Category Archives: prayer

A Prayer Prompted by Matthew 22

Posted on by
Reply

Heavenly Father,

We say yes to your invitation to come to marriage supper of the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ. As we do, however, we admit that it is only by your grace and his shed blood that we can come.  It is not on the basis of our own righteousness.

We then confess our belief in Jesus as both our human Savior and our divine Lord.

We acknowledge our belief in the resurrection of the dead, and to that end we cry, “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus,” as we await his soon return.

We also pray that you would help us to be model citizens while here on this earth, obeying those in authority and faithfully paying what we owe. At the same time help us to remember that all earthly authority is still subject to you.

Finally, we ask your help in doing all that we do in love, first of all in love for you, but also in love for others – a love that no one could deny in both our attitudes and our behavior.

And we pray all of this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

A Prayer Prompted by the Triumphal Entry of Matthew 21:1-10

Posted on by
Reply

Heavenly Father,

When Jesus came into Jerusalem that day, the crowds hailed him as their coming king.  In a few days, however, it is likely that some of these same people were crying out against him, which resulted in Christ being crucified.

I have already contributed to the sin for which Christ died.  From now on, by your grace, I hope to hail him and serve him as king.

Let me always be among those who worship and honor Jesus.  Help me to give him his rightful place in my life, my priorities and my desires.  Let me know more what it means that Jesus saves, even as the crowds cried “Hosanna!” or “Save now!”

Whether they imagined their Messiah’s ministry properly or not, this Palm Sunday crowd had one thing right.  Jesus was their king and their Savior.  He was worthy of heir worship and praise.  Help me to continuously bring glory to Jesus.  He is worthy of all the praises that have ever been uttered or will ever be uttered by every worshiper in all of eternity.

It is him that we serve, that we worship and that we will praise forever.

Amen!!

A Prayer Prompted by the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard – Matthew 20:1-16

Posted on by
Reply

Heavenly Father,

I count it as a privilege to serve you, so help me always to be content in my service.  Help me also to be content with what you bless me with in the way of wages or rewards.  I know that all that you give me, especially that which will come my way in eternity is completely undeserved.

Help me not to look at the service or the wages of others in such a way as to make me envious of them.  I can easily forget that you are always fair and even generous when I fall into improper comparisons.

In the deepest sense it is really not possible for me to see what others experience as they serve you.  I cannot see their inner conflicts or background struggles, nor can they fully see mine.  In the end, all of us truly need to trust you and know that all that we have from you is all of grace.

Keep us ever mindful of your goodness and grace toward us.

In Christ,
Amen

A Prayer Prompted by Matthew 19

Posted on by
Reply

Heavenly Father,

Our lives belong to you.  Help us to trust you completely as obedient children.

If there is anything standing in the way of our complete commitment, we ask you to reveal it to us so that we can serve you with all that we have and all that we are.

We admit that we have ignored your instructions for marriage as you intended it. We have made marriage more about our personal wishes than your perfect will.  Again, since we belong to you, help us to serve you, whether married or single, with contentment and with willing hearts.

In the end we see that eternal life is nothing more, nothing less and nothing other than life given to us as a gift from you and to be lived completely for you.  Make us people whose lives reveal that to the world.

In Christ,

Amen.