DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Manage My Emotions

Patient Lord,
This time of year can be one that is filled with tension and stress. On top of the normal daily to-do’s, there are additional deadlines and added responsibilities at home, work, and school. All of these factors provide ripe opportunities for impatience to creep in and for my temper to flare. 

I ask you, therefore, to help me be aware of all this so that I am actively managing my emotions well and not letting them get the better of me. As I sense my irritability levels rising and my patience running thin, I know I need to take control of my thoughts and redirect them to thoughts of peace and serenity. Place your Word and many rich promises on my heart at those times, so that I may find refuge in them even when everything around me feels chaotic and out of control. By your Spirit, keep me calm and in control of my thoughts and emotions. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For a Strong Heart

Mighty Lord,
A weak heart is a significant health concern. Even relatively light physical activity can be a risk. A poor diet could cause even greater damage. Things that could normally be taken for granted with a healthy heart have to be given serious consideration when the heart is weak.

What is true of a physically weak heart is also true of a spiritually weak heart. A weak heart may be easily led astray. It can drift away from God or depend on other people or things for what God promises to provide. It easily folds in the face of temptation. It questions and even challenges God. 

Grant me, therefore, a strong heart. Strengthen my heart through your Word. Build it up by increasing my faith and cementing my trust in you. Make me spiritually heart-healthy so that I cling to your promises and confidently walk in your ways. Let me be a solid example for others to follow and use me to lead and guide others closer to you.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Increase My Love for Others

Blessed Jesus,
You warned that in the last days, as a result of wickedness in the world, the love of most would grow cold. While it appears to be quite evident that your warning is playing out all around, there is hope. While the world’s love runs lukewarm, your powerful and effective gospel is able to increase the love believers have for each other and for the world. Moreover, it is by our love that the world will know that we belong to you. So I ask you to let your love toward me kindle my love toward others. Let my cares and concerns be focused not on self, but on others. May my actions and speech be both communicated and received in loving ways, which in turn may prompt loving words and actions in others as well. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Supply What Is Lacking in My Faith

Sanctifying Spirit,
Though faith as small as a mustard seed is sufficient to cling to the work of Jesus for salvation, do not let me be content with a seed-size faith. Rather, provide for me what is lacking in my faith. Where my faith lacks knowledge, provide it through your Word. When my faith doubts and wavers, steady it with the rock-solid certainty of your promises that never fail. When I am reluctant to put my faith into action, place me in situations where I cannot help but do so. While it isn’t the size of my faith that saves, but the object – Jesus – I nevertheless pray for you to continue fanning into flame this gift of faith, so that I may be more deeply rooted in you and never shaken loose by Satan or sin. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Jesus-Centered Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today I ask you to help me stay focused on what makes worship so special: worship is where you give me Jesus. Where Jesus is, there is peace for troubled hearts and rest for weary souls. Where your Word is present, there also the work of Jesus is present. Therefore, as I hear the Word of God read and preached, as the Word of God is spoken and sung, as I see the promises from the Word of God attached to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, help me see Jesus and his saving work for me. Refresh and recharge my soul. Let the words and works of our Savior Jesus be proclaimed clearly and considerably in Christian churches everywhere, nurturing and strengthening the faith of many.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Be Aware of Those Hurting During the Holidays

Compassionate Savior,
The weeks ahead will be filled with busy activities in homes, at schools, and in the workplace. While these events are generally a source of warmth and happiness as we gather and socialize, this time of year can also be painful for many.

Memories from past painful events that took place during this time of year can resurface and dull the delight of those affected by them. Hearts are made heavy by the remembrance of loved ones who passed away during this season, no matter how long ago. Current career stress and end of the year job responsibilities can also factor into the frustration many experience. 

Enable me to be aware of the hurts of others during the holidays. Grant me sensitivity to engage meaningfully with those who are struggling, so that I am able to provide them with needed support and hope. Make me a bright spot when they feel surrounded by darkness. Through my compassion, help them catch a glimpse of yours, so that they may know how much they are cared for.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Spend Wisely

God of all Good,
We are blessed to have so many solutions when it comes to filling our wants and our needs. We are surrounded by brick and mortar stores that provide more options than we would ever even explore before making a purchase. We have online stores at our fingertips that load more screens and pages than we could ever scroll through. 

Today, as we are hit with sales and deals and once-a-year shopping opportunities, guard me from becoming consumed by commercialism. A thoughtful gift is one thing, but guide me in moderation. Few of us or those we know need more material things in our lives. Let me manage the financial resources you’ve entrusted to me with prudence and reason. Keep me from overspending or racking up debt. While I bring these requests to you on this Black Friday, may they also apply also through the duration of this holiday season and beyond.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

Thank You That I Am a Christian

Gracious Father,
On this Thanksgiving Day, I am filled with gratitude as I reflect on how good you are to me. The countless physical blessings surrounding me are daily reminders that you not only richly provide for my daily bread – my necessities – but also for so many of my wants. Thank you that having to go without basic needs is really an unfamiliar experience for me.

Surpassing the abundance of physical blessings, however, are the spiritual blessings that are also mine daily. These start with and flow from the name, Christian, which I bear solely because of your grace. This title, this name, carries with it a significance that is mine for eternity – to know that I belong to you and am yours! I stand in awe of my underserved status before you as a perfect man of God. Even the faith to grasp this reality is your gift to me! As a Christian, I rest in a daily peace that cannot be found anywhere else, a joy that cannot be filled from anything else, and grace that cannot be fulfilled by anyone else. Thank you that I bear this name: Christian!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Put My Faith Into Action Daily

Faith-Giving Spirit,
Your Word records many exemplary ways you used believers to carry out your work. We marvel at the trusting obedience of Abraham and the bold Pharaoh-facing confidence of Moses. The daunting threats and unique ministries to which you called your prophets would easily have turned weaker believers away. The determination and resiliency that Paul faced on his missionary journeys and the miracles that your disciples performed in your name were exemplary. 

I easily feel like my life and opportunities to serve you pale by comparison. But you don’t see things that way. Help me to realize that I can glorify you in what appear to be the daily and the mundane and the things which seem small, but which are done in faith and love for you and others. When through the lens of my faith, I consciously carry out my responsibilities as a husband or a father, as a son or a sibling, or as an employee or a neighbor, you do not view my service in your kingdom as big or small, but simply as faithful. Therefore, fill me with a godly desire simply to put my faith into action in many ways daily, so that through me you may build up your church, just as you’ve been doing through believers for generations. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Guard Against What Doesn’t Last

Blessed Redeemer,
If I want to be ready for you return on the Last Day, it means not only focusing on what lasts – your Word – but also guarding against what doesn’t. There is much in this world that begs for my attention. While much of it may be good, there is so much that is merely fleeting, passing away like the rest of the world. Guard me from being consumed by these distractions, from being overly concerned about what won’t last at the expense of your words and promises that will. See that I am detached from what is temporal and tuned in to what is eternal. Keep me from worry and anxiety over the little things and direct me to be invested in what matters while I watchfully wait for your return. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.