These prayers will help you lean on God during your busiest
days.
One of my favorite stories of Jesus is His interaction with
the Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon.
She tells Jesus
her problem, but the disciples try to push her away from Him. Jesus waits in
silence. The Canaanite woman then utters a prayer that moves Jesus into action.
How would our day change if we utter those same words with
the problems we have?
Sometimes I convince myself that I’m too busy
to pray.
The reality is, though, we can pray a simple prayer
that may be only one sentence long yet God will answer it, because He answers
our prayers not by how eloquently we pray but by how much faith we pray
with.
God doesn’t need a 30-minute prayer session to be moved
into action. He just needs faith and a sentence to call Him to do something.
Here are 20 one-sentence prayers that you can pray any time and any where that
could change your day and that of those around you.
1. Lord help me be a
better spouse and better parent today than I was yesterday and the day before
that. This prayer I should be silently praying anytime I go
to the fridge. What a prayer to quickly pray when you are with your family that
God will be happy to answer if only we would.
2. Lord help me to show this
person your love and attention in a way that they haven’t seen before. Next
time you meet with someone, let this prayer roll of your tongue silently before
a word you speak to him or her. Every encounter we have is an encounter to
change how someone views God.
3. Lord help me believe
that you are with me even when I’m unsure if you are. God
is with us! We know this theologically but sometimes in the face of chaos or
trials we forget to live this out practically. Next time you feel anxious or
uncertain, ask God give you a little nudge to remind you He is with you.
4. Lord help me turn from my
sin when my sin turns toward me. David said, “My sin is always
before me.” Yikes. Sometimes instead of knocking, sin rings the doorbell. When
temptation comes, let this prayer help you not answer its call.
5. Lord help me do the things
I know I should be doing but currently I am not. God is
great at giving us a push in the back. There are things you know God is asking
you to do but currently you aren’t. What better way to start doing them than
asking God to help you.
6. Lord help me to believe
that I can make a difference in someone’s life today by just saying something
nice to them. The words you say to people are little
parachute bombs filled with either rocks or flowers. Words hurt or help people,
and sometimes we forget this.
7. Lord help me believe your
Word can be like a flashlight and guide me down this darkened path. I
know not many of us are trudging the Oregon trail at night, but metaphorically
we are on the path of life. Sometimes it gets dark, and when it does remember
God has provided the ultimate light source, His Word.
8. Lord help me give the love
you have given me away freely and without charge to the people around me whom I
struggle to love even a little bit. There are people in your
life whom you find it difficult to love. If you were charging for love, you
would put a 200 percent tax increase on it. Instead of withholding giving
away love, give it away without holding onto being right.
9. Lord help me trust that you
have a plan for my life even when it may feel like it is a bad one. Do
you ever feel like the plan that God has for you feels more like a wild goose
chase that is zig zagging around the world? Well, sometimes it does, but God’s plans
are perfect and straight if we trust Him as the master mapmaker for our life.
10. Lord help me have patience
because I’m pretty sure I’m out. Patience is essential in
ministry. People will test your patience including your own family. When your
patience seems like it has evaporated into the atmosphere, ask God to replenish
it.
11. Lord help me not find my
significance from social media today. Twitter, Facebook,
Google+: All are great until we look to them as our significance meter.
12. Lord help me run to your
Word for guidance instead of looking for an answer inside Google. Google
has provided every answer we need to almost every question we have. Need some
advice? Type it into the search bar, hit enter and in .2 seconds you will have
100,000 responses. Google is great, but God is greater.
13. Lord help me to not care
what people may think about me and only be concerned with what you think about
me. Church
leaders and pastors are typically people-pleasers. We want people to like us
and accept us. Be careful, though, the desire to be liked by others doesn’t
squash your desire to know what God says about you.
14. Lord help me forgive
people quickly and swiftly because if not the bitterness will have its way with
me. Forgiveness
is not easy to do, but the alternative of not forgiving is much harder to live
with. Ask God to help you forgive, after all He does it whenever we need it
from Him.
15. Lord help me not treat
ministry like a job but only as a calling from you. Whenever
ministry becomes a job, you’ll quickly find burnout won’t be close behind. God
calls us not to a 9-5 job but to a lifetime of living a call that is the
greatest call we’ll ever answer.
16. Lord help me have faith,
the kind of faith that I could lift a mountain and toss it into the sea. When
you have the mentality that nothing can stand in your way of doing God’s work,
including a mountain, then you will achieve the greatness that will come with
having a faith that can move even mountains.
17. Lord help me to lead well
those you have asked me to lead. Whether you realize it or
not, you are leading people. More importantly you are leading people God has
entrusted into your care. Ask the Lord for help, because left to our own we
will choose to let people lead themselves.
18. Lord help me see things
and hear things that others aren’t because they are too busy.In 2
Corinthians 4:18, Paul encourages the Corinthians to focus not on the things
they can see but on the things they can’t. We look around and see
many problems. Instead of seeing the problems, see the God who is orchestrating
your solutions.
19. Lord help me work hard on
the right things and leave the results up to you. We
want results. When you aren’t getting the results you want, ask God to help you
keep working hard on the right things and leave the results up to Him.
20. Lord help me. Sometimes
we may not know how we even need God to help us. When you are at a loss of
words, let God fill in the blanks.
Which one-sentence prayer could you tuck into
your back pocket only to pray it a few times throughout your day?
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