Prayers

A Prayer For Obedience /  by Dale Decker

Heavenly Father, who gives us all things pertaining to life and godliness, grant us obedient hearts that we may follow your precepts and bring glory to your name, through Jesus Christ our Righteousness. Amen

A Prayer For Guidance /  by Dale Decker

Lord Jesus, you have sent the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth, grant that we may be attentive to the Spirit’s leading and so learn to do the Father’s will in all things. Amen.

A Prayer For Obedience /  by Dale Decker

Heavenly Father, you hear my prayer because of Jesus Christ, your Beloved Son, the one who perfectly fulfilled all righteousness. Conform me into his image, make me like him, that I may worship and obey you as I ought. Amen.

A Prayer For Direction /  by Dale Decker

Heavenly Father, I cannot find the right path on my own. By your great mercy, teach me the way that I should go and let your Holy Spirit guide me day by day, through Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.

A Branch's Prayer /  by Dale Decker

Lord Jesus, give me life that I may be a fruitful branch, showing love, expressing joy, and living in peace. May I be patient and kind, good and faithful, gentle and self-controlled. Make me to be like you. Amen.

A Prayer for Bible Study /  by Dale Decker

Heavenly Father, give me a diligent heart that I may study to show myself approved, as a servant who does not have to be ashamed. May I search the scriptures and find Jesus Christ that his word would be profitable to me, equipping me for every good work. Help me to find that which will make me wise unto salvation through Christ’s name. Amen.

A Collect from 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 /  by Dale Decker

Heavenly Father, who ensures that the gates of Hell will not prevail against your church, give the leaders of [your church name] the right concern for this congregation that they might be good stewards of the souls entrusted to their care through Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd. Amen.

A Prayer from Psalm 22:22-24 /  by Dale Decker

Almighty, Merciful God 

Praise you, O Lord, for you are the God who hears the cries of your people.

Praise you, O Father, for you are the God who does not despise us in our afflictions. 

We praise you today because you are the God who does not turn away from our needs. 

We praise you because you are the God who sees and hears and acts – you are the Living God.

Help us to trust you when we are in need. Help us to seek you when we are afflicted. Help us to turn to you and seek your face. Help us to know that our deepest need, our most pressing affliction – our sin, finds its remedy in the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, who gave himself for us. In his name we pray, Amen.

My Personal Prayer Liturgy for 2019 /  by Dale Decker

Prayer Journals.jpg

I’ve been keeping a prayer journal in one form or another for the past ten years (2009-2018). Not a personal journal or diary, mind you, but a record of passages read and prayers written in response. The first three years were hit and miss, and are contained in one volume. But in 2012 I began using the Sunday readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, which consist of passages from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Epistles, and the Gospels. Although the Lectionary intends for all the passages to be read on Sunday and has other passages for the rest of the week, I used the four Sunday readings for Monday through Thursday instead, reading one passage each day. Friday and Saturday were used to catch up if a day was missed during the week. I achieved more consistency this way. I also began using the journal to keep track of the sermons I preached, the books I read, and any ideas for sermons I had while reading.

The Lectionary is set up on a three-year cycle, so in 2015 I had to decide whether or not to repeat the Lectionary or do something else. The Sunday readings expose the reader (or listener if read aloud during a worship service) to portions of scripture from across the breadth of the Bible, but do not cover the entire Bible. Therefore, rather than go through the Sunday Lectionary readings again, I devised my own five-year Bible reading plan. With this plan, the Old Testament (except the Wisdom writings) would be read once over the five years, the Wisdom writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon) would be read once each year, the Gospels twice each year, and the remainder of the New Testament once each year. However, since I also want to have time to meditate on what I’m reading, this proved to be too much to read per week for me. So while I’m on track to complete the Old Testament in 2019, I’ve slowed down my other readings and will finish the New Testament at the same time at the Old Testament.

This experience has deepened my grasp on the interrelatedness of the Scriptures, has given me a better understanding of the landscape of the Scriptures (how to find my way around the Bible), and has given me richer language for prayer from within the Scriptures.

During the last week of each year I set up my journal for the next year. I use a black journal, recently from Ricco Bella (5.7 x 8.4 inches), that looks similar to the Moleskine journals, but has paper that allows the ink to dry quicker (I tend to smudge). I devote the first section to a calendar that I rarely use, but it’s there just in case. The next section is for the fifty-two weeks of the year, with week 1 beginning on the first Sunday of the year. Each week has two facing pages, left and right. I label the week in the upper right corner of the right-hand page. After that section comes the sermon log, book log, etc. There are always some pages left at the end of the journal, but I use most of it.

The left page is for scripture gleanings and the right page is for prayer responses.

The left page is for scripture gleanings and the right page is for prayer responses.

My normal pattern is to read the passage of scripture for the day and ponder it, seeing if any concept or phrase in the text speaks to me in some way. I write down that verse or phrase on the left page in blue ink. After pondering it for a few minutes, I write a brief prayer in response on the right page in black ink. My response prayer may be one of thanksgiving, of supplication, or of confession depending on what the text is prompting in me.

Sometimes I go back into past journals and read the prayers there. When I see blank pages I try and remember why I missed that week. Usually its because of vacations, but sometimes I remember that it was a difficult week with a significant crisis that used up all my energy. I believe that the missing weeks were made bearable by the weeks not missed and the scriptures have shaped my response to life’s challenges to be more Christ-like.

If you don’t currently have such a system for Bible reading and prayer, find something that works for you.I can truly say it’s been a life-changer.