DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Respond to Enemies With Love

God of Love,
There is no greater example in history of what it looks like to love your enemy than the example Jesus set for us. It wasn’t only at his death that he faced the hatred of enemies in word and actions, but also during his life. Yet we hear no lashing out from his lips, no hate-fueled words spewed out in anger. His response to those who hated him was to love them back.

Give me that heart for those who hate me or wish evil on me or who mistreat me. Do not allow me to waste even a second of my time entertaining possible malicious actions in response. Keep me from trying to mentally justify any potentially vicious verbal comebacks. Instead, let my words and actions toward the bad people in my life model the loving grace you have shown me. The world celebrates the quick-witted put-down or snappy insult against those who mistreat us. Let me, though, model the godly picture of character and strength in how I choose instead to love others, including those who don’t care for me or even hate me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Be a Man of My Word

Dedicated Savior,
The more I become a man of your Word, the more I desire also to become a man of my word. I confess that hasn’t always been the case. At times I have nonchalantly agreed to this or that with no real intention of following through. I have also had good intentions of keeping my word, only to absent-mindedly forget later on. 

I want to be known as someone who follows through and does what he says he is going to do. You tell us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. When I make a commitment, therefore, I want to keep it. That requires me to carefully consider any potential commitments before agreeing to them. Then, when I do say yes to something, grant me the necessary organizational skills to keep track of my obligations, and the focus to follow through with them. Lead others to see me as someone who can be counted on to do what he says he will do. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For a Healthy Appreciation of Sports

Gracious God,
There are so many good things you give us in life that provide added and undeserved joys. Included among those good things is the gift of sports. Being able to be engaged in competition as either a participant or a spectator can be a uniquely exhilarating experience. Cheering on and supporting our favorite team(s), whether we’re celebrating championships, lamenting down seasons, or stirring up rivalries, are all ways we bond together with others, too.

As with so many of your good gifts, they can be taken too far. Keep sports from taking an idolatrous shape in my heart and creeping into that spot of my first and greatest love. Help me to enjoy them in moderation, and not get too emotionally attached to wins or losses. Let me be willing to see the necessary situations in which I need to make sacrifices regarding my love of sports in order to give attention to more important matters. Permit healthy boundaries to exist so that sports are allowed their place without encroaching or overshadowing other areas of life. Let them remain a source of joy rather than something that robs joy from other areas of life.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Those Who Serve on Sundays

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. While many of us are focused on the typical Sunday morning routine of waking up, getting dressed, and arriving at church on time, there are others for whom Sunday worship is an opportunity to serve. Thank you for the many who not only get your house ready for worship, but who also serve before, during, and after worship so that we can be fed the Bread of Life. Fill those serving with a godly pride as they embrace the privilege of serving you in these ways. Give them meaning and purpose as they carry out their work faithfully, and grant them the satisfaction of a job well done in your name. May their service to you be a blessing for them as well as other worshippers.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For the Witness of Believing Homes

God the Father,
Wherever believing families are spiritually strong and healthy, use them as beacons of light to model on a small scale the blessings of belonging to the body of Christ. Let the world see in our homes the best qualities of the Christian faith in practice. Let love and forgiveness flourish. Allow patience and humility to abound.

Through Christian families, display a setting wherein truth is treasured and care and support are present in great measure. Where discipline is lovingly practiced in families, let those children embody what it looks like to honor and respect those in authority. Finally, by whatever means possible, allow such sanctified living within believing homes to serve as a witness to the gospel, so that it may be clearly known that any good work done in believing homes is a testament to your power and grace.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Grandparents

Loving Father,
Thank you for the variety of blessings you extend to families through grandparents. They provide guidance and counsel to parents navigating challenging or unfamiliar situations. They share a special bond with grandchildren. For grandparents who pour into their grandchildren, lavishing them with love and support, cheering them on in their endeavors, and encouraging them through highs and lows, thank you. Nearby grandparents also often serve as willing caregivers to their grandchildren when weary parents just need a break or a husband and wife need alone time away to reconnect. 

Help families establish clear boundaries so that grandparents’ roles are both clear and respected. Guard against the manipulation of grandchildren, using them as leverage for anyone to get their way. Give parents and grandparents the patience to work through any relationship issues until they can be resolved peacefully. Use grandparents to be a blessing, not a burden, to families, and bring joy and delight into families and homes through them.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Children in the Home

Lord God,
Children are a gift from your gracious hand. When you directed Adam & Eve to multiply and fill the earth, you attached your blessing to homes where children are present. Help us always to remember this and to thank you for the undeserved gift of children.

When couples who desire children struggle to conceive, use that season of life to provide them with patience and deepen their trust in your timing and your path for them. When children are born into broken homes, surround them with friends and extended family to provide them with support and nurture. Through the playful innocence of children, bring joy and delight into homes. As they grow, enable them to do so in step with your Spirit, producing abundant fruits of faith in them. Mold and shape sons and daughters to contribute in meaningful ways to the family while they learn the value of obedience, honor, and respect.

In a world filled with so many dark and dangerous forces at work, guard and protect the hearts and minds of children and provide them with positive and pure influences. Use little ones to remind adults what a child-like trust looks like, that we might remember to follow their example in how we place our trust in you. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Mothers in the Home

Loving Lord,
Thank you for the special blessings you bring into the family through mothers. By your own masterful design, you uniquely created mothers with a womb to wonderfully weave together the masterpiece of human life. From conception to birth, the marvelous biological interaction between mother and the child you are knitting together leaves us in awe. Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

The blessings of motherhood continue long after children are born. Through mothers children learn to experience unconditional love. You use mothers to nurture children and to meet their daily needs, often while also managing household and family activities. Provide patience and strength to mothers when they are weary. Lead family members to demonstrate gratitude and express their thanks often so that mothers feel appreciated. Reward faithful, dedicated mothers with obedient and respectful children, and grant them husbands who support and encourage them in their essential role as much as possible. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Fathers in the Home

Heavenly Father,
We address you as “Father” in the Bible, not only because we are your children by faith, but also because in you we see the perfect model of what fatherhood looks like. Today I pray for your blessing over fathers. Open their eyes to see the magnitude of their role in the raising of children. Because our culture has disparaged and downplayed dads and masculinity in general, it has resulted in too many fathers tip-toeing around their roles. Raise up strong fathers to embrace and lean into their responsibilities, using them to model for their sons and daughters the intangible qualities that are unique to them.

Use fathers to teach children what sacrificial living looks like. Use fathers to demonstrate what devoted commitment to a spouse looks like. Use fathers to provide discipline that is both loving and firm. Use fathers as a picture of strength, security, and safety for children. Use fathers also to model what humble contrition and repentance look like, depicting for their children what treasures your grace and forgiveness truly are. Love fathers deeply, that they may in turn lavish that same love on their family and children.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Home & Family

Loving Father,
Through Adam & Eve you established the first marriage and home. As a result of the fall, homes have been crumbling apart ever since Adam & Eve. Your plan called for the home to be a wellspring of blessing for all, but too often we see trauma and tragedy flow from it instead. Marriage is minimized or mocked, parenting is neglected, and children are either idolized on one extreme or ignored on the other.

Forgive us for allowing our homes and the families inside them to be such poor reflections of what you intended them to be. Guide us along paths that will successfully restore the home to a place of protection, nurture, and loving, patient discipline. Allow commitment – not fleeting feelings – to be the anchor of marriages. Equip parents to love their children by teaching them to obey and respect those in authority. Bind siblings together through their special bond to build up and encourage each other. Lead families to celebrate milestones together, to be there for each other, and to be a force for exemplary good in their neighborhoods and communities. For all of this to happen, Lord, let your Word dwell richly in as many homes as possible. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.