Category: Daily Prayers for Guys

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

For the Conversion of Others

Dear Redeemer,
I am grateful for the many believers you have placed in my life to support and encourage me in my faith. But not everyone in my circles believes, and I boldly ask for you to change that. Whether it is through my relationship with them and my efforts to lead them to faith in you, or by any other means, I humbly ask that you lead them to know and believe in you as their Savior. Let your law convince them of the inescapable reality of their sin, the undeniable truth that they can never attain the perfection you require of them, and the conclusion that they can do nothing to save themselves. 

Then, reach into their despair and hopelessness with the good news of your gospel. Show them that you alone are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that no one is saved apart from you, but that all can be saved through faith in you. Open the eyes of their heart to see your perfection as theirs, and your payment for their sin as complete. Grant them the joy of salvation and the hope of eternal life. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Enrich My Prayer Life

Dear Jesus,
Teach me to pray. When I listen to your voice, I am comforted and reassured by your promises and I hear the encouragement and direction I need to faithfully walk in your footsteps. And, when I listen to your voice, it compels me to speak back to you in prayer. But so often I feel as if my prayers are shallow shells when compared to the bold, robust prayers of the faithful believers recorded in your Word. My prayers tend to focus on the physical rather than the spiritual. They are more about me than about others. I frequently struggle even trying to think of what to pray for at all. And, don’t get me started on all of the broken prayer promises I’ve made to others who’ve requested my prayers!

Enrich my prayer life and let your will and your words permeate my prayers, so that my requests and intercessions mirror what you want for others and for me. Help me to balance the physical and the spiritual in my prayers, so that my heart and mind are not preoccupied with what is temporal and worldly. Direct me to pray more often, so that it becomes more and more natural for me and so that my prayer life is enhanced in every good and pleasing way. Bless me with your Word, so that your words may shape more of my own in prayer. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Be a Better Listener

Gracious Father,
Good communication involves a variety of different elements, many of which are often ignored or overlooked. In a society that celebrates things like expressing oneself, speaking up, and activism, being a good listener at times seems to be a dying art. Help me to prioritize listening to others rather than focusing on making sure that others hear me. We feel valued when someone takes the time to listen to us, and I want others to sense that when I am communicating with them.

Keep me from listening only long enough to get in the next word. Guard me from being distracted or drifting as I listen, even when the topic or matter of discussion is of little or no interest to me, because the individual does matter to me. Give me discernment to know when others need to me to listen simply because they want to be heard or when they are looking for advice or a solution. Finally, provide me with plenty of practice listening in the best way possible, by hearing you speak to me daily through your Word. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

To Connect My Worship with My Mission

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. The grace and forgiveness you long to lavish on your guests as you serve us with your Word and Sacrament in worship are our lifeline. All depends on it! Let me treasure your house as the place I frequent to freely receive your richest blessings, not only to nourish my soul and spirit, but also to equip and inspire me to carry out your mission, the work of your church.

Keep your mission always before me, and provide me with clarity to see when and how I get to be a part of it on a daily basis. Let me be a conduit of your grace and good news for others. Help me to view worship not as the end and ultimate goal each week, but more like the pre-game pep talk, reminding me of who I am and inspiring me to go out and give your mission every ounce of energy that I possibly can every day. Fill me up this morning – and every Sunday, Lord – to faithfully and fully give myself to you and your mission. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

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

adbLeave a comment

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

adbLeave a comment

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

adbLeave a comment

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

adbLeave a comment

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. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

adbLeave a comment

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.