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One-Word Prayers to Help You Through Any Situation

Posted on by mroberson

An effective prayer does not have to be a lot of words. Sometimes just one will do. When you find yourself at a crossroads, under pressure, unsure of what to do next or just in need of a boost of inspiration and strength, choose from among these prayers to help you find your way.

4 One-Word Prayers When You Need a Clear Answer
It’s amazing how one simple word in an open-ended prayer will result in clear, multiple answers from God.

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A One-Word Prayer for Strength in Difficult Times
It’s a name that Charles Dickens borrowed, but it goes back much further with beginnings in the Bible. Here’s a word you can pray over and over when life feels like a slog.

4 One-Word Prayers for Finding Calm
Feeling anxious or stressed? When you crave a few moments of peace and steadiness, these prayers can help you get there.

3 One-Word Prayers for Emergencies
When life comes at you so fast that you barely have time to sort through your emotions, much less breathe, one of these words can steady you through an adrenaline rush.

4 One-Word Prayers of Hope in a Season of Change
Seasons don’t just apply to the weather. Transitions take place in our lives all the time. Some are welcome. Some are unsettling. Here’s how to pray for a steady course through transition.

7 More One-Word Prayers
Sometimes the most effective prayer is the simplest prayer. When you need to clear your head and focus on just one word, try these for inspiration.

4 One-Word Prayers for Advent
Even though these prayers are geared to those chaotic weeks before Christmas, they can connect you to a place of calm during any overly-busy time in your life.

One-Word Exclamations of Praise
Praise is not just reserved for Sundays. We can praise God throughout an ordinary weekday with some of these suggestions.

One Simple Word That Can Change Your Day
How does your day begin? Along with washing your face and brushing your teeth, here are one-word prayers to point the rest of your day in the right direction.

12 Inspiring Gratitude Quotes

Posted on by Brett Leveridge

We try to be more grateful, to reflect on the people and things that mean so much to us. However, practicing gratitude on a daily basis can be challenging. Some ways to make gratitude a part of your regular spiritual practice can include saying prayers, writing in a gratitude journal, or spend time reading gratitude quotes that will broaden your understanding of what it means to live a grateful life. And it will be worth it.

According to Healthline, “gratitude has been shown to help contribute to an overall sense of well-being.” The site states that practicing gratitude can boost your immune system, improve your mental health, enhance your relationships with your loved ones, and increase your feelings of optimism.

We hope these inspirational gratitude quotes will encourage you to feel grateful today and for many days after.

 

‘Disturb Us, Lord’

Posted on by Colleen Hughes

Well, here’s a prayer that woke me up today and knocked me right out of my mid-week doldrums. The title alone made me take notice: “Disturb Us, Lord.” I’d never come across this prayer before and wasn’t even looking for it. You could say it found me. I hope you like it as much as I do. Or maybe you’ve known it all along!

Disturb Us, Lord

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Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

 

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst for the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity,

And in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

 

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas,

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes,

And to push into the future in strength, courage, hope and love.

 

(attributed to Sir Francis Drake)

A Sign from God

Posted on by 26096pwpadmin

My seven-year-old son, Shane, made it through a four-hour operation to remove a brain tumor. “But we won’t know whether the tumor was malignant until tomorrow,” the doctor said.

That night I didn’t leave Shane’s bedside. Around midnight an intensive-care nurse suggested I go home to try to get some rest. “Here’s the phone number of the hospital,” she said, handing me a piece of paper. “You can call us anytime.”

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I hated to leave, but I had been awake for more than 24 hours, so I went to my house, where I dozed fitfully. Somewhere around 6:00 A.M. I dialed the number the nurse had given me. When a female voice answered I identified myself as Shane’s mother. “How is he?” the woman asked.

I was puzzled. “Is this Children’s Memorial Hospital?” “Honey, this is no hospital,” the woman said. “We’re just a group of women who heard about your son and decided to keep a prayer chain going for him. My friends and I have been on our knees all night praying for that little boy and one of us just asked God to give us a sign that he had heard. Then you called. Praise the Lord.”

The tumor was benign and Shane made a miraculous recovery. I’ve tried to get back in touch with that woman: I’ve dialed every possible variation of the hospital’s number and never again heard her beautiful, velvety voice. But I’ll feel connected to her always.

 

A Prayer for When You Can’t Pray

Posted on by 26096pwpadmin

The Lord’s Prayer is the only formal prayer that Jesus offered us, the prayer He gave to His disciples when they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:2–4). Every time you feel you can’t pray, you can start here, with the one prayer given us by our Lord. And since it is literally the Lord’s prayer, a personal gift from Jesus to each of us, we should offer it back to the Lord as a personal gift, embracing the meaning of each line as it reaches out to gather us into Christ’s waiting arms.

Our Father: Lord, help me to remember that You are my Father, a caring Parent Who will love and protect me much more than any human parent.

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Who art in heaven: Heaven is Your home, Lord, and I thank You for letting me see glimmers of heaven every day here on Earth, in sunrise and sunset, in thunder and lightning and rain-bearing clouds, in the oceans with their rippling waves and tides and the rivers flowing into them, in roses and irises and snowflakes.  

Hallowed be Thy name: Father, let me honor Your name in my every word, action, thought.

Thy kingdom come: Let me remember, dear God, that this world is only temporary, that Your glorious kingdom will indeed come. I long to be swept up into it.

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven: Father, in this world, we are often so far from doing Your will as Jesus revealed it. Help me to live my life according to Your will and help make Earth more like heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread: God of abundance, thank You for providing so generously all that I need. Remind me to share what You provide for me so that all may have their daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses: Without Your continuous forgiveness, Lord, where would I be?

As we forgive those who trespass against us: I should be more forgiving, Lord; show me how.

And lead us not into temptation: Father, I often feel that I’m being tried. Help me to remember that my small trials are nothing compared to those of Your Son,my Brother, and give me the strength and faith to persevere.

But deliver us from evil: Dear God, intervene for me because I am weak, and without Your deliverance I am like a lost and wandering child. Draw me safely into Your protective embrace, Lord.

Amen: You, Father, are the final amen, the way, the truth, the life.

A Prayer for Every Need

Posted on by 26096pwpadmin

It used to be that my prayers for others, though heartfelt, were offered to God in a rather casual way. I remember the time when a friend suffered a miscarriage and she asked me to pray for her. It was only late at night that I thought of her request. I said a quick prayer and fell asleep. Not until my young son, Christian, entered the hospital for some serious testing did I begin to find a different, more caring way of praying.

When I called my closest friends and asked them to pray for Christian, I was surprised at their response. They didn’t just say yes and let it go at that. They asked questions. “What time are the tests?” “What is the nature of the problem?” “Who is his doctor?” ” How long will Christian be in the hospital?” Then without fail, each friend called daily with reassurance and support.

During the long, anxious week of Christian’s hospitalization, I felt strengthened by their prayers. If I was discouraged or afraid, I would remember that I was not alone. My anxieties were quieted. When Christian finally returned home with a clean bill of health, I thanked God. I also thanked my friends who had taught me something new and important about prayer. Here is some of the advice I gave to myself:

1. Be specific.
If God knows all our needs why do we need to ask for them by name? Not for Him-that seems clear-but for ourselves. Any overwhelming task can seem less daunting when we break it down into its components. My mind is inclined to go blank when I pray in generalities, but when I focus on specifics I feel as though I’m making real contact.

2. Study up.
At the end of an educational conference I met a young father, and we spoke briefly of his wife, Scotty, and her long, difficult wait for a heart-and-lung transplant. Immediately I promised to pray for her. Then I followed that up by going to the library and reading all I could about such operations. By the time Scotty was finally summoned to the hospital, I knew what the risks and complications might be. When I prayed for her, my understanding was greater, my compassion deeper.

3. Act.
At the weekly meetings of our church guild the needs of our denomination’s missionaries are called out for prayer. Requests range from new water pumps to airplane tickets-often things that we members can do something about. Once, a family of medical missionaries asked if we could send them some used prescription eyeglasses. We scurried around and eventually sent off a boxful of them. Other groups did the same-enough to provide 700 African schoolchildren with glasses.

It has been said that “to work is to pray.” I’ve often thought that deeds like mailing off a box of eyeglasses serve “to put shoe leather” on prayers.

“The real business of your life as a saved soul is intercessory prayer,” Oswald Chambers once wrote. For me, I have found that the more I pray for others, the more I care, and the more I care, the better my prayer.

7 Prayers for Safe Travels

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

When I was growing up, among the most frequent prayers I heard my parents use was a prayer for “traveling mercies.” I think I always knew what the phrase meant—an all-encompassing prayer for God’s watchful care and protection as we traveled.

I don’t hear (or say) the phrase as much these days, but I do still pray when I travel. After all, the Bible says, “You have not, because you ask not,” (James 4:2). So I ask. For protection. For timely travel. And more. Here are seven prayers you can use before and during a trip:

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1) Based on Psalm 91:9-12, NIV
Lord, you are my refuge;
Most High, you are my dwelling place.
Let no harm overtake me,
no disaster come near me.
Command your angels concerning me
to guard me in all my ways;
let them carry me in their hands,
so that I will not so much as trip over a stone.

2) Based on Psalm 121:8, NIV
Lord, watch over our coming and going both now and forevermore.

3) Based on Psalm 139:7-10, NIV
God, thank you that I can go nowhere without your Spirit,
that I cannot evade your presence.
If I fly through the heavens, you are there;
if I drive through the deepest valley, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

4) Adapted from Saint Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ beside me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ within me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me.
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left,
Christ where I leave,
Christ where I arrive.

5) A prayer of Saint Brigit of Kildare, Revised
Lord, I place myself in your keeping as I travel.
I shall not be forgotten.
I shall not be destroyed.
I shall not be imprisoned.
I shall not be harassed by evil powers.

6) A Prayer by Bob Hostetler
Lord, you know what awaits us as we travel today. You know every bend and bump in the road, every sunbeam and cloud in the sky. So please make straight paths for our feet. Grant us safe and successful travel until we reach our destination. Save us from worry and stress. Make us patient and polite along the way. Make us kind and attentive to others, and please give us the blessing of somehow being helpful to someone else. And especially, Lord, make this an Emmaus trip, that we may travel in your company and, when we reach our destination, know you better than when we began, in Jesus’ name, amen.

7) A Prayer by Bob Hostetler
Lord Jesus,
be my vanguard,
rear guard,
and constant companion
as I travel.
Amen.

What about you? Do you have a go-to prayer for before you embark on a trip?

7 Great Prayers for Fathers

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

One way I plan to honor my father this year on Father’s Day is in prayer, not only for him who has already received his eternal reward, but also for the other fathers in my life—my father-in-law, my son, my son-in-law and numerous friends and other loved ones.

A terrific Father’s Day gift—and one that is routinely neglected—is prayer, whether it is written in a card, prayed over the phone or offered in private. With that in mind, here are seven great prayers for the fathers in your life:

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“Lord, bless _________ and keep him; make Your face to shine upon him and be gracious to him; lift up Your countenance upon him and give him peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26, ESV)

“I pray that in all respects _______ may prosper and be in good health, just as his soul prospers.” (3 John 2, NASB).

“I pray for __________, that his love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that he may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11, ESV)

“God, according to the riches of Your glory, grant _________ to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in his inner being, so that Christ may dwell in his heart through faith–that he, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that he may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19, ESV)

“God, give ___________ Your strength to steer him,

Your power to uphold him,

Your wisdom to guide him,

Your eye for his vision,

Your ear for his hearing,

Your word for his speech,

Your hand to protect him,

Your pathway before him,

Your shield for his shelter,

Your angels to guard him

from ambush of devils,

from vice’s allurements,

from traps of the flesh,

from all who wish ill,

whether distant or close,

alone or in hosts.” (The Breastplate of St. Patrick)

“Christ be beside him,

Christ before him,

Christ behind him,

Christ within him,

Christ beneath him,

Christ above him.

Christ on his right hand,

Christ on his left,

Christ where he lies,

Christ where he sits,

Christ where he rises.

Christ in the hearts of all who think of him,

Christ in the mouths of all who speak to him,

Christ in every eye that sees him,

Christ in every ear that hears him.” (The Breastplate of St. Patrick)

 

“Father, thank you for _____________.

Please continue and complete your work in him,

granting that he may walk with you like Enoch,

believe you like Abraham,

obey you like Isaac,

wrestle with you like Jacob,

know your hand on his life like Joseph,

speak face-to-face with you like Moses,

win victories for you like Gideon,

speak boldly for you like Elijah,

worship you like David,

see you high and lifted up like Isaiah,

and carry Jesus’ cross like Simon of Cyrene.”  (written by Bob Hostetler)

You may want to revise, amplify or add to those prayers. You may want to write one in a note or read it over the phone. You may want to offer each of these prayers, one for a different father you know.

Whatever else you may do, find a way to offer the fathers you love the best gift of all this Father’s Day: a prayer.

6 Favorite Quotes on Prayer

Posted on by Rick Hamlin

We’re moving offices soon, which has given me a chance to go through some old files. At the back of a drawer, I found a long-forgotten file with quotes I had collected, most of them typed on a typewriter, which should indicate how long they have been there! Here are just a few of my favorites:

“God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume—it is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” —Vance Havner, speaker and preacher

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“The paradox of prayer is that we have to learn how to pray while we can only receive it as a gift.” —Henri J.M. Nouwen, priest and spiritual writer

“In the pure, strong hours of the morning, when the soul of the day is at its best, lean upon the window sill of God and look into his face, and get the orders for the day. Then go out into the day with the sense of a hand upon your shoulder and not a chip.” —E. Stanley Jones, missionary and theologian

“It takes humility to acknowledge our need for forgiveness—and even more to accept it, because guilt is the last stronghold of pride; it represents my opinion of myself. Forgiveness is not something I can do for myself. It is something only God or you can bestow on me.” —William Sloane Coffin, minister and chaplain

“Prayer really does things. It cannot change God’s intention, but it does change God’s action. God had long intended Isaiah to be his prophet. When Isaiah said, ‘Here am I, send me,’ he did not alter in the least the divine purpose, but he did release it. God could do then what before he could not.” —Harry Emerson Fosdick, founding minister of Riverside Church (where I used to sing in the choir)

“There is, immediately in front of us, an appointed task, a call: some difficult, clear, utterly simple thing the Lord is asking us to do. It is not a general admonition to whoever might happen to be standing about. It is instead an utterly private request whispered, as it were into each one’s ear. What the Lord is asking me, he is asking no one else. More than likely, it is a request with no particular glamour of notoriety attached to it. And if I pay attention, the Lord leaves me in no doubt about it. Especially if I ask in prayer.” —Emilie Griffin, author

5 Ways to Sing Your Praise to God

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Most people—even the prayingest among us—spend their time making requests of God or giving thanks. But for some reason, praise is often a neglected component. Maybe it’s because our needs seem so pressing. Or it could be that we’re more experienced in offering gratitude than praise (how many times did our parents tell us to “say thank you” while hardly ever telling us to “say Glory to God?”). Or maybe it’s because we don’t sing enough. 

One of the best ways to offer praise to God is through song. Sure, there are times, like when we see a glorious sunset or a beautiful horse galloping across a field that we cry out in spontaneous praise to God. Most of the time, however, music is the key that opens our hearts and mouths in praise to God. That is why the ancient psalmist sang: 

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Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of his name;
    make his praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
     So great is your power
     that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
     they sing praise to you,
    they sing the praises of your name” (Psalm 661-4, NIV).

The Bible actually tells you not only to speak but also to sing your praises to God. So here are a few ways to do that: 

1.  Grab an old hymnal.
Many churches have stopped using hymnals but that doesn’t mean you have to. Many can be found in church basements, used bookstores or yard sales. And they are rich in words of praise that can still be sung as loudly and sincerely as ever.

2.  Adopt several hymns and praise songs as “go to” prayers.
If I asked you to sing your praise to God right now, what song would come to mind? “How Great is Our God?” “O Worship the King, All Glorious Above?” “How Great Thou Art?” “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise?” Keep a short list in your mind or in your Bible that you can turn to often for a few moments of heartfelt praise.

3.  Adapt a few psalms.
Some Bible psalms can be sung too. You may know Psalm 23 as “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” Psalm 100 as “The Doxology” and Psalm 103 as “Bless the Lord, O My Soul.” Such musical settings of Biblical psalms can help you sing your praise to God.

4.  Sing a new song.
I’ve posted previously about singing a new song to God in prayer. You may sometimes feel a height of wonder or depth of awe that cannot be expressed except in a new, original song that springs from your soul, heart and mouth simultaneously. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a “good” melody or a particularly clever lyric; all that matters is that it helps you to express what is rising up from within you, producing “a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (Psalm 41:3, NIV). 

5.  Drop in on a praising church.
Some churches sing more than others, and some are especially good at songs and hymns of praise. If the church you attend regularly is not that kind of church, you might consider visiting another church every once in a while in order to sing your praise to God. Many Mennonite churches are known for their singing (and harmonizing), as are many National Baptist Churches, among others. Not all singing is praise, of course, so it will take some discernment and possibly trial and error, but there are still many churches that sing enthusiastic (and sometimes even tuneful) praise to God. 

These aren’t the only ways to sing your praise to God, but try just one or two of these, and your praying will soon be music to God’s ears. 

5 Hebrew Words to Pray

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Prayer can be boring. We say the same things in the same words over and over again. We tend toward the same subjects and concerns, and all that “sameness” can lead to monotony and frustration.

That is one good reason (among many) to introduce the richness, depth, of variety of a few Hebrew words into your praying.

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You probably already use the most common Hebrew prayer word—“amen”—which can mean several things but is most commonly understood as “yes, let it be so.” But here are five other Hebrew words that can inform, guide and enrich your prayers:

1)  Hallelujah
You already knew this word. Hallelujah and its root word, “halal,” occurs dozens of times in the Psalms. It means simply “praise God!” In public worship it is frequently sung (e.g., “Hallelujah! What a Savior!”) and sometimes shouted. It is less often used in private times of prayer. But it doesn’t have to be excluded from your personal prayer life.

Try saying hallelujah anytime your soul swells with praise and thanks to God. Say hallelujah to express your appreciation for God’s beauty, faithfulness, power and presence.

If you pray the “Gloria/Glory Be,” you might even sometimes substitute the Hebrew equivalent for the English word “glory” or “praise.” (“Hallelujah to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” etc.)

Ask Guideposts’ OurPrayer team to pray for you!

2)  Teshuvah
Literally, “return,” teshuvah is the Hebrew word for “repentance.” It doesn’t mean to “be sorry” but to “turn around,” to change direction and “do a 180,” so to speak. Teshuvah is such an important concept that the Talmud says God created repentance before He created the physical universe. So include teshuvah in your prayers, not only confessing your sins but turning your back on them and returning to your God.

3)  Tsedek
When David sang, “He leads me in the paths of righteousness” (Psalm 23:3, NKJV), he sang the word, tsedek. When Amos prayed, “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24, NIV), he used the Hebrew words tsedek (righteousness) and mizpat (justice).

Tsedek means not only upright behavior but also just and wise actions. So pray for more tsedek in your life and community and world.

4)  Chesed
Chesed is one of the richest and deepest words in the Hebrew language. It is most often translated as “lovingkindess” or “mercy” in the Bible. It is intrinsic to God’s character and incumbent upon God’s people. Chesed is so rich in meaning that it can’t be expressed with a single English word.

Read More: 6 Ways to Pray While You Exercise

When you pray for chesed in your life and the lives of those around you, you pray for God’s beauty, grace, kindness, mercy and generosity to flow in and from the objects of your prayer.

5)  Shalom
Shalom means “peace.” But, like chesed, it is a much bigger word than that single syllable. Shalom is used by Hebrew-speakers to say “hello” and “goodbye.” It is a prayer (Psalm 122:6). It is a blessing (Psalm 122:8). It conveys not only the idea of peace but also of health and wholeness, of everything being right and pleasing.

So say shalom in your prayers. Pray for the shalom of God, “which transcends all understanding, [to] guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, NIV). Pray for shalom to rule your heart, life, home, family, church, community, country and world.

Just five words, but each is rich in meaning. Each holds far more beauty than the most common English equivalents. And each can make a difference not only in how you pray but also in how God answers your prayers.