A Prayer for Strength and Daily Guidance - Your Daily Prayer - September 8

A Prayer for Strength
By Meg Bucher

“So we can say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?’” Hebrews 13:6 NLT

“You will never believe it mom …”

Junior high tales often begin this way, and I’ve not been able to predict what precedes them yet. Usually, someone was hurt, left out, insulted, betrayed or broken up with. The worst hurt seems to come from close proximity. Typically, kids do not set out with the intent to hurt each other. Misunderstanding, poor planning, lack of communication, and forgetfulness contribute to a lot of hurt feelings in all ages and stages of life. 

The author of Hebrews reminds us not to seek comfort in the material things of this world. In the previous verses, the author speaks of the importance of remaining faithful in our marriages and not to become reliant on wealth for contentment and comfort. Instead, we can put our confidence in the Lord. We don’t have to fear being misunderstood, forgotten, or left out, and we don’t have to cloud our minds in an attempt to identify the intentions of others. 

Our confidence is in Christ Jesus, and our choice to focus on Him over all fear and offense changes everything. It affects our relationships, from the top level of marriage down to figuring out friendship as children. It rearranges our support system, removing money and worldly comforts and cravings and placing the Lord at the center of our hearts. Rooted confidence in the Lord gives life more meaning, depth, and decisiveness. It’s not easy. People are difficult, ourselves included. 

The temptation to accumulate “stuff” is prevalent. God is faithful to strengthen us as we lean into Him for daily guidance through prayer and time in His Word. Then, we can become confident, obedient, and self-controlled Christ followers. The gifts of the Spirit will begin to activate in our lives. We won’t ever be perfect! We, too, will hurt, misunderstand, plan poorly, and forget people. And we, too, will find ourselves on the apologizing end of the spectrum in life. But our confidence in the Lord allows us to keep growing through what we go through.

Let’s pray:

Father,
We are all flawed, sinful people, but there is also good in all of us, too. Father, You see the good in us and in others. When we can’t see past our own hurt and offense, please clear our minds and our hearts so we may see others through Your eyes. Let Your truth reign over our hearts when we are hurting or afraid. 

You are our Helper, Lord. You see us, hear us, and answer our prayers. We are known by You individually and personally. There isn’t a single note of our lives which passes by You- You are all-knowing and everywhere. You are always with us through Christ Jesus. 

Father, when someone hurts us, it feels awful. To be misunderstood, judged, forgotten, or left out is gut-wrenching. Catch us in those moments, God, and remind us of You quickly and swiftly. Let the Truth You say speak louder than any other voice in our lives. When we are tempted to believe negative insults, by Your Holy Spirit, remind us who and Whose we are. When we are afraid and clinging to the material comforts of this world, please come fast to us and steer our hearts back towards You, God. 

God, we pray for marriages that are and will be today. Strengthen and root them in You, Father God. Let Christ be at the center, for we know when couples seek You individually, they meet up with each other on the common ground of faith. We pray for relationships, friendships, neighbors, and co-workers. Help us to communicate clearly with each other, in love. Let us forgive quickly and seek Your help for reconciliation, Lord. 

Bless and protect us from material temptations, God. Guard us from becoming reliant on money and status. Forgive us when we are tempted to put other things and people before You. Restructure our hearts, Father, and reign our lives. Thank You for Your mercy, forgiveness, and grace, Father, to hang in there with us while we stumble through this sinful world. Help us to extend love and grace to others in our lives. Equip us to disciple others, being boldly rooted in Your truth as the source of our confidence. 

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo credit: ©SalemDesign/BethanyPyle 

Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ at megbucher.com. She is the author of “Friends with Everyone, Friendship within the Love of Christ,” “Surface, Unlocking the Gift of Sensitivity,” “Glory Up, The Everyday Pursuit of Praise,” “Home, Finding Our Identity in Christ,” and "Sent, Faith in Motion." Meg earned a Marketing/PR degree from Ashland University but stepped out of the business world to stay home and raise her two daughters …which led her to pursue her writing passion. A contributing writer for Salem Web Network since 2016, Meg is now thrilled to be a part of the editorial team at Salem Web Network. Meg loves being involved in her community and local church, leads Bible study, and serves as a youth leader for teen girls.

Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.

Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith

Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going. 

Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.

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