Tag: spirit

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Set My Mind on Things Above

Heavenly Father,
It isn’t only my heart – my feelings and desires – that you direct me to set on things above, but also my mind. This makes perfect sense, for you as our Creator wired us in such a way that our hearts and minds are connected. Since our feelings and desires flow from our thoughts, how important it is then that we follow your guidance and set our minds on things above!

So I ask you to send your Spirit to keep my thoughts in check, to safeguard them from the enemy’s ambushes, and to limit any mindless disengagement that could leave me vulnerable. Although your thoughts are beyond my thoughts, let my thinking imitate your thinking which you have revealed to me in your Word. Lead me to meditate on the spiritual truths of your Word and to ponder what pertains to your kingdom. May I daily consider your church and her ministry, and prayerfully reflect on where and how I fit into your designs and intentions for them. Then, when my mind is properly aligned and set on things above, ensure that my heart’s desires follow accordingly.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Create Godly Desires in Me

Heavenly Father,
You direct me to set my heart on things above. In your Word and still today, references to the heart have to do with feelings and desires. So when you call me to set my heart on things above, it really is an encouragement to focus my feelings and desires toward godly, spiritual things. 

Since it is so natural for my wants to be worldly, I need your help. Let your Spirit dwell in me richly so that the longings I have line up more and more with what you desire for me. Give me not just a knowledge or awareness of the spiritual gifts and fruit mentioned in your Word, but also the desire to pursue them eagerly. Make my wants more kingdom-minded while also detaching my heart from the temporal and worldly. Create in me desires that are more concerned with eternal outcomes than temporary pleasures and pursuits.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Live Godly and Holy Lives

Holy Spirit,
Thank you for interceding on our behalf when we offer up our prayers. And thank you for equipping us as we grow in faith to carry out that for which we pray. With that in mind, guide me as I seek to live in godliness and holiness. Begin by increasing in me the desire to strive for your high standards of Christian living. While protecting me from a self-righteous spirit, instill in me a genuine desire to stand out from the rest of the world by my living. Not only does that honor you, but it also serves to reflect you to others. Keep me from succumbing to any shame or ridicule from others as I look to live for you more and more. Instead, let my example of godly and holy living lead others to aspire to live more honorably as well.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Expand the Reach of My Prayer Life

Providential Father,
Not only do you invite and welcome my prayers, but you also guide and direct them, including those for whom I should pray. When I do pray, the majority of my prayers are on my own behalf or for those within my own family, social, and church circles. But you invite me to pray for all people, which exponentially expands the list of those to include in my prayers. I can bring up the needs of others with the confidence that, whether or not I even know them, you know them by name and are more qualified to address their needs than I am to ask for them. 

So I pray for the greatest need of many: their salvation. Work through your Word, proclaimed to and through your church, to reach the lost with your powerful gospel. Where other needs or concerns prohibit the gospel from being heard, address them by meeting them or removing them according to your will. In doing so, let a double measure of your goodness be known to many by your concern for both their temporal and eternal welfare. Then, as you bring them to faith, shape their own prayer lives to multiply the prayers offered up on behalf of all people. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Your Strength to Sustain Me

Almighty God,
I am not interested in pretending that my own strength is sufficient to sustain me in any way. So I ask you to strengthen me with your power, according to your might. Only then will I have the ability to patiently endure. Only then will I have any hope or chance of withstanding Satan’s attacks and defending against him in spiritual warfare. 

Strengthen me with your sacraments. Help me to embrace my Spirit-filled identity as victor, which you anointed me with through my baptism. Reinvigorate me through the Supper when my soul is weary and worn, and rejuvenate me through your body and blood to rejoin the spiritual battle with fresh vigor. Equip me with the weapon of your Word to fight valiantly, to persevere, and to confidently expect the victory you have already promised and won. When you alone are the only source of my strength, I know I will never fail. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Know Your Will

Sanctifying Spirit,
Grant me the wisdom and understanding necessary to know your will. In our Christian freedom, you allow us so many daily paths to take and choices to make. And even when believers choose different paths and make different choices, they can all be pleasing in your sight. So as I seek to know your will in my life, I do not expect or anticipate some signal or sign from you regarding every single decision, since you have made no promise to provide them.

However, since you have promised to grant me wisdom and understanding when seeking your will, this I ask for boldly. Knowing also where you provide wisdom and understanding, direct me to your Word to find what I need. Help me to know you better and to seek to understand your words and actions over the course of history, which have blessed and served your people in countless ways. Then, use everything I learn about you to better guide me to carry out your will for my life. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Live Boldly in My Freedom From Self

Lord Jesus,
You have made me free! I rejoice in the eternal freedom I have from the condemnation of sin and the fear of separation from you in death. Moreover, my freedom means that my enemies – Satan, the fallen world, and my own sinful flesh – no longer have complete control over me. While each of those enemies still threatens me, lead me to a greater awareness of how dangerous my own sinful flesh is. It so smoothly prompts me to lay the majority of blame for my sin on other people or outside circumstances. Meanwhile, it is always with me, lurking about and driving my selfish desires and discontentment. So, rather than giving into those, lead me to daily know, appreciate, and exercise my freedom from self by pursuing the good fruit of your Spirit instead. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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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

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For Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

Holy Spirit,
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Our society celebrates the pursuit of pleasure in excess and lives by an “if it feels good, do it” mantra. Yet even in Christian freedom, your Word reminds me that while everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. When I can no longer say no to something, then I have become mastered by it.

To counter such extremes, Holy Spirit, grant me instead a spirit of discipline and self-control. Guide my thoughts, words, and actions to keep me from being enslaved by anything in this world. Lead me to pursue that which is virtuous and highly esteemed in your sight. Curb my sinful desires and strengthen me to say no when I need to. Give me the maturity to avoid whatever deceives me with the promise of instant gratification. Where I know I am weak, surround me with fellow believers who know my weaknesses and are willing to stand firmly beside me so that I do not fall. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

Holy Spirit,
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Gentleness is not typically a characteristic which our society associates with men, which makes it all the more noticeable when it is evident. Since gentleness is evidence of your work, Holy Spirit, and a fruit you desire to see in Christians, please grant me more of it. In past situations when aggression or forcefulness took over within me, have mercy on me. When I have been harsh with others, forgive me. Help me see that gentleness is not associated with weakness, but is instead a godly characteristic by which you set your people apart. Let your gentleness be evident in me whenever I interact with others. May others view me as approachable and caring because of it. Use my gentleness as yet another gateway to open up more opportunities to humbly serve my neighbor. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.