Prayers From God's Word That Speak To Challenges We Face Today

People often say that there is nothing new under the sun and when it comes to God and His promises I’m truly grateful.

The Apostle Paul was a praying man.  While the prayer we will begin with has words that tell us what he is praying for his friends and colleagues, they certainly provide the basis of blessing we can and should be praying for one another, those who are in our faith community, and even those who don’t yet know and understand God’s love for them. These are prayers Paul offered on behalf of people he loved in the church at Ephesus.  Paul centers His focus in prayer on the goodness of God and we want to do the same thing.  I’ll show the verses from Scripture on the graphic and we’ll pray them to make them personal.

 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.  All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.  So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.  Ephesians 1:2-8

  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give us grace and peace.  We praise You, God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because You have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

 Even before You made the world, You loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in Your eyes. God, You decided in advance to adopt us into Your own family by bringing us to Yourself through Jesus Christ. This is what You wanted to do, and it gave You great pleasure.

 So now we praise You for the glorious grace You have poured out on us who belong to Your dear Son.  You are so rich in kindness and grace that You purchased our freedom with the blood of Your Son and forgave our sins. You have showered Your kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

Ephesians 1:2-8

Later on in the same letter to his friends in Ephesus Paul gives us another prayer:  I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

 And so Loving God, we pray, today, that out of your glorious and unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength through Your Holy Spirit. 

We welcome You, Christ, to make Your home in our hearts as we trust in You.  Root us deeply in Your love and keep us strong today.  Grant us the power to understand, as all Your people should, how wide, long, high, and deep Your love for us is. 

 Help us today to experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully so we can be complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from You.

 And now convinced of God’s goodness and His love for us, we can confidently pray with King David in Psalm 25 as he prays for guidance.  I have to say that with my own personal history some of the most precious words are at the end of this prayer when David says, “Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.  Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.  You may have done better in your youth than I did but we still all live today only by that mercy and unfailing love of God, don’t we?

 O Lord, I give my life to you.  I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.

Psalm 25:1-7