Tag: rest

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Rest

Loving Lord,
We are always on the go. We treat every gap in our schedule as a blank space that needs to be filled. We can’t stand missing out on the experience someone else (or someone else’s kids) had. Just one more thing. Just a little bit more. We are too easily deceived by the lie that we can pack 30+ hours into a 24-hour day.

We need rest – in our body, in our mind, in our spirit. Maintaining a breakneck pace in life takes its toll on our bodies. We cut out sleep and settle for a diet that leaves us undernourished. Our racing minds have lost the ability to unwind and unravel during even the slightest bit of downtime because our screens enslave us. Spiritually, you are often the last thing we try to squeeze in, and by that time, we’ve already exhausted ourselves. 

Forgive us. Refresh us. Renew us. Reframe our thinking so that we start with you and fit everything else after, for only in you will we ever find the kind of soul rest the world simply cannot provide.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Work on Our Timing

Dear God,
While your timing is perfect, ours is not. We pause and procrastinate when we should push forward, and we push forward when we should slow down and reflect. We get impatient when you call on us to wait and put our hope in you, and we remain inactive and inattentive when you’re waiting for us to take action. We want to rush to speak when we should listen, and listen silently too long when we should speak up. Forgive us for our poor timing and mismanagement of your gift of time in general. Help us to number our days and to see our time here on earth as a finite gift. Prompt us to look to your Word for guidance in balancing between resting and responding. As we work on our own timing, make us always grateful for your perfect timing, which, at just the right time, ushered your Son into our world to save.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Prioritize Margin and Rest

Lord God,
In a culture that celebrates busyness as a badge of honor, it isn’t always easy to configure rest and margin into our schedules. We let the fear of being considered lazy or being perceived as not hardworking push us beyond our limits. But you created us to need rest – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. You modeled it by resting on the seventh day after creation. Even Jesus prioritized prayer and alone time throughout his ministry. Guard us from consistently putting off rest and downtime until “later.” Help us instead to view it as an essential part of our calling, enabling us to serve you and others more fully. Reassure us that you have already completed the work of our salvation in its entirety, relieving us from that burden and freeing us to enjoy your gift of rest and recovery.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Uplift and Encourage Others at Church

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. Since I am always uplifted and encouraged by your Word in worship, I pray this morning that you also use me to encourage and uplift others. Spur me on to step outside of my normal circle of friends to meet and greet someone new. Let my lips be filled with complementary words of kindness. While I don’t know the details of all the stress and strain your people bring with them into your house each week, I can remind them of the peace you came to bring that surpasses their every trouble. When worshippers leave your house this morning, let them do so not only filled up with your Spirit, but also cheered on by their fellow believers, including me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Relief From Sin’s Burdens

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we walk through the doors of your house of worship, we bring with us the spiritual and emotional baggage we have accumulated over the course of the past week. Through confession, lead us to own up to our self-imposed burdens, the ones brought on by our own sins. Remove also the hurt from sins committed against us. By the remembrance of our baptism, lighten our load. Where your Supper is served, feed hungry souls longing for the taste of grace and your assurance of forgiveness. While we may enter your presence bearing these burdens and heavy loads, ensure that we depart empty-handed, with lighter hearts and refreshed spirits, renewed and eager to love and serve you and our neighbor. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Take the Time to Rest in You

Dear Jesus,
So much of our lives is spent trying to make a good impression on others. We vie for our parents’ affection as we compete with siblings for the coveted status of favorite child. We aim to impress the teacher as the star student. We want to get noticed by the coach to get playing time. 

How different is our relationship with you, Lord! It isn’t based on our performance or perfection, but on your grace. You chose us to be yours and made it so. You worked it all out so that every requirement, down to the smallest detail, was satisfied. I know and believe this to be true, but I also take it for granted and rob myself of the peace and serenity that flow from your completed work on my behalf. Move me to embrace the place you secured for me in your family, and to daily de-stress by seeking you for rest. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Blessing of Recreation

Lord God,
When you created the world, on the seventh day you established the need for rest, not for yourself, but for us. Our bodies require it, as do our mind and spirit. And, at creation, you spoke into existence a marvelous world for us to enjoy and explore. One of the ways we carry this out is through recreation.

Through recreational actives, you allow us to be renewed. Moreover, in a fallen world, where work doesn’t always bring with it the joy and pleasure that you intended, recreation can provide a healthy break from the drudgery of work. Through so many activities, some athletic and intense, others more leisurely and relaxed, we are reinvigorated. Thank you for the wealth of outdoor and indoor recreational options and for those individuals and companies who facilitate them. At the same time, help us maintain a healthy balance in our lives so that we do not idolize recreation. Do not allow our selfish pursuit of it to overshadow the use of our time, gifts, and energy in service to others. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Bless My Downtime

Selfless Savior,
Bless my downtime. I look forward to open time on my calendar when nothing is scheduled, but I can also mismanage it if I don’t have any ideas in mind about how I plan to use that time. Then, in contrast to the eager anticipation of looking forward to that time, I look back and regret it if I feel like it was wasted.  

Using your Word as my guide, help me to establish priorities and values that can help me feel as if my downtime is managed well. Let me be OK with simply doing nothing on occasion, and allowing my mind and body to recharge and reset. This is a blessing from you! At the same time, give me the discipline to manage affairs and responsibilities so that I don’t neglect them when I have extra time to take care of things. Activities and hobbies can bring fulfillment, too, as well as simply spending unscheduled time with friends and family members. Guard me from being too rigid when managing downtime, but let my use of it honor you, bless others, and be a blessing to me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Learn to Relax

Dear Rest-Giver,
In a culture that prides itself in productivity, busyness, and putting the pedal to the metal non-stop, some of us lack the ability to relax. We have hard-wired ourselves to either be on the go or on our phones, so that our stress and anxiety levels actually rise when we are faced with unscheduled time and/or detached from a screen. This behavior is not sustainable physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Help me break away!

You won rest for us, a real rest from the stress and worry of our wrongs and failed righteousness. Your gracious forgiveness calms us with a peace that cannot be found anywhere else. Let that peace flow into my daily routine and schedule, so that I can learn to relax in the rest I have in you. I don’t need to – nor can I! – control everything around me. Keep me from getting sucked back into the endlessly spinning hamster wheel of life, and lead me to lean into your rest and both embrace and excel in the art of regular relaxation.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Prioritize My Sleep

Sabbath Lord,
Thank you for the blessing of sleep. It provides our bodies with the necessary downtime to carry out many important functions that are essential for our lives. Sleep is tied significantly to both our physical and mental health and wellness. 

Sometimes others downplay sleep, associating it with either weakness or laziness. Don’t allow such peer pressure to negatively influence my own perception of sleep. At the same time, whether out of anxiety or ambition, I am often too willing to allow my sleep schedule to be sacrificed first. Help me to prioritize getting a good night’s rest by establishing good sleep patterns and carefully guarding that time. Minimize my late nights and grant me rest and rejuvenation so I wake up refreshed and energized each day. When I’m restless or sleep is simply difficult to come by with age or other circumstances, lead me to be all the more grateful for any good sleep you provide. As I work in this area of my life, bless me with peace-filled sleep.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.