Lord, we read the daily news. We wonder, ‘What’s going to happen next?’

‘One disaster follows another. The whole land is ruined… My people are fools. They don’t know Me… They are experts in doing wrong, and they don’t know how to do good’ (Jeremiah 4:20,22). Lord, we read the daily news. We wonder, ‘What’s going to happen next?’ We ask, ‘Where will it all end?’ Are we to give …

Lord, what are we to do when… ?

Lord, what are we to do when we face determined opposition from people who refuse to listen to what Your Word is saying to them? Lord, teach us to pray. Teach us to take our problems to You - and help us to leave them with You. When troubles come our way, help us to …

The Importance Of Prayer In The Advance Of The Gospel

Notice the importance of prayer in the advance of the Gospel. They were looking for a prayer meeting when Lydia was saved (Acts 16:13-14). They were going to a prayer meeting when the girl was saved (Acts 16:16-18). They were having a prayer meeting when the jailer was saved (Acts 16:25-34). They had gone to …

Help us, Lord, to serve You every day of the week.

Lord, You're calling us to serve You. We're to serve You in the world. Before we can serve You in the world, there must be this: "ministering in the House of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 26:12). Part of our worship involves the dedication of "gifts for the maintenance of the House of the Lord" (1 …

The friendship of the Lord and the fear of the Lord

‘The fear of the Lord leads to life’ (Proverbs 19:23). ‘The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him’ (Psalm 25:14). Lord, we read these words, and we think, ‘What a strange combination – friendship and fear!’ We ask, ‘How can there be friendship where there is fear?’ Here, we have a special …

Marvellous things

‘O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your Name… You have done marvellous things’ (Isaiah 25:1). We remember what You, Lord, have done for us. You sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Saviour. We rejoice in Jesus. He died for us. We rejoice in Jesus. He rose again …

May our personal faith become our public testimony.

We thank You, Lord, for Jesus Christ – ” a Banner for the nations”, “the Saviour of the world” (Isaiah 11:12′ John 4:42). We thank You that He has “died for the sins of the whole world.” This is “Good News” for “all the world.” It’s a call to receive the “forgiveness of sins.” It’s …

Lord, it’s Your love for us that calls us to love You (prayers based on the book of Nahum)

Nahum 1:1-2:9 ‘Fulfil your vows’ (1:15). Lord, You're calling us to be faithful to You. We are to be faithful in worship. We are to be faithful in reading Your Word. We are to be faithful in prayer. We are to be faithful in giving. We are to be faithful in witness. Our faith is …

What, Lord, are we to do when things seem to be going from bad to worse?

“My guilt  has overwhelmed me. Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear” (Psalm 38:4). What, Lord, are we to do when things seem to be going from bad to worse? What are we to do when everything seems to be falling apart? When, Lord, we are “completely devastated” and our “heart is …

Jesus Is Our Light.

“The light of the righteous rejoices” (Proverbs 13:9). We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is our Light. He’s “the Light of the world” (John 8:12). In Him, we rejoice (Romans 5:11 – “the blood Of Jesus, Your Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). We thank You that, through Jesus, You have “called …

Help us, Lord, to listen to what You’re saying to us before we start telling other people what we think You should be saying to them.

Job 20:1-29 Lord, we read Zophar’s detailed description of “the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God” (Job 20:29). We wonder if Zophar has ever thought of asking the question:’ Help us, Lord, to learn from Zophar ‘Does all of this apply to Job? Is Job a wicked man? Is …

Help us, Lord, to rise above the sarcasm of those who have no time for Your Word.

Jeremiah 40:1-16 ‘The Lord your God pronounced this evil against this place; the Lord has brought it about, and has done as He said. Because you sinned against the Lord, and did not obey His voice, this thing has come upon you’ (Jeremiah 40:3). Lord, we hear a great deal today about ‘the feel good …

Let us rejoice and be glad in God’s salvation.

“This is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us… Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:9). Lord, we remember what You have done for us. We remember Your  Son, Jesus Christ. We rejoice in Him. He died for us. He rose again for us. We look forward to His …

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus comes to us in love.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus comes to us in love: "the voice of my Beloved! Look! Here He comes" (Song of Solomon 2:8). We thank You that He calls us to come to Him: "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away" (Song of Solomon 2:10). He calls us to belong to Him …

Life is empty without You, Lord.

Life is empty without You, Lord. You fill our lives with Your blessing. You give to us new life, abundant life, eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:17; John 10:10; 1 John 5:11-12). All of these blessings come to us through Jesus, Your Son. He brings us out of emptiness. He brings us into a life that …

Lord, You’re calling us to worship You with the dedication of our lives and not only the words of our lips.

Jeremiah 19:1-20:6 ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stubborn and would not listen to My Word’ (Jeremiah 19:15). Lord, You're warning Your people. You're calling us back from the way of sin and disobedience. You're calling us to …

Lord, our life is lived in different places.

Lord, our life is lived in different places. Sometimes, we’re in the place of worship. Sometimes, we’re out in the world – the place of witness. Always, You are there. Wherever we are, You are there. You strengthen our faith when we’re gathered for worship. You help us to share our faith when we go …

“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered You, Lord, and my prayer rose to You, to Your holy temple" (Jonah 2:7).

Where does this remembering come from? It comes from the Lord. He puts the prayer into our hearts. Jonah was running away from God. God was drawing Jonah back to Himself. Like Jonah, we lose our way in life. That's when we need to hear the wonderful words of Jesus, our Saviour. He tells us …

The closer we get to Jesus

The closer we get to Your servants, the smaller they become. Jesus is different - very different. The closer we get to Him, the bigger He becomes. Help us, Lord, to make less of Your servants and more of our Saviour. We speak about this one, and that one. Sometimes, we say good things. Often, …

My soul is full of trouble. How can we be helped when we feel like this?

Lord, we see the Psalmist ‘down in the dumps.’ He feels like he is ‘in the depths of the pit.” He feels like he is ‘in the darkest depths’(Psalm 88:6). This is the way he feels, but he has not stopped praying – ‘O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out …

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has risen from the dead.

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus has risen from the dead (Luke 24:6). Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24). He has triumphed over death – “Where, O death, is your victory? … Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Teach us, Lord, to obey Your Word. Lead us on the pathway of blessing.

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel: The end!’ (Ezekiel 7:2). Why, Lord, did You say, ‘This is “the end? ”’You had been taking a good look at what was going on among His people: ‘the utterly detestable things the house of Israel is doing here, things that will drive …

Lord, help us to listen to Your Word.

Lord, help us to listen to Your Word, walk in Your way and "worship You in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). These are the things that matter most. Are they our priorities? We know, Lord, that they should be our priorities - but we are often distracted. We lose our focus. Other things become …

Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, went to the Cross for us.

Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, went to the Cross for us. It was our sin that sent Him to the Cross. He took our sin upon Himself. He took our place. We were the ones who should have died – but He was the One who died for us. We look at …

Praying Through God’s Word: Jonah

JONAH 1:1-2:10 ‘Salvation comes from the Lord’ (Jonah 2:9). We can never save ourselves. We can only be saved – by You, Lord. Left to our own devices, we ‘flee from Your presence.’ We ‘run away from You’ (Jonah 1:3). Sin – This is the story of our life. Salvation – This is the story …

We thank You, Lord, for Your salvation and Your victory.

We thank You, Lord, for Your salvation and Your victory. Help us to walk with You in salvation and victory, obeying Your command – “Clothe yourselves in humility”, heeding Your warning – “God opposes the proud”, and trusting Your promise – He “gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Lord, Your way is the best way.

Lord, Your way is the best way. We, often, wander off on our own. We forget that we are called to follow You, to walk in Your footsteps. Again and again, we need to be reminded that Your way is the best way. Help us to see that Your way is a wonderful way, even …

Lord, You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted.

‘You, O Lord, are exalted for ever… The Lord reigns, He is robed in majesty…’(Psalm 92:8; Psalm 93:1-2). You, Lord, are ‘exalted’. Help us to exalt You in our worship. You are not exalted because we exalt You. We exalt You because You are exalted. You are ‘exalted far above all gods’. That is why …

Shine Your Light Upon Us, Lord.

‘Arise, shine; for your Light has come... the Lord will be your everlasting Light’ (Isaiah 60:1,19-20). We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus Christ is ‘the Light of the world’. When we ‘follow Him’, we ‘will not walk in darkness’. We ‘will have the light of life’ (John 8:12). We are living in difficult …

We rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness.

We rejoice in Your love. Help us, Lord, not to forget Your holiness. You fill us with Your love. You call us to be holy. Lead us, O Lord, in Your way of love. Lead us in Your way of holiness. It won't be easy - walking with You on Your pathway of holiness. When …

What great love, Lord, You have for us.

Leviticus 27:1-34 What great love, Lord, You have for us. There is no love like Your love for us. It's the best love! What joy You give to us - the joy that comes from knowing that we are loved with "everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3). Help us, Lord, to rejoice in Your love, to be …

Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom.

“Do not be over-righteous and do not be over-wise” (Ecclesiastes 7:16). Help us, Lord, not to take pride in our own righteousness or our own wisdom. Help us to trust in Christ – “our Righteousness and our “Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:30). “Through faith in Him, we are made righteous” and we become “wise for salvation” …

When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top experience seems a long way off.

We read, Lord, about ‘the Valley of Vision’ (Isaiah 22:1,5). You are to be our Vision: ‘Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art, Thou my best thought, by day or by night, waking or sleeping Thy presence my light.’ When we’re down in the valley, the mountain-top …

When we really begin to see things from Jesus’ point of view, we will follow Him.

"Jesus was going to Jerusalem"  - to be "betrayed", "condemned to death" and to "come back to life" (Mark 10:32-34). Hallelujah! What a Saviour! "Teacher, we want you to do us a favour" (Mark 10:35) - This sounds so self-centred. What does Jesus say about this? - "Whoever wants to be great among you will …

Lord, living for You isn’t easy.

Genesis 16:1-16 Lord, living for You isn’t easy – Satan makes sure of that! We try to escape his evil clutches – but he’s always there, and he’s up to no good! Satan is such a determined enemy. Help us to remind him that he’s a defeated enemy. We’re often tempted – and we feel …

Help us, Lord, to keep on choosing Your way.

1 Samuel 2:1-36 Lord, there are two ways of living. There's the way of holiness and joy, the way of living in the strength of Your Spirit. There's the way of living to please ourselves, living without the joy that comes from You, living in the weakness of the flesh. Help us, Lord, to keep …

Help us, Lord, to look beyond our earthly life. Give us a life-changing glimpse of our glorious future.

‘I am with you to save you’. This, Lord, was Your Word to Your people. You assured Your people that their ‘captivity’ in Babylon would not last forever. You gave Your promise to them: ‘I will restore the fortunes of My people... I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their …

Help us, Lord, to build our life on Christ, ‘the solid Rock.’

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son,  Jesus Christ, is ‘the precious Cornerstone’. He is ‘the sure Foundation’ (Isaiah 28:16). Jesus is the Name of our salvation – ‘Salvation is found in no-one else… there is no other name… by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:10-12). There is only one ‘Foundation’ for our faith – …

Lord, You call us to put our faith in Christ – and to be faithful in prayer (prayers based on Ezekiel 21-22).

Ezekiel 21:1-32 Lord, we read about ‘the time of final punishment’ (Ezekiel 21:25,29). Your Word speaks to us about ‘eternal punishment’ as well as ‘eternal life’: ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment’ (Matthew 25:46; John 3:36). Lord, You …

Amazing Grace – This Is Worth Repeating Over And Over Again!

Lord, there are some things that are worth repeating! The story of Your amazing grace is worth repeating over and over again - ‘Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress’(Psalm 107:6,13,19,28). The call to praise You is also something we need to hear again and …

Lord, You’re calling us to serve You.

Lord, You're calling us to serve You. We're to serve You in the world. Before we can serve You in the world, there must be this: "ministering in the House of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 26:12). Part of our worship involves the dedication of "gifts for the maintenance of the House of the Lord" (1 …

Lord, help us to put You first in our lives.

Lord, help us to put You first in our lives. No-one is more important than You. Why do we forget this - again and again. When we forget You, Lord, bring us back to the Cross of Christ. Show us - all over again - that You have not forgotten us, that You never will forget …

Wisdom is better than weapons of war.

“Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecclesiastes 9:18). We ask, Lord, about wisdom – “Where does wisdom come from? How will wisdom change our way of thinking and living?” You tell us that real “wisdom comes from heaven.” You show us that true wisdom will make us more “peace-loving” (James 3:18).

Where, Lord, will we find peace – when our emotions are tearing us apart?

Where, Lord, will we find peace – when our emotions are tearing us apart? We feel like we’re being pulled this way and that way. Sometimes, we feel like we’re all over the place. We don’t know whether we’re coming or going. Lord, give us Your peace. Give us Your Son, Jesus. He is our …

We thank You, Lord, that You have saved us by Your grace.

We thank You, Lord, that You have saved us by Your grace. Where would we be without Your grace? - We would be wandering far from You. Our thoughts would be far from You. Where are we now? Are we beginning to love You, as You have loved us? Whatever may be said about our …

So often, Lord, we’re too easily satisfied.

So often, Lord, we’re too easily satisfied. You want to give us so much more – but we get stuck in a rut. We do not hunger for more of You, for more of Your blessing. Help us, Lord, to appreciate Your love for us, to grow in our love for You, to share Your …

Lord, show us our pride, and show us Your power.

Lord, show us our pride, and teach us to humble ourselves before You. Show us Your power and teach us to trust You to do great things in and through us.

Is there any hope for our nation?

‘Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is now of no account!’ (Isaiah 23:13). We read these words, Lord, and we wonder, “What about our nation? Is there any hope for our nation?” To the nation which turns to You, Lord, You  speak Your promise of blessing – ‘Blessed is the nation …

Lord, You call us to ‘draw near’ to You.

Lord, You call us to ‘draw near’ to You. You want us to ‘pay attention’ to You. Help us to ‘listen’ to His Word (Isaiah 34:1). Your Word is not always what we want to hear. It will always be what we need to hear. ‘The Lord is angry with all nations’ (Isaiah 34:2). We don’t like to hear …

When our ‘faith’ is ‘tested by fire’, help us, Lord, to pray that You will give us Your victory.

‘Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again’ (Proverbs 24:15). Lord, You ‘keep us by Your power.’ We do not raise ourselves. You, Lord, are ‘able to keep us from falling’. You ‘know how to deliver the godly out of temptations’ (1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24; 2 Peter 2:9). When our ‘faith’ is …

Lord, we thank You for the rainbow – It tells us that You love us!

Genesis 9:1-19 Lord, we thank You for the rainbow – It tells us that You love us! Sometimes, we see a rainbow. Do we wonder about it? Does it have a message for us? We look at the rainbow. Help us to look beyond the rainbow – to the Cross. There’s a great children’s song …

Our personal worship is just a small part of something so much richer and fuller – ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (Psalm 150:6).

‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock... I will sing a new song to You, O God... I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for ever and ever; Every day I will praise You... My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord... I will praise the Lord all …

Show us, Lord, what we really are – without You. Make us, more truly and more fully, what You want us to become – by your saving grace.

You can find more of this series of prayers at A Prayer For Every Day.  Deuteronomy 23:1-25 Show us, Lord, what we really are - without You. Make us, more truly and more fully, what You want us to become - by Your saving grace. Fill us with Your holiness - and fill us with …

Seek the Lord. He is mighty to save… He will renew you in His love.

Zephaniah 1:1-2:7 ‘The great Day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly... That Day will be a Day of wrath... I will bring distress upon the people... because they have sinned against the Lord’ (Zephaniah 1:14-17). This, Lord, is Your Word of warning. You're calling us back to Yourself: ‘Seek the Lord …

Often, we wish we could look into the future, and see what’s going to happen to us.

Often, we wish we could look into the future, and see what's going to happen to us. We can't. The future belongs to You, Lord - not to us. Help us to wait on You, Lord - to wait patiently for the time when Your future becomes our present. Our 'tomorrow' can never become our …

Help us, Lord, to give a friendly welcome.

Help us, Lord, to "give a friendly welcome" (Hebrews 11:31). What a difference the friendly welcome makes! It's the word of encouragement that makes us feel loved. It's the act of kindness that lets us know that love is more than words. Lord, You are our Father. Help us to be like You - "when …

Sometimes, Lord, we’re so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity.

Sometimes, Lord, we're so busy, looking at the opposition that we fail to see the opportunity. Sometimes, the opposition can have some success - "the work on the House of God came to a standstill" (Ezra 4:24). Whenever Satan attacks Your work, You raise up Your servants to keep the work going: "Zerubbabel ... arose …

Lord, help us to become “mighty” for You.

We read, Lord, of "the mighty men of the armies", "the mighty men who helped ... in war" (1 Chronicles 11:26; 1 Chronicles 12:1). Lord, You're teaching us about spiritual warfare: "We are not carrying on a worldly war ... the weapons of our warfare are not worldly ... the weapons of our warfare ... …

‘He’s a great guy.’ We like it when people say this kind of thing about us.

2 Samuel 16:1-23 'He's a great guy.' We like it when people say this kind of thing about us. It makes us feel good about ourselves. What do You think of us, Lord? Yours is the one opinion that really matters. What does it mean to be truly 'great'? Do we want to be called …

Lord, Your Word brings light into our lives.

‘The entrance of Your words gives light’ (Psalm 119:130). Lord, Your Word brings light into our lives. Sadly, many people ‘love darkness rather than light’. They  refuse to ‘come to the light’. They prefer to remain in the darkness. They refuse to listen to what You are saying to them through Your Word. Then, when things are not …