A Prayer For Every Day

We thank You, Lord, that Jesus, Your Son, is “Immanuel” – “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). We look forward to the Second Coming of Immanuel: “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them” (Revelation 21:3). When our thoughts turn to the Return of Christ, may we think of His urgent call to faith: “When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8). Lord, give us strength to “stand firm in our faith”, to “believe and be saved” (Isaiah 7:9; Hebrews 10:37-39).

Lord, help us to make good choices. When we’re at the crossroads of life, we can so easily head off in the wrong direction. At the crossroads of life, we need Jesus. He is the Way – the true and living Way (John 14:6). “Without the Way, there is no going. Without the truth, there is no knowing. Without the life, there is no living.” Help us to choose well. Help us to choose Jesus. Lord, give us this great testimony: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Lord, help us to keep on praying this prayer: “May there be less of self and more of Christ in me” (John 3:30).

Lord, our life is a journey. We can be travelling with You – or we can be running away from You. Day-by day, we are further down the road – closer to You or further away from You. Day-by-day, we must choose: Will we travel with You, Lord? or Will we go our own way? Often, we make bad choices. We take a wrong turning. Things go from bad to worse. We lose sight of You. We get lost. We wonder, “Is there a way back home? Is there a way back to the Lord?” We thank You, Lord, that You are waiting for us. In love, You are waiting for us to turn around – to make our way back to You. You are waiting for us to stop wandering – and start returning. Lead us, Lord. Lead us to Yourself. Lead us out of the wilderness of our sin. Lead us into the promised land of Your salvation.

Lord, You are always with us – but we are not always with You. There is never a time when You are not there at our side – but there are many times when we don’t realize that You are right there, beside us at every stage in our journey through life. Life isn’t easy! Bad things happen to us – and we take our eyes off You. Before we know it, we’re going round in circles – getting nowhere quickly. What are we to make of all this? Are we to say, “Why have You left me, Lord?” Our difficult circumstances are shouting at us, “God has left you. You’re on your own. Make the most of it – without Him.” Lord, help us, when we feel like this, to keep on listening for Your “still, small voice.” Help us to hear the “gentle whisper” of Your love (1 Kings 19:11-12). When our emotions are pulling us this way, pulling us that way, pulling us all over the place, help us to hear and believe Your precious promise: “I will be with you always” (Matthew 28:20).

Lord, You are the God of perfect holiness. You are the God of perfect love. You call us to a life of holiness. You call us to a life of love. How are to live this life of holiness and love? We need the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of love. Without Him, we cannot even begin to live this new life – the life of holiness and love. We thank You, Lord, that You have not left us to live this life in our own strength – “the Holy Spirit … lives in us” (2 Timothy 1:14).

Lord, if we are to become holy, it must be Your doing – not our own achievement. We come to our Saviour with our sin. We receive from Him Your forgiveness – and the Spirit of holiness. Our past is put behind us. Our sins are forgiven – and forgotten. You call us on into Your future. We are being changed by Your love and Your holiness. We look back at all that You have done for us – and we say, “To God be the glory! Great things He has done.” We look forward to all that You will do for us – and we say, ‘To God be the glory! There is more to come  – “much more” (Romans 5:10). The best is yet to be! (1 Corinthians 2:9).‘

Lord, we sing of Jesus, Your Son. He is “the man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3) – but this does not make us sad. We look beyond His suffering. We see our salvation. We sing of Your salvation. With joy, we sing to You – “Hallelujah! What a Saviour!” We look at Jesus – and we ask the question, “Full atonement – can it be?” We rejoice in Your answer – “Full atonement – Yes it is!” What a perfect Saviour we have! What a great salvation He has given to us! Help us, Lord, to say, in our hearts, “God forbid that I should ever boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).