When our hearts are heavy, when the needs are many, when the words won't come, You are there, dear Lord Jesus. And You give us the words to say. And You work outside of time, knowing our needs before we do. And You give peace when there is no earthly reason for it.
Because You are God. You can heal all. You conquer all. You love faithfully.
And so, we pray.
We pray for our leaders. We pray for our veterans. We pray for our deployed. We pray for those in training. We pray for the families who are separated from their loved ones.
And Lord, we pray for our children by name, and for all of our military kids, using Jeremiah's words:
Before You formed __________ in the
womb, You knew him/her, before s/he was born, You set him/her apart. (1:5)
Lord, do not let __________ forsake
You, the Spring of Living Water. Do not
let him/her dig his/her own pits that do not hold water. (2:13)
Give __________ shepherds, after Your
own heart, who will lead him/her with knowledge and understanding. (3:15)
When You call __________ and declare
that You will be his/her Cure, may his/her response be, “Yes, I will come to You,
for You are the Lord my God.” (3:22)
Forgive us, oh God. We are foolish and senseless people, who have
eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. We have forgotten Your holiness, and no
longer tremble in Your presence. Even
the waves of the sea obey Your command; though they roar, they cannot cross the
boundary You have established. Forgive
us, oh God, for our stubborn and rebellious hearts that have crossed Your
boundaries and turned from You. (5:21-23)
Help __________ to listen to Your
words and not reject Your law, that disaster would be averted. (6:19)
Lord,
I pray that __________ would be a man/woman who stands for You in his/her
community- who uses his/her strength to protect the widow, the fatherless, the
alien and the innocent. I pray s/he
would set aside worthless and deceptive words, that his/her trust would be in
You and his/her worship Yours alone.
(7:5-8)
Oh that __________ would obey You-
that You would be his/her God and s/he Your son/daughter- that it may go well
with him/her. Help __________ to listen
and pay attention instead of following the stubborn inclinations of his/her
heart that makes him/her go backward and not forward. (7:23-24)
Lord,
help __________ to be cautious with his/her friends, remembering that we are
all capable of deceit. Let him/her not
live in the middle of deception, refusing to acknowledge You. (9:5-6)
May our family boast in You- the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth. (9:24)
No one is like You, O Lord; You are great and Your name is
mighty in power. Who should not revere
You, O King of the nations? This is Your
due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is
no one like You. (10:6-7)
You are the One True God; You are the
Living God, the Eternal King. When You
are angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure Your wrath. You made the earth by Your power and founded
the world by Your wisdom and stretched out the heavens by Your
understanding. You are our Portion, the
Maker of all things, including __________, the son/daughter of Your
inheritance. The Lord Almighty is Your name. (10:12,16)
Amen!
*written by a friend, used with permission
