Category: Daily Prayers for Guys

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Ash Wednesday

Lamb of God,
Today, Ash Wednesday, is much more than just the first day of the season of Lent; it is a reminder of my mortality. Anyone who has stood at the graveside of a Christian friend or family member has likely heard the eerie reminder, “ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” That reference to ashes, as well as the ashen crosses that will mark the foreheads and forearms of many today, serve as emphatic markers of my mortality. I will die. We all will die. Of this we can be certain, for death comes to all who sin. 

But the intent and purpose of this day is not to leave us woefully wallowing and dispirited by the inescapable reality of our death. No, it is a call to repentance, and yes, even a joyful confidence in confessing those very sins for which I will experience death. This confident confession that by faith turns me toward Jesus, my Savior, assures me that he was the sacrificial Lamb who takes away the sin of the world – and who therefore takes away my sin.

For that reason, though I will die because of my sin, I will never be condemned because of it. Hell is not my final destination, since Jesus endured it in my place. Therefore, today and throughout this season of Lent, may I repeat the refrain on my heart again and again:

“Glory be to Jesus,
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me the life-blood
From his sacred veins.

Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find;
Blest be His compassion,
Infinitely kind” (Glory Be to Jesus, stanzas 1&2). 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Control My Desires

Lord God,
We live in a sex-saturated society. Modesty is passé. Morality is subjective. Sexual freedom is celebrated. As Martin Luther has been quoted, you cannot keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair. Guide me to tread cautiously in such a sexual society as I navigate my way. Help me to control my desires. Keep my eyes from being enticed. Close my ears to whatever would be disgraceful to your gift of sex or degrading to the opposite sex. Protect my heart from lust. Lead me to live an honorable, holy life, and to stand out as an ambassador of your good blessings of marriage and sex. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Guard Me against Glory-Seeking

Dear Father,
We live in an age when the internet and social media have created more ways than ever for people to become popular. Sometimes that popularity is merited, based on impressive accomplishments that were achieved through dedication and hard work. Other times, though, it seems to happen for reasons beyond anyone’s explanation. Getting noticed for either of those reasons is neither good nor bad necessarily, but pride can quickly see that things take a turn for the worse. 

I ask you to guard my heart from the desire to pursue popularity as a means of glory-seeking. There are noble pursuits to focus on which would serve the greater good in their own right, and then there are efforts simply to get known. Let me be so satisfied in being known and loved by you that I don’t need to crave the world’s validation or the glory that might come with it. Whatever glory the world can offer falls woefully short of the significance of belonging to you. Let that be more than enough for me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Love the Place Where Your Glory Dwells

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we gather together in your house for worship, there we find your glory. Since your glory is wherever you are, and you are wherever your Word is, we delight in joining with others at church to bask in your glory. Draw back your wandering sheep who have distanced themselves from your house for worship. Where they have been enticed by the misleading lie of any sort of vanishing worldly glory, remove the veil from their eyes to see the truth. Lead them, together with the lost, to repent and return to you for a glory that will never fade. Create in all believers a heart that echos the faith-born yearning of the psalmist: “Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells” (Ps. 26:8).

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Measure My Words

Gracious Savior,
When I allow myself to become angry or irritated, especially by someone else’s words or actions, that is when I am most likely to unleash an unfiltered and unloving response of my own, either verbally or from a keyboard. Such words have never contributed positively to better understanding or resolution, and they never will. Furthermore, that kind of communication isn’t just hurtful to my neighbor; it’s also sin against you, my God. Have mercy on me and forgive my many thoughtlessly spoken (or typed!) words!

Instead, help me to speak only what builds others up. Let my words be words of encouragement, that others may find them to be a breath of fresh air. Even when I am called to admonish or correct, the words I use, along with my tone and body language, should better reflect the loving motives of my heart. If I am to speak in a way that edifies others and honors you, I need to be able to first keep my emotions in check. Let your Holy Spirit guard and guide my heart, so that the words which flow from it serve my neighbor and are always pleasing in your sight.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Love Radically For My Neighbor’s Sake

Loving Jesus,
While loving my enemy does not come easily, one of the blessings of putting that kind of radical love into practice is that I am displaying for others how radical your love for them is. When I avoid judging them, I am showing them a God who doesn’t judge them as they deserve. When I do not condemn them, I am showing them a God who doesn’t condemn as they deserve. When I forgive them unconditionally, I am showing them a God who forgives them unconditionally. When I pour good into their lives, I am showing them the God who is the source of all those good things. So then, when the opportunity to love my enemy arises, I ask you to grant me an increase of faith in you and all that you have done for me, so that I may faithfully and confidently love radically, and thereby show my enemy a God who loves HIM radically, too. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Love Radically For My Own Sake

Loving Jesus,
While loving my enemy does not come easily, one of the blessings of putting that kind of radical love into practice is that I am displaying a confident belief in your radical love for me. Only when I am certain that you have not judged me am I able to withhold judging others. Only when I am certain that you have not condemned me am I able to avoid condemning others. Only when I am certain that you have forgiven me am I able to forgive others. Only when I see how much goodness you have poured into my life am I able to pour good into the lives of others. So then, when the opportunity to love my enemy arises, I ask you to grant me an increase of faith in you and all that you have done for me, so that I may faithfully and confidently love radically, as I KNOW you have loved me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Love Others – Even My Enemies

Lord Jesus,
My ego makes loving others a big enough challenge on its own, so when you up the ante and direct me to love even my enemies, I cringe. Honestly, I don’t want to hear it. The last thing I think my enemy deserves is anything good from me. Instead of love, I would prefer to see a heaping dose of misfortune and misery directed at him. When I find myself wishing ill will on others, then I think pretty highly of myself for not actually following through or saying the types of things that come to mind. But your charge to love my enemies means that even when I just do nothing against my enemy, I still fall terribly short! 

Love as you define it includes action. Love as you demonstrated it included action – sacrificial action that saw you hung up and crucified for me. And it might just make sense if I had done anything noteworthy for you or someone else that merited such sacrifice; but I did the exact opposite. My sin reveals my status as sworn enemy by nature, and daily I demonstrate that that enemy is still a part of me. So what did you do for the likes of me? You suffered for me. You died for me. You rose for me. You live for me. You love me.

Now spur on my love for others, even my enemies. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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Use Me to Overcome Evil with Good

Mighty God,
We are not only surrounded by evil everywhere, but as sinners we contribute to it ourselves as well. Nevertheless, when anything evil happens, you warn us not to be overcome by it. But you don’t stop there; you call us also to overcome evil with good. My sinful nature knows full well how daunting this is, for wherever evil is, there is a part of me that is drawn to it and longs to be a willing participant in it. 

Therefore, stir up in me the new man, set apart by the Holy Spirit to live a pure and blameless life. Let him win the day when evil arises, smothering wickedness with sanctified thoughts, words, and actions. Grand scale or small, may the good that comes from me bring a swift end to the fires of evil wherever they fan into flame. When gossip is spreading, let me stall and stop it. If lies catch on around me, let me snuff them out with the truth. May my righteousness overcome violence, my kindness kill cruelty, and my compassion counter indifference and animosity. You overcame the evil one by the cross; now use me as your instrument to continue carrying out your work and overcoming evil with your good. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Imitate Joseph

Forgiving Father,
When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers visiting him in Egypt, two things stood out about his handling of the situation that I want to imitate. First, even with all the traumatic experiences in his past that had taken place to get him to that point, he displayed complete confidence in your navigation of it all for the greater good. He knew you were using those seasons of adversity, during which he must have felt hopeless at times, to ultimately bless and save many lives through his leadership. Remind me during hard seasons in my life of how capable you are of bringing your blessing out of any situation imaginable, and lead me to trust that you are doing just that.

Secondly, even though Joseph was in a position to ignore, shame, severely punish, or even put to death his brothers for their past treatment of him, he harbored no ill will and showed them nothing but love and affection. How hard this is when others mistreat me! I prefer to ruminate over how poorly I was treated, bathe in bitterness, or scheme to get even in some fashion. But Joseph’s is the better way, because it is your way. You did not treat those who mistreated you the way they deserved to be treated. Instead, you forgave them; you forgave me. Give me the same spirit that is eager to forgive and reconcile, no matter the wrong carried out against me, just as Joseph and Jesus did.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.