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365 Pocket Prayers for Women

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Chapter One

* A prayer about BLESSINGS When I want to experience God's blessings

MERCIFUL GOD,

Your love is like an ocean, and wave after wave of your blessings flow over me. Your Word says that you have promised rich blessings to those who love you, including your presence, your grace, your comfort, your provision, and your eternal peace. What abundant riches! I am overwhelmed by your love and generosity toward me; my cup overflows. O Lord, may I always respond to your blessings with gratitude and obedience. And guard me from desiring blessing just for my own benefit so that I can live a comfortable life. I know that would be misunderstanding your purpose, which is to bless me so that I can bless others. May your love and grace flow through me.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. PSALM 23:5-6

DAY 2

* A prayer about GOALS When I want to set goals for my life

HEAVENLY FATHER,

I don't want to meander through life doing whatever seems right at the moment. I want my life to count for something! I know that if I don't set goals, I won't achieve much of consequence. Please give me the discipline to set wise goals, both short term and long term, but help me never to forget that the most important goals of all are eternal. Material success and fame are only temporal, but my relationship with you and the results of service to you will last forever. May I plan for eternity, thinking carefully about what will endure. Teach me to filter my earthly goals through the lens of eternity; then I will know the goals that matter. How can I please you? How can I draw close to you? When you are my focus, my earthly priorities will fall into place.

We are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing.... So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 2 CORINTHIANS 5:6-7, 9

DAY 3

* A prayer about CHALLENGES When I need to accept the difficulties that come into my life

DEAR GOD,

I know that I live in a fallen world. Jesus himself told his disciples that in this world they would have trouble—and I'm having trouble right now. Lord, I don't like what is happening in my life. I'm struggling, but I know that it's possible for me to accept my circumstances without liking them. Please help me to remember that I have a glorious future in heaven. As I keep eternity in mind, may I grow through the difficulties I experience now and may I remember that those difficulties will end with this earthly life. Train me to accept what comes from your hand and to trust that you have something to teach me through whatever comes my way.

What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.... We believers ... groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We ... wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. ROMANS 8:18, 23

DAY 4

* A prayer about HEALING When I wonder whether God can heal my hurts

O GREAT PHYSICIAN,

You made my body, and you can certainly repair and restore it. You made my mind and soul, and you can repair and restore those, too. You are the great healer, not bound by the limitations of this world. I believe you can intervene to overcome any threat to my life, including illness or disease—physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional. O Lord, I have faith that you are able to intervene, but sometimes I doubt that you will. Yet I know from your Word that you love me enough to have died for me, and you promise that in eternity I will be fully healed. Thank you. Those two assurances give me what I need to endure and to wait for your healing power to make me whole—whether in this life or in eternity. May I be patient and trust you to do what is best in my life.

For you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. MALACHI 4:2

DAY 5

* A prayer about NEEDS When I'm trying to be content

LOVING FATHER,

I'm struggling with lack of contentment, and I know the problem is that I'm getting my wants mixed up with my needs. To survive, I need basic things such as food, water, shelter, and love—when I have those things, I should be content. But too often I'm consumed with my wants. Even when they're fulfilled, they leave me unsatisfied, discontented, and looking for more. And when I want things that oppose your desires, I find myself increasingly consumed with jealousy, covetousness, deceit, or materialism. Help me, Lord! Teach me the difference between my needs and my wants so that I may find contentment in living your way. As you meet my needs, show me your power and provision, and let me learn that you are sufficient. Refocus my mind on your values instead of on my own. Then I will no longer be grasping for something else; instead, I will have a heart full of gratitude for what you have already provided.

Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you." HEBREWS 13:5

DAY 6 Prayerful Moment

* A prayer about HELPLESSNESS When there's nothing I can do

FATHER,

I cry out to you today in desperate need. I am struggling, downcast, and completely helpless—I need you! When I try to get myself out of trouble, I miss out on seeing what you can do in my life. You are the one who loves doing the impossible, so I reach out to you, my lifeline, and trust that you will help me.

Asa cried out to the Lord his God, "O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone." 2 CHRONICLES 14:11

DAY 7 Prayerful Moment

* A prayer about FRIENDSHIP When I want God to strengthen my friendships

LORD,

Thank you for the friends you have given me. We are glued together with bonds of loyalty and commitment, no matter what the external circumstances are. May I be a good friend to them and love them with genuine Christian love. Work in my heart so that I may be loyal, helpful, patient, kind, and forgiving.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-5

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from 365 Pocket Prayers for Women by Ronald A. Beers Copyright © 2011 by Ronald A. Beers. Excerpted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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