DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

For the Trust to Lead Confidently

Mighty God,
The Bible shows us multiple pictures of men who lacked confidence when you called them to lead. They carry insecurities, self-doubt, and point to their personal flaws as evidence that they are unqualified. They often asked for signs or miracles from you to reassure them and boost their confidence.

I can relate. I often feel inadequate and unqualified to carry out the tasks to which you have called me. It’s difficult enough just to lead myself. Where a wife and family come into the picture, it’s natural to feel ill-equipped to lead them spiritually, too. Nor do I always feel like I am the right guy to serve in my church. 

Just as you reassured reluctant men of God in the Bible, so also reassure me. Lead me to direct my focus on you rather than in the mirror. Show me how to trust in your promises rather than my own lack of potential. Help me place my confidence in you rather than self. Make me bold, give me a spirit of certainty, grant me your power to faithfully follow anywhere you lead me, and the determination to serve you and others steadfastly. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Trust You More

Lord Almighty,
Increase my trust in you. Let not just my words, but my actions as well, demonstrate that trust. My bank accounts, my schedule, my priorities – these and so many other things paint a picture of where my trust truly resides. When doubts creep in, crowd them out with Christ. When I look to other sources and services for confidence or assurance, patiently direct me back to you. Since trust in you is created, sustained, and strengthened through your Word, let my time in it be a non-negotiable portion of each day. If greater trust is generated by the Spirit working through the Word, then drive me to it daily.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Grow This Year

Gracious God,
As I begin a new year, I do so with the confidence that your presence and your peace go with me. No matter what experiences or encounters wait for me in the year ahead, none of them will overwhelm or overcome me with you by my side. Though we will face troubles, you assure us that you have overcome the world on our behalf.

Grant me growth in my faith over the course of the new year. Let my priorities and commitments, together with my management of your gift of time, reflect my desire to develop more as your disciple. Anything that matters in life hinges on my relationship with you, and you promise that when I seek you and your righteousness before everything else, you will take care of everything else. Stretch and strengthen my trust in you this year and keep your kingdom and its success continually on my heart and mind. Let your grace abound in me and yield abundant fruit through me.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Trust You More

Mighty God,
You assure me that those who put their trust in you will never be ashamed. While your promises are true and trustworthy, I am nonetheless ashamed – because of my lack of trust. I know the Scriptures. I know your promises. Still, though, I waver and doubt. 

In your grace, take my shaky trust and solidify it. When I am uncertain, replace my uncertainty with surety. Remind me of your perfect record of past promises kept. Release me from the need to be in control and the false feeling that I ever really am in control in the first place. Free me from needing to know the outcome first before I trust you with all my heart, and remain faithful to me even when my own faith is wayward and wandering.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

To Trust you in the Trials

Faithful Lord,
Your promise is so clear and so often repeated in the Bible that there is no question: you will never abandon me. No earthly friend or companion will ever come close to caring about me as much as you do. No one else will ever have my best interests in mind at all times the way that you do. 

But no sooner does some hardship or hurt strike in my life and the doubts start seeping in. The enemy presses hard to prompt me to see any level of suffering or inconvenience, whether slight or significant, as proof that you have ditched me and stopped having my back. His relentless efforts too often bear fruit and I buy the lies he sells me.

In your gracious mercy, forgive me. When such doubts arise, equip me to redirect my thoughts away from the lies and back to the truths of your Word, where my fears are put to rest and I am reassured by your promises. Allow me to trace the steps of trial and testing of so many believers in the Bible you have carried through again and again, always keeping your promises, and calm my troubled heart through their experiences as I marvel at the proof of your promises playing out.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

In Good Hands

Nothing has changed.

In light of tanking retirement portfolios, closed schools and businesses, travel bans, and a combination of other steps like social distancing being taken to flatten the curve of covid-19, anyone who states that “nothing has changed” may sound a bit like he’s had his head stuck in the sand for too long. Or, it may just be that he’s had his head stuck somewhere else – in the Word of God:

“But I trust in you, LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hands.”
(Ps. 31:14-15)

Nothing has changed. Our times were in God’s hands long before anyone had ever heard the word “coronavirus,” and our times will be in God’s hands long after we’ve forgotten the word altogether. What does that mean? While many in the world are crippled with fear, we live confidently in faith. Faith assures us that we belong to God. No virus can change that – not even Satan himself could change it! God’s perfect love for us in Christ Jesus drives out all fear. Rest easy. You are in good hands – God’s.