Tag Archives: prayer guide

Comfort in Grief and Trials Prayer Guide

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Always in your heart
Always in your heart…

Many people I know are grieving the loss of a beautiful, vibrant, beloved young woman. I am sure there are also many others who are grieving for losses in their own lives, so I am drawing thoughts for prayer and meditation this week from a couple of passages that speak of Jesus’ compassion and God’s comfort when we face loss or trials. In addition to these passages, there are many psalms where grief and lamentation are clearly expressed in prayer. Feel free to comment if you would like to know other passages that I have found comforting when going through hard times.

“When Jesus saw her weeping… he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. …Jesus wept.” John 11:33,35

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

God is a God of mercy and comfort. Jesus weeps with his people when they grieve, and he cares about each of us and longs to comfort us in our sadness and afflictions. Let’s sit with the words of these passages this week and allow them to work peace in our souls.

Monday: Bring your heartaches and tears to Jesus, knowing that he feels your sadness and welcomes you with open arms. He weeps with you and joins you in your grief.

Tuesday: What are some things that remind you of God’s love for you? Try to think of some ways you can remind yourself when you’re feeling down that Jesus understands and is always there to comfort you.

Wednesday: God, who created the entire universe, is full of mercy and comfort for us, small though we are in relation to the rest of creation. Let’s meditate today on the truth that the God of all creation cares tenderly for our hurting hearts.

Thursday: God often uses people to comfort others and touch them with his love and grace. Ask God to give you discernment and compassion, to recognize when others are hurting so you can comfort them.

Friday: Pray for people you know who are grieving or struggling in some way. Ask God to be close to them and to fill their hearts and minds with his peace and comfort.

Saturday: Thank God for the way Jesus showed us God’s compassion. Thank him also that he can use our pain and brokenness to someday help us comfort others, lending purpose to our times of sorrow. Move forward with him, asking that your struggles enable you to experience more of Jesus’ presence in your life, maybe not today, but over time.

Light in Darkness Prayer Guide

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…because of the tender mercy of our God…
the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
  and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Luke 1:78-79

Monday: God, the Creator of all that is, is a God of tender mercy. Let’s meditate on this today and ask him in his tender mercy to calm our fears and draw us close to him.

Tuesday: Jesus is the rising sun from heaven, who has brought light to dispel the darkness of the world. Let’s ask him to light our way, especially when the world seems dark around us.

Wednesday: Thank Jesus for the light he has shone into your life. Let’s pray for those we know who are struggling with darkness, that they could experience and receive his light and life.

Thursday: Pray for those who are fearful or grieving under the shadow of death, that Jesus would light their way and comfort them.

Friday: Thank Jesus for the peace he gives to his people; peace that can steady us even in the midst of darkness. Ponder this and ask him to keep you close to him and living in his peace, no matter the circumstances.

Saturday: Thank God for the good gifts of mercy, light, and peace that he has given through his Son, Jesus. Ask how you can share what you have received with those who need God’s mercy, light, and peace.Maine-Sunset-102512

More Easter thoughts and meditations…

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In many churches Easter is celebrated for a season, rather than just one day- Easter Sunday, and actually, every Sunday’s worship is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. This week’s prayer guide is from another passage about Jesus’ resurrection, taken from a conversation the risen Jesus had with two disciples who did not yet believe that he had truly risen from the dead. I followed a different format this time, breaking the passage up into separate verses to meditate on each day.

Monday: “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel…” Luke 24:19b-21a

Are there ways in which you have been disappointed by God that have affected your faith? If so, talk honestly with him about it. He can handle it, and throughout the Bible God invites people to speak with him openly and honestly about how they are feeling and what they’re thinking.

Tuesday: “In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” Luke 24:22-24

Do you tend to automatically receive or automatically dismiss other people’s testimony? Pray for the ability to accurately discern truth, so that you can benefit from the experience of other believers without being gullible to error.

Wednesday: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24: 27

Read and meditate on the testimony of Scripture about Jesus and let it inform and transform you.

Thursday: They urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. Luke 24:29

Ask God to open your heart, so that even when you don’t really recognize him or understand clearly how he’s working, you will be able to be hospitable to him in your life.

Friday: When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him… Luke 24: 30-31a

Thank Jesus for nourishing us with the bread of life—his body—and revealing himself to us. Ask him to give you the ability to recognize him in whatever way he is present in your life.

Saturday: Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. Luke 24: 35

Share how Jesus has worked in your life, that others may be strengthened in their faith through your testimony. Praise him for his gift of Scripture, the fellowship of believers and his presence!

Cattails

Resurrection: Nonsense or Marvel?

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For a number of years I wrote a weekly prayer guide for our church, generally drawing suggestions for daily prayer from one passage of Scripture for the whole week. My focus in these prayer guides is on drawing closer to God through self-reflection and through reflection on Scripture, as well as on pondering how to apply the principles of Scripture to live them out in daily life. I’m planning to start posting one of these prayer guides, either one already written or a new one, at the beginning of each week. Since this is just one week after Easter, I thought I’d start with one of my favorite resurrection passages.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared…when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest…But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened. Luke 24:1-12

How often does it happen that we think God isn’t working or is working in one particular way, then find out that he’s actually doing something amazing that we weren’t seeing? Jesus’ resurrection is the greatest example of that, so let’s meditate on that step by step this week.

Monday: The women, acting out of love for Jesus, were prepared to anoint his dead body. Let’s put ourselves in their place and imagine how deep their sadness and despair must have been.

Tuesday: Jesus’ body wasn’t there! Imagine the women’s confusion and the questions hanging in their minds when things weren’t as expected and didn’t make sense. I wonder how often we, like the women, misinterpret what we see, and God may actually be working in marvelous ways.

Wednesday: When the angels told the women what had happened, they remembered Jesus’ words and believed. Let’s ask God to help us be open to the truth, no matter how inexplicable it may seem.

Thursday: The disciples didn’t believe at first, because they considered the women’s words nonsense. How often do I dismiss truth without evaluating it, because I consider the messenger unreliable? Let’s pray for the humble attitude needed to receive truth openly.

Friday: Peter, who had recently denied Jesus, was now open to the truth and eager to respond. I am trying to allow my doubts and failings to drive me to Jesus, so I can find joy in his life.

Saturday: Staying open with heart and faith allows for wonder. Let’s meditate on the marvel of the resurrection and be awed by our great God!

[For the more skeptical among us, I recommend The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, a former skeptic, who lays out evidence for the resurrection from various fields of inquiry. His research helps convince my skeptical side, which often speaks loud and clear. I recently reread this book, and am marveling at the plentiful evidence and the wonder of Jesus’ resurrection.

Mink Pond- Adirondacks

Resurrection Joy

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Darkness and Dawn    

I love Easter Sunday, especially the early morning hours. Every year I get up while it’s still dark and spend some time imagining what that first Easter Sunday must have been like, starting with deep grief and fear, then moving to confusion, then astonishment and, finally, joy. I try to put myself in the women’s place, as they walk through the dim light of early dawn, carrying spices, planning to go to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body for a proper burial. All their hopes had been dashed, and their friend, their teacher, the one in whom they had wholeheartedly trusted, was dead.

They get to the cemetery and find that his grave has been violated, opened; his body is not there! And then an angel appears (!) and tells them that Jesus isn’t there, that he has risen? What could that mean, risen? Jesus is dead; he died a horrible death, beaten and mutilated, and killed. They saw it happen and saw his dead body.

And then the angel tells them to go tell the disciples that Jesus has risen. Like the disciples are really going believe that! Men wouldn’t take a woman’s word for anything in that time and place in history. Women weren’t considered reliable witnesses and their words weren’t admissible as testimony in court. And yet, these women are the first ones to receive the announcement that Jesus has risen. And then they are the first ones to whom the risen Jesus appeared! I think often about what that says to our world about how Jesus esteems women…

And now these women, afraid and yet filled with joy, have a message to carry to the disciples, a message that resonates through centuries and cultures, a message I meditated on this morning as birds sang their joy in the new day and that I will continue to ponder for many mornings when I rise early and look out at the new light of dawn breaking in and dispersing the dark of night.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”    Matthew 28:1-10 NIV

Resurrection Joy