DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Own Up Entirely to My Wrongs

Patient Father,
When I wrong others, sometimes I fail to take full ownership of my words and actions. When I deflect or diminish my behavior, I am not only downplaying my own role, but also diminishing the damage sin causes. Moreover, it is amazing how exceptional I become at crafting words to sound apologetic, while managing to avoid a genuine apology the whole time. Finally, when I avoid taking full responsibility for my sin, it’s as if I am communicating that grace isn’t really all that necessary, or at least not for “the little things,” as I imagine them to be.

Let your Law do its work and expose the ugly and condemning reality of my sinful wrongdoing. Let it leave me with no place to hide so that I have no choice but to come entirely clean. Let me do so because I have complete confidence in the gospel, which assures me that not only have my sinful wrongdoings been forgiven, but so also have my half-hearted and incomplete confessions. Create in me a pure heart that recognizes both how much my heart needs purifying, and how completely you have purified it by your perfect sacrifice.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Set My Heart and Mind on Things Above

Lord God,
You direct me to set my heart and my mind on things above, and not on earthy things. One of the most effective ways to keep me from an unhealthy focus on earthly things is to prioritize redirecting my desires and thoughts on things above. My desires and thoughts are closely connected, so that whatever fills my thoughts also increases my desire, and what I desire then directs my thoughts.

Therefore, let your Spirit dwell in me richly to control both my thoughts and desires, so that they nurture and complement each other. Lead me to seek your spiritual blessings and to crave more fruits of faith in my life. Help me to treasure the work you do in me that serves my eternal good. Create not only a longing for my heavenly home, but an awareness of how my time here on earth helps prepare me for eternity. Align my desires with yours and my thoughts with yours, as much as possible.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Not Get Caught Up in Worldly Concerns

Dear Lord,
You direct me to set my heart and my mind on things above, and not on earthy things. It is so natural for me to give my attention to the things of this world. When my daily schedule involves so many things that deal with the here and now, those are the things I focus on. Problems need solving. Tasks need to be accomplished. People need to be pleased. Like Martha, I get caught up in prioritizing all of these responsibilities and obligations and you become an afterthought.

In addition to being so preoccupied with these types of concerns, which are not inherently wrong, I am also daily tempted by plenty of earthly things that are plain and simply just sinful. Guard my heart from both – from being consumed by earthly concerns and being courted by earthly temptations. Remind me that you are the one in control who oversees all things and equips me to carry out my daily responsibilities, and that you also promise me a way out when I am tempted.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For My Easter Identity (Part 3)

Risen Savior,
Sometimes I lose sight of who I am, but Easter assures me of my identity. Significant successes or shames in my life can cloud my identity, distracting or deceiving me from who I really am. When you bless me in any given endeavor with success, my pride hijacks that success and claims it as its own, rather than the gift from you that it is. Pride then attempts to anchor my identity to that success. As soon as that success passes then, that false identity crumbles apart.

Something similar can take place when my words or actions result in significant shame. The evil one mercilessly taunts me with endless attempts to convince me that my real identity will forever be associated with my shame. 

Success or shame – neither determines who I am, for my identity was bought and paid for on the cross, and the Resurrection is the stamp of approval that the Father accepted payment in full. It is not my success or shame that determines my identity, but your successful victory on my behalf. Let your resurrection always remain the anchor for my identity, and let me take everything else, all success and shame, in stride. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For My Easter Identity (Part 2)

Risen Savior,
Sometimes I lose sight of who I am, but Easter assures me of my identity. Significant shocks in my life can turn my life upside down, causing me to question who I am. Some may have happened long ago during childhood, resulting in wounds that still haunt me today, leaving doubt and uncertainty about my self-image. Trauma, injury, sudden catastrophe – these unexpected turns can lead us to question who we are or what’s wrong with us.

When such shocks strike suddenly and I find myself shutting down, remind me that an even more shocking event overshadows all of them: the Resurrection! It is your rising from the dead – and not any shocking events in my own life – that has the final say in my identity. Because of your victory, I am victorious, too. Because you live, I have life, too, and meaningful life at that, for I am yours! This ought to shock me daily more than anything else. You died and rose again to wash and purify me as your own for eternity. I am yours. May that always be more than enough for me!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Identity Gift

(John 20:1-18)

It cost anywhere from $20-50 billion last year (depending on how cases are classified) and impacts multi-millions of people. Identity theft is serious problem. Its attempts are also so common that most of us can filter out the spam emails or even texts as soon as they hit our inbox or phone. For those who have fallen victim to identity theft, though, it’s not just a financial burden they face. There is the emotional stress of not knowing what someone who is pretending to be us may be trying to get away with, or what other personal information of ours they may have access to. Then there’s also the painstaking process of having to cancel this card or re-issue that I.D. to essentially start all over again with establishing your identity. Victims of identity theft face big challenges!

Maybe you’ve personally experienced identity theft; maybe you haven’t. But I am quite certain you’ve experienced what we might call identity “uncertainty.” Maybe you’re even going through it right now. What causes identity uncertainty? Any number of three significant scenarios might trigger it: a significant shift, shock, or shame/success.

We all experience significant shifts. A high school graduate is indecisive and overwhelmed by all the considerations for the next phase of life. New parents have to adjust to the shift of splitting their time from just between each other to now a new member of the family. Or, the other side of that shift back to being empty nesters can its own challenge. An occupational change that disrupts the workplace identity others have associated you with for so long is also a significant shift. Such shifts find you at a crossroad – now who are you?

The identity uncertainty could also be the result of significant shock. You experienced abuse or assault recently or a long time ago that still shapes how you see yourself and/or how you think others see you. A traumatic event or injury robs you of a unique trait or ability that has permanently altered how you function. The absence of a spouse means the two who became one has now unexpectedly morphed into a much lonelier one. Now who are you?

We might be going through identity uncertainty as a result of our own significant shame or success. It may have started at a very young age, possibly pushed or pressured by parents in specific direction academically or athletically. As a result, you either burned out or failed to excel after a certain level and don’t know who you are anymore. Or it could work the opposite way – you achieved a level of success that came so fast that you became ungrounded and forgot who you were.

Or, in your young adult life you accomplished something spectacular that brought about your fifteen minutes of fame, which then quickly fade and leave you scrambling to achieve something similar ever since. Or instead of fifteen minutes of fame, it was fifteen minutes of shame as a result of some past humiliating act or even a crime. Maybe you were the golden boy or darling at work who could do no wrong, nailing everything that came your way, until a new boss came along and made it a point to be unimpressed by your efforts. Now who are you? 

So, whether it’s caused by a significant shift, shock, or shame/success, how do we address “identity uncertainty?” The advice that often seems to make the most sense is also some of the worst: take a good hard look at yourself or go on a journey of self-discovery to really find yourself; find out who you are by focusing more on you.

But if you follow that advice, it’s like trying to get from point A to point B only by staring at your feet the whole time. You’ll just spend the rest of your life correcting every time you realize you veered off course. You pursue a different identity only to be left unsatisfied or uncertain. You will remain on an endless chase, always coming back to the same struggle of who you really are.

If you want to know who you are, there’s a better place to start rather than looking at yourself. Start by looking in the Bible, specifically in the Gospel of John.

One of the themes of John’s Gospel is to make sure of what we’re looking at. Or better, “who” we’re looking at: Jesus. John he provides this direction to us as one with firsthand experience. In the first chapter he states, “We have seen His glory” (John 1:14). He didn’t say that he had heard about it from someone else or that he speculated or pondered what it would be like, but that he saw it with his own eyes. John saw God’s glory in Christ.

He highlights what he sees again later in that same chapter when, pointing to Jesus, he says, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29). Later, when Philip encourages Nathanael to find out more, he invites him to come and see. The Samaritan woman at the well does the same thing, pleading for the people in town to come and see the Jesus who told her things about herself that no one else knew. Seeing Jesus is a common theme in John.

Now, on Easter morning, Mary expected to continue that theme of John and go see the body of Jesus. Only, when she arrives, she sees something else: the stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty. Her fear swells. She runs to inform Peter and John and then returns back to the tomb. Then, after the angels attempt to ease her fears, distraught, she turns around and… sees Jesus!

Only… she doesn’t see him. She doesn’t know it’s Jesus. “At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him” (John 20:14-15). Mary saw Jesus, but she didn’t really see him.

That can be the case for many people, sadly. They can look right at Jesus and not recognize him. They don’t see him for who he is. They might as well be blind. Let’s be honest. We all suffer from some kind of blindness. It may be that the pile of sin that I’ve accumulated over my life appears to me to be too big for me to see Jesus. Perhaps I can’t see Jesus because I don’t trust him to actually make a difference in my “real-life” problems that need fixing. We can even attend church occasionally, speak the words and sing the songs, and still never see Jesus.

When did it all change for Mary? When did she see Jesus? She didn’t give up. She continued to look at Jesus and listen to him. And finally she recognized his soothing, saving voice. Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). (v. 16). She knew this was not a fluke or apparition, for she raced back to the disciples and burst out the words, “I have seen the Lord” (v. 18). 

Speaking of the disciples, did you catch the message Jesus asked Mary to relay to them? “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (v.17). Jesus hadn’t called them that previously! This was new. Now, post-resurrection, they were “my brothers.” Jesus called them brothers! They had a new identity! The Resurrection had changed their relationship with Jesus! They were someone new!

So was Mary. This Mary is mentioned along with others as having accompanied and supported Jesus during his ministry. She was present at his crucifixion. Since Mary was a common name, and there were other Marys involved in Jesus’ life and ministry, this Mary is identified by Magdala, the seaside village from which she came. But it’s hard to imagine that any of these things carried as much weight regarding Mary Magdalene’s identity as another detail that the Gospel of Luke brings to light: this Mary had been possessed by seven demons, and Jesus had healed her. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like, and so I can’t imagine her really being identified by anything else more significant.

Until now. Now, she was not just the woman who had been possessed by seven demons. Now, she was the first one to lay eyes on the resurrected Jesus! Her identity had changed! She was someone new, made so by the Resurrection!

So are you. The Resurrection has changed your identity. Your identity is not determined by some significant shift or shock in your life, nor by some shame or success, but by your Savior. Your past doesn’t define you. Your sin doesn’t define you – how can it when it’s been forgiven and paid for?!? Your shame doesn’t define you – how can it when it’s been removed and cancelled along with your sin?!? None of that determines your identity; Jesus does.

In the book of Colossians, Paul wrote, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4). When we see Jesus by faith, what we were, who we were, died. Now we are in Christ, hidden and unable to see he full glory that is ours until he returns on the last day, yes, but we are no less in him! Paul even writes that Christ “is your life.” That’s who I am now! That’s who you are! We are “Christ’s.” We are Christians. That is more than just one of many labels we attach to ourselves; it is who we are over and above every other label. I am a God’s child. I am a Christian. That is my identity. The Resurrection guarantees it!

Now what? What do we do we this new identity? Now where do we look? “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:1-3). You still look at Jesus, only you look up at him, where he is seated at the right hand of God. And we heed the encouragement to set both our hearts and our minds on things above.

Why both? They work together. Your heart reflects what you desire. Your mind reflects what you think about and give your attention to. Like it or not, the two work together. So I cannot claim to desire something that I rarely or never think about. And, if I rarely or never think about something, then I won’t ever really desire it, either. On the other hand, whatever consumes or takes up most of my thoughts and attention – that is the thing I desire. 

So an addict desires the next fix – why? Because that’s all the addict thinks about all day long. And when that’s all one thinks about all day long, that is what a person desires. The two – heart and mind – work together. And this can be an extremely destructive thing. 

Or, it can be an extremely positive and powerful thing. For the believer with a new resurrection identity, it can be an extremely powerful thing. My new life in Christ doesn’t just mean that I think about Jesus once in a while, maybe when everyone else in my family goes to church. It doesn’t mean I can legitimately claim to desire Christ… if he is never more than a passing thought in my life. 

No, when both the heart and the mind are focused on Christ, my true identity in Christ begins to take shape. So I can believe what Christ says about me, that in him I am new, I am his, I belong to him. But if I am to experience that to the fullest, it means the new me focuses both heart and mind on Christ. I desire more of him, and I think of him more, and the more I think of him, the more I desire him. The two feed each other in a beautiful cycle of spiritual growth and maturity! That’s the purpose and goal of my new identity in Christ – and life does not get any better than when we discover that.

I hope no one here ever has to deal with identity theft. But I hope everyone reading this knows and believes that because Jesus lives, you have been given an identity gift: you are his. Keep looking at him, with your heart and your mind, and embrace your true identity: you are Christ’s, Christian. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For My Easter Identity (Part 1)

Risen Savior,
Sometimes I lose sight of who I am, but Easter assures me of my identity. Significant shifts in my life can cause me to question who I am. After years behind desks in classrooms, the shift into the working world means I am no longer the student I have been accustomed to being. An undesired breakup may lead me to wrestle with what’s wrong with me. Getting married, having children, adjusting to new social circles – shifts like these can expose fears and insecurities that strip me of my confidence.

When I experience these shifts, take me back to Easter morning. Take me to your tomb, where the certainty of the Resurrection provides the proof I need to know who I am: yours! Various shifts will continue to take place in my life, but they’ll never change my identity. Your victory means I am victorious, it means my fears and insecurities have been rolled away with the stone at the tomb. I am forgiven and I am yours. I need no other identity than that!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Bless Easter Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. They are made so especially because of what we celebrate on this Sunday: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! Had this historical event never taken place, as Paul stated to the Corinthians, our faith would be futile! And, if our faith was meaningless and empty, so, too, would our worship be.

But it isn’t, because he lives! Fill worshippers this morning with the joy and elation that resounds from the Resurrection. Let the certainty of our own resurrection in the future bring us security and peace in the present. Let Easter make those who are hopeless, hopeful. Through the empty tomb, provide the answers to what so many are fruitlessly searching for elsewhere. With the same power you used to raise Jesus from the dead, Father, raise up your church to be zealous in carrying out its mission and continuing to spread the news: He lives, who once was dead!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Bless My Easter Plans

Holy Father,
Tomorrow we celebrate the greatest victory the world will ever know: Jesus’ victory over Satan. Along with that victory you have removed the sting of death and its permanence, as well as the slavery of sin and its condemnation.

Whatever Easter plans are in place for tomorrow and the days ahead, I pray that they are not a distraction from my Easter joy. Instead, as those plans are in motion, may they serve as reminders to make me even more mindful of your Resurrection. Guard me from being so caught up in any planning, preparation, or misplaced priorities that would rob me of Easter joy instead of expanding it. Keep me from any stress that would steal the peace and calm of knowing that the Resurrection has secured my eternal rest. Bless my celebration of your victory – for your victory is also mine!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Your Good Friday Sacrifice

Lamb of God,
You take away the sin of the world. Today, we remember the cost. There is no greater sacrifice imaginable that could have been made than that you, the innocent Son of God, would willingly be executed in the place of the real convicted lawbreakers. My sin crucified you, and your compassion saved me. On this Good Friday, words will not ever be able to capture or convey the thanks you rightly deserve. Nevertheless, thank you for dying for me. Compel me to live for you.   

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.