in each day. May I be led by my Good Shepherd in how to most wisely use my time each day, week and month. May there be balance, harmony, rest, productivity and enjoyment.