God we praise you for your compassionate heart. Give us the relentlessness of the good shepherd who goes after wandering sheep and never gives up. Protect us by your Holy Spirit from being easily discouraged and grant us the spiritual strength to endure the hardships we face. Please deliver us from a sour compulsive nature to envy others and resist your will. Save us from a life of pretense and guard us from using religion as a mask to cover up our resistance to the claims of Jesus Christ on our lives. Father God, please help us during the seasons of grief and loss that we may endure to know that your Son lives, and that in him sorrow can never have the final word. We pray all this in the name of Jesus and for his sake, Amen. Genesis 39:1-6 One of the most significant and powerful prayers in the Bible is Jabez’s prayer for strength and protection in the book of Chronicles. From 1 Chronicles 4: 2-21, Jabez was mentioned as part of Judah’s genealogy. The author of Chronicles gave a short history of Jabez’s name and his short prayer to God. Although short, it was also a powerful prayer for protection . He believed that he had a great purpose to accomplish, and he asked God to help.

Being angry is a valid and just emotion. It is okay to get angry. Jesus got angry too. In Matthew 21:12-17 and John 2: 13-17 where he found the people of Jerusalem had turned God’s temple into a marketplace. Jesus got angry and overturned tables because they have defiled the holiness of the temple courts. Be Angry, But Do Not Sin

Life can be very hard and tiresome indeed. There’s so much trouble happening in the world right now. Sometimes we wonder where to get that extra push and how to soldier on through our daily struggles. All these answers we seek only lead us to one thing: an unshakeable faith in God. King David wrote many hymns and psalms in the Book of Psalms, about 73 out of the 150 books. Many of these prayers in the Bible that David wrote were personal and highly emotional. That is why many regard the Book of Psalms as anatomy to the soul. Every range of emotions from thanksgiving to forgiveness, petitions for protection and deliverance, and even anger are written in Psalms. Here, David wrote a thanksgiving prayer , one of the most comforting prayers in the Bible. Acts 7:59-60 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Lessons We Can Learn From Stephen’s Prayer Even When Facing Persecution, Be Rest Assured That God Is Still With You Luke 18: 9 – 13 9 To some who were confident of their righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” Lessons We Can Learn From The Tax Collector’s Prayer Self-Righteousness Is Not Righteousness At All Another one of David’s prayers in the Bible is for anger and peace. This short psalm was written by David ​​as he complains to God about the slanders made against him and finding peace and refuge in God.

God, how I want to follow you, to take up my cross and follow you, yet too often I’m like Peter. Too often, I’m focused on earthly matters, human priorities, my own wants. Life is a present from God. And He is the only one that has the power to give life and preserve life. Make it a daily habit to thank God for keeping us alive. We may not be facing the life-threatening situations David went through as seen in verse 9 (thank God for this too!) but it always pleases God when we thank Him for preserving our lives to do His good works. Be Bold And Give Thanks Aloud In verses 3, 7, and 8, David is probably referring to how his enemies or others are more prosperous than he is. But he does not let anger overrule him, because he knows that while those emotions are valid, they are not the truth. God is the truth. Our identity in Him remains as “faithful servant[s]” whom He has sanctified. Thus, our reality that God is faithful and for us remains unchanged. Finding Peace And Refuge Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (verses 1–4)

Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Lessons We Can Learn From Daniel’s Prayer Confess With A Genuine And Contrite Heart The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Psalms 4 1 “Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. 2 How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Keep a list of favorite verses and choose from that list. Maybe you have verses for specific needs.

The Lord brings death and makes it alive; he brings down to the grave and raises. 7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts. 8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; Each of the four key petitions is something we need more of in our lives, and is something we can ask God for. One of the most powerful prayers in the Bible made by women that we ought to look at is Hannah’s. Hannah was a faith-filled woman but faced the problem of barrenness, which was once c onsidered shameful. Hannah prayed to the Lord in the temple of Shiloh for a son and vowed that she will dedicate her child to Him. The Lord granted her prayer and gave her a son whom she called Samuel. This prayer of adoration was made by Hannah in gratitude. There are many prayers in the Bible made by Paul that we can learn from. Paul truly chased after God’s heart and everywhere he went, he preached about God. He also helped pioneer the church in Ephesus and had not seen them in years. Hence, he wrote a letter containing his prayer for wisdom for the Ephesians, asking God to bless them with the Spirit of wisdom that leads to spiritual growth. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (verse 12, emphasis added)

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might. (verses 16–19)

no artist, but I love praying through art and doodling. I love getting out my markers and Bible to pray over a key verse, writing out the verse in my art journal and doodling as I pray through the words. I love praying […] Kings 19: 14-19; 34-35 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God. Mathew 26: 38-41 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Asaph brought to mind God’s glorious work in redeeming His people from slavery in Egypt, parting the Red Sea, and caring for His people in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. It is a simple but one of the most powerful prayers in the Bible that we know best as the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer covers all the different types of prayer that we have seen. From our petitions to confession and forgiveness, to deliverance and glory, everything is in the Lord’s Prayer. The key to praying the Prayer of Jabez is understanding its context and praying it in Jesus’ name, which is a key to all prayer. The books of Chronicles were written after Israel had returned from exile in Babylon. The books’ purpose was to encourage God’s people that He had not abandoned them nor His promises to them. Thus, Jabez and his prayer reminded God’s people of His grace and blessing to His people, encouraging them to believe and pray in a similar fashion. But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’” – At the end of his prayer, Jonah recommits himself in obedience to God again. I urge everyone to start our day with a prayer that recommits ourselves to God, reminding ourselves that God is the Lord over our lives, not us. God’s Timing Is Always Perfect