DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Focus on What Lasts

Patient Lord,
As I await your return on the Last Day, I can easily slip into indifference or complacency. I treat your warning like the boy who cried wolf, tending to disregard it as a false alarm with each year and then decade that passes by. Yet it is this very reality that illustrates why you provided the warning to be ready in the first place. Help me to heed it! 

I do that by focusing on what lasts. Ultimately, all of the stuff of this world will pass away and be forgotten. So keep me focused instead on what lasts: your Word. Not only will your Word endure until the end, but it will always be powerful and effective until that time as well. Therefore, let it permeate my life. Rather than just an occasional Sunday morning book reading, let your Word dwell in my life richly. As I focus on it more, use Scripture to sculpt and shape my soul and my mind, so that I live for you now while I look for you in the future.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Those Returning to Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Thank you for freedom and opportunity we have to worship each week, and for moving so many of your people to gather together for this special purpose. What a blessing it is! 

Today I pray for those returning to worship who haven’t attended for some length of time. Whatever reason is behind it, I am grateful that you used it to prompt their return. Setting foot in a church after an extended absence is no small thing, as the lengthy time away allows fearful or anxious thoughts to build up in people’s minds. Let those who notice their return respond positively and make an effort to welcome them without judgment. As the father rejoiced at the return of his prodigal son, may your people respond with rejoicing, too. Use your Word to speak what their heart needs to hear so that their return is a celebration of their long-term reconnection and reengagement with their church family.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Rightly Use the Internet

Dear Lord,
The internet opens doors to more blessings than I could ever imagine. Through it I can benefit from the copious research carried out by others and grow in knowledge and understanding. The internet provides up-to-date news from virtually anywhere in the world so that I can always know what’s going on. I can easily communicate with close friends as well as those I may never meet in person. The internet can provide so much good on a daily basis.

But the internet is also a gateway to temptation and sin. Even relatively harmless content can still do more harm than good when I get drawn into endless loops of mindless clicks, leading me to avoid my responsibilities and obligations. There are also sites that not only provide sinful content, but promote it. Whether deliberately or accidentally, guard me from any pages where sex or violence are glorified. When sin is celebrated or normalized, give me the discipline to steer clear. Guard my eyes to help guard my heart, so that I use the internet in ways that reflect who I am: yours.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For Actions That Amplify My Words

Heavenly Father,
Words are powerful. Help me use them frequently to offer encouragement, support, and kindness to others. Words build up and spur on others.

Nevertheless, there is a reason we say actions speak louder than words. The power of words is multiplied when supported by actions. So I ask that as you help me make the most of opportunities to speak words that uplift and empower, you also make me mindful of how my words can be amplified by my actions. Love verbally expressed can be physically shown. Sympathies offered can be accompanied by thoughtful gestures. Cheers of encouragement can be stretched even further by acts that demonstrate genuine belief in others. Let my words speak loud tones of positivity, but may my actions support them and help ensure that they hit their mark in serving others.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For the Gift of Faith

Holy Spirit,
Thank you for the gift of faith – it is truly a one of a kind gift! Faith not only receives the promise of forgiveness and the assurance of my salvation, but every other spiritual gift which flows from these as well. You opened my blind eyes to see the peace I have in Jesus and raised my spiritually dead body to live my new life of joyful service in your kingdom. Thank you!

Since you not only grant this gift of faith by your grace, but also sustain it and strengthen it through the living water of your Word, lead me to maximize my faith by drinking deeply from that well. Fan my faith into flame, allowing me to shine outwardly and burn inwardly with a passionate fire that yearns to see others come to faith and grow in their faith. All of this is possible only through your work, mighty Spirit, so pour out your gifts on your people and extend Christ’s Kingdom through your limitless grace!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Prioritize Physical Fitness

Mighty God,
Spiritually speaking, you are and always will be my rock and my source of strength. Whether I am struggling with weakness in temptation or wavering in trust, your strength is the solution. 

But the blessing of strength is not limited merely to the spiritual. You have also given us flesh and blood bodies capable of growing physically strong. Since we are called to take care of everything that you have entrusted to us, our physical bodies are surely included. The many benefits of exercise and physical fitness are well-documented, and since we desire to maximize the time you graciously give us here on earth in service to you and others, we therefore want to strive to be in good shape.

Make our physical health a priority for us. Help us to be disciplined when it comes to any physical activity, realizing that something is always better than nothing. Make us as willing to push our bodies as we are to pamper them. Keep us from being stationary or overly sedentary for extended lengths of time. Along with a faith that moves mountains, grant us also a body that moves as well as you designed it to.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Avoid Judgment

Just Judge,
While I acknowledge and confess my sin of judging others, there is an even greater judgment about which all people need to be concerned: the verdict you will render against us when we stand before you in judgment. While we may be able to keep our sins hidden from others, they will all be laid bare before you. If you kept track of our every sin, we know full well our verdict would be “guilty” and our sentence would be condemnation. 

But as believers who know we have been bought and paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ, we know our sins no longer accuse us before you. They have been paid for and we have been forgiven. Therefore, we will be able to stand before you in judgment with full confidence. We already know the verdict: “not guilty.” There is no condemnation for those who stand in your grace, which means there is no fear of judgment. Use me to lead others to know that they don’t need to be afraid of judgment, either.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Avoid Judging

Patient Lord,
Daily we face judgment from others. People judge us by the way we dress, the food we eat, our circle of friends, and so many other factors. We are constantly being scrutinized and assessed. We live in fear of how others will judge us.

Sadly, the very judgment we fear, we also perpetuate by judging others. We judge them on the basis of the same criteria by which they judge us. Forgive us all for constantly critiquing one another, and help us let go of judgmental thoughts. Instead, generate in our hearts both the desire and the ability to see the best in others. Replace our judgmental spirits with joyful ones, and helps us view others as Jesus views us: as friends. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

Thank You for the Elderly in Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Being able to gather for worship is a blessing often taken for granted. Use the example of elderly church members to encourage us in this regard. As we age, even the little details of daily life become more and more difficult to carry out. Coupled with that are chronic pains and other health issues that would be enough do discourage many from gathering for worship. Even transportation, which presents little challenge for many, can be an obstacle for those without the freedom of driving as a result of their age.

Yet week in and week out, they regularly gather in your house for worship. These faithful, experienced believers are such fine examples for so many each week. Let us imitate their dedication and commitment to hearing your Word and receiving the Sacrament. As they are a blessing to others in this regard, let others be a blessing to them by offering assistance and help whenever needed, as well as a simple “thank you” to them for setting such fine examples of Christian faith in action. Continue to develop many more dedicated disciples just like them, including me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Take Action

Lord God,
There is a time for pondering, a time for planning, and a time for preparing. As important as each of these steps are, keep me from getting so wrapped up in them that I fail to take action. Too often I overthink instead of taking action. Too often I expect to fine-tune the plan until it’s perfect. Since it never is, I get stuck in the realm of inactivity. And, sometimes it is simply my own indecisiveness or procrastination that hinders my action.

Push me to be more deliberate about taking action. Even wrong or misguided actions allow for adjustments or corrections to be made, which ultimately result in greater progress than simply doing nothing. Make me bold to fail forward instead of failing flat-footed because I refused to act. Since in Jesus we already have our perfection, we don’t need to be perfectionists; we can celebrate progress. Since progress requires action, move me to take it more often. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.