Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
and the community must enter every day.
(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Before You Ask
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Many people think their prayers won’t work if they don’t utter them clearly enough, or fail to explain to God exactly what they mean, or don’t speak loudly enough to him with sufficient earnestness. But when this happens, prayer becomes so exaggerated that our Savior even forbids it.
Obviously Jesus does not want to discourage us from praying. His point is that when we pray we must have a sense of proportion. Once we have prayed, we must be quiet. We need to be like the farmer who has sown his seed. Help will come only when you are quiet in faith. Also in your sickness or with other needs, learn to be still and look to the Kingdom of God.
We can share our needs with the Father in a few words, without making a fuss, and rest assured that God already knows what we need and what he will do to help us. We don’t have to explain our requests in great detail to God, or try and make quite sure that he knows our needs. God knows about even the smallest matters and takes them straight into his heart. We can turn to him by glancing Heavenward, with no words at all. We can do this even when we pray about something concrete and tangible, or about something that specifically troubles us. We may realize that what we thought we needed is actually not necessary and that we can find a way right in the midst of how things are now.
This doesn’t mean that we just let things happen – as if everything will come of its own accord without our longing for it. Nor should we just cast a brief and hurried request at God’s feet. When this happens, we too easily lose sight of God, assume that everything comes to us without his help, and we forget to thank him. Then we cease to have a believing heart and are consequently not true children of God.
Jesus said, “Before you ask him.” Therefore we do need to make our requests known to him, otherwise many things will not be given that could have been given. It never displeases God when we come to him with our heartfelt requests. A real child asks for everything, knowing God has an ear for him. We should bring all our burdens and needs to him, for at the very least this helps to make us ever more aware that in all things God is the giver.
God always has our interest in mind. He carries our various needs with fatherly concern, eagerly waiting for us to come to him. He has not forgotten us. And when we feel tempted to think so, then all the more we should remember that he knows it all and cares for us. In fact, he knows much more about us and our needs than we do. Simple, childlike prayer is enough to move his heart, give you something out of the fullness of his compassion, and save you from all sorts of fear and trouble.
(Johann Christoph Blumhardt)
(The God Who Heals, Words of Hope for a Time of Sickness)
Request a prayer and pray for others
To request a prayer, click on the blue button below that reads, Share Your Prayer Request.
To pray for others, look below the form to see what prayers have been requested.
You may add your prayer request to this prayer wall using the form below. Once your prayer request is received, I will share it according to your instructions. Feel free to submit as many prayer requests as you like!
Julia
Prayer requests for this week
Christ, in your mercy, hear our prayers for:
Inmate Herbert J. at Nashville Prison has black lung from working in the coal mines. They recently went to him and told him to sign a no resuscitate order. Then they would not issue an oxygen concentrator to help him when someone else in the prison has one. They told him it was because they are not going to put an outlet in his room to recharge the oxygen concentrator. Please pray that he receive the care he needs which is guaranteed by the State of North Carolina.
Harry Hewett at Nashville Prison, North Carolina is having problems with his health in that his hip is swelling along with his wrists, he has other issues and has not been able to see a doctor for several weeks. Please pray that he receives the care he needs which is guaranteed by the State of North Carolina.
Please pray for Beth Carol who is in the hospital with a brain aneurism
(Celtic Anglican)
Received: June 22, 2018
Julia
A Prayer for Missions
God of truth and love, Father Son and Holy Spirit, hear our prayer for those who do not know you. We ask that they may come to a saving knowledge of the truth and that your name may be praised among all peoples of the world.
Sustain, inspire and enlighten your servants who bring them the Gospel.
Bring fresh vigor to wavering faith; sustain our faith when it is still fragile. Continually renew missionary zeal in ourselves and in the church; raise up new missionaries who will follow you to the ends of the world.
Make us witnesses to your goodness; full of love, strength and faith – for your glory and the salvation of the entire world. Amen.
(The Gospel Coalition)
Received: June 22, 2018
Julia
Prayer for Rohingya crisis
God who hurts with humanity, we lift up our voices and pour out our hearts to you, in sadness, grief and disbelief at the devastating violence forcing so many people from their homes in Myanmar.
Listening to stories of villages being burned, families being torn apart, and people fleeing for their lives; we pray they will find places of safety to take refuge.
Reading reports of people walking for days across difficult terrain, of bodies arriving weary with sickness, hunger and thirst; we pray for deep rest and more food and medicines to help them heal.
Strengthen the Christian Aid partners already at work. Give them the access they need to reach displaced people in Bangladesh and Myanmar; provide more funding so they can provide more help.
And may our listening, hearing and reading move us all to make a generous response. In your merciful name we pray. Amen.
(Christian Aid)
Received: June 21, 2018
Julia
Prayer for Haiti
We pray for the body of Christ in Haiti. Just as we do for our country, we pray that God will empower Christian nationals to lead their communities and equip Godly leaders who will impact their nation.
We pray that God will bring the right people and programs to Haiti. As hard as it is to acknowledge, some programs may be causing more harm than help in this country. Pray that God will compel the right people to invest in the sustainable development of Haiti’s future.
We pray for the efficiency of development programs put in place in Haiti. Disorganization, lack of funding, corruption, and red tape plague so many development programs in Haiti. We ask for God to strengthen, guide, and use these initiatives to their full potential.
We pray that we would seek to understand the desperation in Haiti. We cannot ask for healing with an unmoved heart. Pray for the empathy and understanding that will motivate us to become prayer advocates for Haiti.
We pray that the hope of the Gospel will be grasped in Haiti. True health and restoration can only come through the love of Christ and transforming power of his message.
Amen.
(Aid For Haiti)
Received: June 21, 2018
Julia
For the People of Syria
Almighty eternal God, source of all compassion,
The promise of your mercy and saving help fills our hearts with hope.
Hear the cries of the people of Syria;
Bring healing to those suffering from the violence,
And comfort to those mourning the dead.
Empower and encourage Syria's neighbors
In their care and welcome for refugees.
Convert the hearts of those who have taken up arms,
And strengthen the resolve of those committed to peace.
O God of hope and Father of mercy,
Your Holy Spirit inspires us to look beyond ourselves and our own needs.
Inspire leaders to choose peace over violence,
And to seek reconciliation with enemies.
Inspire the Church around the world with compassion for the people of Syria, and fill us with hope for a future of peace built on justice for all.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace and Light of the World, who lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
(Catholics Confront Global Poverty)
Received: June 21, 2018
Julia
We Turn to You
Lord God, we turn to you in these trying hours when conflict is a daily reality for our sisters and brothers in Israel and Palestine. We promise you to work to our utmost for peace and reconciliation in the region. But we know we cannot do it alone. We very much need the strength of your presence in our midst if we are to overcome the obstacles before us. So our prayer at this moment is that you add your support to our efforts, that you show yourself as a tower of strength in those moments when the barriers seem impassable. Together we can become beacons of hope for just and peaceful societies in the land so very dear to the peoples of your covenant. Amen.
(Reverend John T. Pawlikowski)
Received: June 21, 2018
Julia
Peace in the Middle East
God of mercy and compassion, of grace and reconciliation, pour your power upon all your children in the Middle East: Jews, Muslims and Christians, Palestinians and Israelis. Let hatred be turned into love, fear to trust, despair to hope, oppression to freedom, occupation to liberation, that violent encounters may be replaced by loving embraces, and peace and justice could be experienced by all. Amen.
(Reverend Said)
Received: June 21, 2018
Julia
A Pro-life Prayer of Thanksgiving
Father of mercies,
God of all creation,
Source of life and of every blessing,
We thank you today, and every day of our lives,
For all that you give us!
Our thanksgiving is not only a duty,
But a joy and a source of strength,
Because it reminds us of your faithful love,
And inspires us with the hope of a future filled with blessings!
Lord, we thank you for guiding our fathers,
Who, inspired by the prophets
And by the saving work of your Son,
Founded a nation where all might live as one,
Acknowledging their dependence on you
As the source of their right to life.
We thank you for your blessings in the past,
And for all that, with your help, we must yet achieve.
We ask you to bless us as we thank you,
That our giving thanks may be accompanied by our firm resolve
To proclaim, celebrate, and serve
The gift of human life, born and unborn.
We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Priests For Life)
Received: June 20, 2018
Julia
Women’s Prayer
Almighty God, we pray that you will bless our work in mission and ministry in the world. Make us so thankful for the power of your love, given through your son, Jesus, that we may pray, labor, and give liberally to make known that love throughout the world. Bless us that our lives may shine forth the joy and wonder we share in your name. Amen
(Episcopal Church)
Received: June 20, 2018
Julia
Prayer For the Wives of our Government Leaders
Dear Heavenly Father we lift up the wives of our government leaders, knowing that this can often be a difficult and a lonely calling. We pray that you would give them the grace and wisdom to support their husbands in their important calling, and may they be a Godly support and encouragement in the many tasks that they are called to do.
Thank you for each one and we pray that they may be endowed with the wisdom and grace to support their own husbands in a Biblical manner so that their lives become a testimony to the love and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives.
We ask for your protection for each one from the wiles of the devil, who will seek to disrupt their homes, families, marriages, and duties, and we pray that they may learn to stand firm together in Christ amidst the trials and difficulties of life – that they will inevitably be required to face. May each one grow in grace and in knowledge of Jesus Christ and may their homes be a place of peace and joy in the Lord, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.
(Knowing Jesus, adapted)