Tag: guys

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For New Parents

Perfect Father,
The privilege of being a parent is a special blessing. When parenting for the first time, there are many questions and fears that new parents face. Address their fears with the assurance that they aren’t alone in raising their child(ren), and that you are not only the giver of the gift of children, but that you also provide the best guidance and direction in raising little ones. Shape their skills with your Word and empower them to carry out their responsibility with dedication and faithfulness. Through your Spirit, ensure that the Savior is central to their parenting, both for their own needs and the needs of their children.

Be with new fathers, especially those who are overwhelmed and feel at a loss when it comes to figuring out their role. Let them know how important it is for them to support and hold up their wives in this early season of parenting. Help them to take note of the ways they can step up and contribute around the household, so that new moms aren’t burdened by those responsibilities in addition to nurturing and caring for a newborn. Use this time for fathers to reflect on how they will take the lead in overseeing the spiritual care of their family. Raise up spiritually strong and confident fathers who are then equipped to raise spiritually strong sons and daughters. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Grateful Living

Loving Redeemer,
By your innocent death, you paid the greatest price for my freedom. You have set me free from slavery to Satan, from the condemnation of sin, and from eternal punishment in hell. No show of thanks could ever adequately express the gratitude that I feel and that you deserve.

But you haven’t just set me from from those things, but also for the good that you already determined and laid out for me. Therefore, I have countless opportunities each day to live a grateful life as a living expression of thanks to you in all that I think, say, and do. Let gratitude flow out of me like a dam bursting forth, so that I embrace daily living as an endless thank you. Season all my conversations and my every act of service with thanks for all that you have both freed me from and for. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Battling Drug Addiction

Powerful Lord,
The ongoing battle many have with drug addictions can end up a matter of life and death. Both street drugs and prescription drugs, depending on how they are abused, are capable of killing. Any lives lost at the hand of drugs are too many.

Intervene, Lord, on behalf of those ensnared in addiction, whether voluntarily or not, and provide them with what is needed to overcome. Cut off their access to the drugs that continue to fuel their addiction. Place determined individuals in their lives who refuse to give up on trying to help them beat their addiction. Grant them someone or something to treasure so greatly that the damage and harm resulting from their drug abuse is no longer worth it. Open doors of opportunity for them to receive help coping with whatever issues drove them to drugs in the first place.

Show them that in you they have purpose, meaning, and worth, and are valued more than they could ever imagine. Overcome their addiction by revealing to them your dedication and affection for them.   

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

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.