A Prayer About Hearing the Voice of the Holy Spirit

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.Romans 8:15-16

Gracious Father, on any given day, there are a number of voices contending for our attention. There are the voices of from the past, sometimes yammering loudly… sometimes just nickel-and-diming our peace away with the refrain “If people really knew who you are. You still don’t have a clue, do you? You haven’t changed one bit. Why would God ever love someone like you? Didn’t I tell you you’d never amount to much?”

Then there are the voices of the present, often hijacked by our defeated enemy, Satan. His incessant scheme is to tempt, seduce, then accuse us—doing everything possible to rob us of our enjoyment of the gospel. Sometimes he shouts, more often he whispers, always he’s conniving and always he’s condemning.

Then there’s the voices from the future, usually fueling our fears with suggestions like, “You’re not as sharp as you used to be, are you? You’ll probably be forgotten, won’t you? You’ll eventually end up alone, right? Why do you think God would let someone like youinto heaven?”

But then there’s the voice of the Holy Spirit…O, how we praise you for that One voice which transcends and trumps every other voice—the gossiper of the gospel… the herald of our healing… the bearer of beauty… the messenger of mercy… the singer of sanity… the cantor of Christ… God the Holy Spirit testifying with our spirits that we are your bought, belonging and beloved children. How we praise you for the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Abba, Father, by the Spirit of sonship. continue to free us from all of our slavish fears—past, present and future. May the Spirit speak so loudly, every dark voice is muted. May he speak so clearly, every deceiving lie is silenced. May he speak so convincingly, every paralyzing doubt is routed. So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name.

A Prayer for Renewal in Our Hearts & Churches

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

Gracious Jesus, at times I fantasize about running off to Switzerland with my family… living in a community of chalets with several other “healthy” families… escaping the crazy of church life… disengaging from the chaos of my culture… eating good food… “enjoying” the Christian life… and waiting for your second coming. That’s a confession of sin, not a prayer request.

For starters, I know I couldn’t afford to pay for such a selfish fantasy. More importantly, I realize this isn’t the lifestyle for which you’ve redeemed us. The Church belongs to you, Jesus, she’s your beloved bride. Yet, as with everything else, we often take the church into the idol factory of our hearts and retool her to be an ingrown club for our own satisfaction. Forgive us, Jesus… forgive me.

You’ve called and commissioned us to live as the “salt of the earth.” We’re not garlic, paprika or sugar, we’re salt. Salt preserves and fends off decay. Salt heals and sooths… it has medicinal value. Salt brings flavor and enhances other flavors. And salt only “works” when it’s out of the saltshaker… Alas, my own prayer convicts me

Jesus, how does a believer lose their saltiness or, for that matter, how does a whole church family lose their vision and passion? What’s involved in flavor-loss? More importantly, what does renewal look like?

Come, Holy Spirit, come. We need you to stir our hearts. Only You are powerful enough to re-salt the de-salted… to bring us back to gospel-sanity… to restore in us the joy of God’s salvation… to reengage the disengaged with God’s plan for our communities, the cities and the nations.

How we praise you than our cry is your pleasure. Before we ask you know our need. Do exceedingly beyond all we ask and can imagine. So very Amen, we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.

A Prayer for Friends Weighed Down with Various Burdens

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Dear Jesus, huge snowflakes are gently falling as we meet this morning, covering my yard with a blanket of beauty. It makes me think of the cross and how you’ve washed us whiter than snow by the sacrifice of your blood. Thank you, a million times over. We are completely forgiven and now dressed in the matchless beauty of your righteousness. Nothing will ever separate us from your love. We praise and adore you…you are such a wonderful, merciful, caring Savior.

In light of your great love for us, we bring friends before you today who are weighed down with various burdens and cares. Whether it’s the cold weather or simply the winter blues, it makes no difference, Jesus, there are multiplied stories of duress, stress and struggles all around us. Where else can we go but to you? Hear our prayers for those we love.

We pray for friends dealing with health issues. All along the continuum of common colds to uncommon cancers, we ask you to bring your mercy and healing, Jesus. Whether by the special grace of divine intervention or the common grace of good medicine and health care, it makes no difference. Mete out sufficient grace in each situation. Bring great glory to yourself. Make your presence clearly felt even if your ways cannot be easily discerned.

We pray for friends struggling financially and career-wise. You don’t promise us abundance or surplus, Jesus, but you do promise to meet all our needs. We especially think of friends whose are closer to mental and emotional bankruptcy, than financial collapse. By the power of your resurrection, and for your name’s sake, open doors that seem locked and bolted. From your storehouse of everlasting goodness, bring forth the right provision at the right time. It’s most likely you will use us as a part of the answer to our prayers. May we be generous and gracious in serving our friends.

Lastly, we pray for friends who are burdened relationally. Marriage will always be a center of intense, unrelenting spiritual warfare, for this relationship is meant to tell the story of your great love for your Bride. Pour out your Spirit, Jesus. Humble the proud… bring hope to the despairing… dial down the anger… clarify the issues… supply the right counsel… grant miracles of forbearance, forgiveness and reconciliation.

We ask the same for whole families, longstanding friendships and local churches under the siege of broken relationship and battered trust. Do way beyond what we can ask or imagine, for the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love. Help us, Jesus, for your glory and fame. So very Amen, we pray, in your peerless and priceless name.

A Prayer for Recovering Legalists

I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:23-27

Dear Jesus, this is one of those passages I used to avoid as a recovering legalist. Once I came to rest in your righteousness, alone for my salvation, it was Scriptures like this one that confused me… at times activating that part of me that still thinks I can still make you love me more by my doing. So I praise you for the ongoing teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. I praise you for showing me more about living in line with the truth of the gospel (Gal. 2:14). I praise you for all the freedoms you have won for us, including the freedom to obey you from our hearts.

The gospel sets us free from working for wages. We now run for a crown. Ultimately, every crown will be laid at your feet, Jesus, for you have earned our salvation for us. Our obedience merits nothing, but it does show that we love you (John 14:15). How can we honestly say we love you if we disregard what you say?

The gospel sets us free from running aimlessly and beating the air. We now live in a story of redemption and restoration. All of history is bound up with your commitment to redeem your people from the nations and to make all things new. We praise you for rescuing us from a little narrative of self-fulfillment for a life of kingdom advancement. There is enough grace for the whole race. We can make no excuses.

The gospel sets us free from beating ourselves up because of shame or pride. We now train ourselves for godliness. We are to bring our appetites and bodies in submission to the gospel (1Timothy 4:7-8). Forgive us when we are more disciplined out of vanity than out of a commitment to grow as your disciples. Fitting into our pants is not as important as revealing your beauty.

Jesus, you are the one who has “won the prize” for all of us. Only the gospel qualifies us to “share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (Col. 1:12). We do not fear losing our salvation. But do let us fear and grieve, misrepresenting you and “frittering away” this one short life you’ve given us. Show us how to do all things for the sake of the gospel… by the grace and truth of the gospel. So very Amen, we pray, in your most loving name.

A Prayer for Times When We’re Caught in the Middle

Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. Acts 15:36-40

Gracious Jesus, once again I start my day thankful for the broken stories included in the Scriptures. They give me hope. The Bible is so authentic and honest mere men couldn’t possibly have written it without your hand and heart guiding them.

In particular, I’m thankful today for this story of two good friends, Paul and Barnabas, having “such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.” Lord, I’ve been in that situation and right now I’m watching that story play out between two friends I deeply love and respect. It’s sticky and messy, and I hate being caught in the middle.

So I look to you right now for the resources of the gospel. I need wisdom from above… power in my weakness… and grace to love two stubborn, hurting people. My default mode is to not get involved—hoping the whole thing will just blow over or go away. But that’s not going happen.

Jesus, the good news is you’ve come to destroy hostilities… to tear down walls of division… to make peace and be our peace. You reconcile enemies to God and to one another, so I can trust you to be at work in this tense and complicated situation.

It took time plus grace for Paul and Barnabas to get back together. I don’t know what time plus grace will look like for my friends, but show me my role in the story you are writing. Help me listen from the heart and confront in love. Lead my praying and let me feel their hurt. Help me engage with both sides without taking sides. Help me stay present in the chaos without giving into the pulls. As I serve my friends, show me more of my sin and more of the power of the gospel.

Jesus, no one is better at sticky-situation loving than you, so I abandon myself to you… with my fears, my confusion and my very real hope of your showing up. So very Amen, I pray, in your powerful and reconciling name.

A Prayer Praising Jesus for His Pursuing Love

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:19-20

Dear Lord Jesus, every day we have the privilege of living the hymn, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go,” for you love us tenaciously and you pursue us constantly. As hard as it is to imagine, you desire fellowship with us, not occasionally, but continually. It’s even harder to imagine that you actually enjoy being with us. We believe, help our unbelief.

In the gospel we enjoy eternal union with you, but for various reasons, we tend to flow in and out of vital communion with you. The sad thing is, sometimes we don’t recognize our heart-drift for a quite a while… days, even months later. It’s usually the people around us that first recognize our being out of fellowship with you, for rich fellowship with you changes the way we relate to everyone.

Jesus, there’s no greater rebuke than to hear you knock on the door of our hearts, yet that knock comes like a kiss. Nothing is more convicting than to hear your voice on the other side of that door, yet your voice is that of a Bridegroom wooing his beloved bride. It’s because you love us that you confront us and discipline us. All of your rebukes are life-giving and when you discipline us… though painful, it’s for our good and our freedom. It’s your kindness that leads us to repentance.

Jesus, right now… early in this new year… early in this new day, I hear your knock and your voice in the gospel, and by faith, I rise to greet you. Come in and let us feast together, today and all year long. You are the Bread we need the most. You give the water that alone quenches our thirst. May this be a year in which fellowship and intimacy with you is taken to a whole new level—to a degree of satisfaction and joy that will make all other competing feasts seem like banquets in the grave.

“Being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Until the Day when daily fellowship meals are replaced with a Wedding Feast, may I hear your knock on theoutside of the door way less often. So very Amen, I pray, in your irrepressibly loving name.