Prayer for the lonely and homeless

At this time of year, when many in the U.S. gather with friends and family and take time to give thanks for their blessings. As those of us in the U.S. compare our standard of living with those around the world, we cannot but realize that we are blessed. And yet, when we take a careful inventory, we see many, even in our neighborhood who are hurting, hungry, and longing for community.

Please pray with me:

Lord God in Heaven,

You are the God who created the earth, the everlasting Father. You are comprehensive and complete. You are not bound by time; you have always been and You live equally in the past, present, and future.

You lack nothing; You have no needs. You revealed Yourself as Jehovah-Jireh, Yahweh-Yireh, the God who provides when Abraham needed a sacrifice, a substitute for his son, Isaac. And so many years later, You provided Your very own Son, Jesus Christ, as our substitute. We are humbled by our provision. We cannot grasp the cost of our sin. We cannot grasp the depth of Your love for us. We cannot fathom that Jesus, Your love for us brought You to die willingly and it was Your joy to take our sin upon Yourself. We love You and we come humbly before Your throne of grace.

We acknowledge that all good things come from You. We recognize that all our abilities have also come from You and You have even given us life itself. You give us freewill and the choice to use the very essence of who You made us to be for Your service. You call us to do so.

Forgive us when we have ignored those in need and passed them by without even uttering a prayer under our breath. Forgive us when we see and hear the news, when the needs of so many are directly in front of us, and we have not done what we could to help.

Truly You have given this nation so much, and we have not been diligent. We have not been scrupulous with the bounty that You have poured into our lives, individually and as a nation. Forgive us for not seeking You more diligently and using each circumstance of need as an opportunity to proclaim Christ by our love and or actions. Show us how to repent. Show us how to stop and take time to listen to Your Spirit.

Jesus, You came to set the captives free (Is. 61:1). We who have so much are held captive by the consumerism around us. We are held captive by the busy-ness that invades our calendars. We isolate ourselves in the midst of plenty, and ignore those in need.

Father, the lonely, the homeless…they are everywhere. Their pain is overwhelming, paralyzing. We don’t know what to say. We don’t know how to comfort them. We look past them to cover our own ineptness. We haven’t asked You what to do or invited the leading of the Holy Spirit into our lives on these issues. Lead us to change.

We often don’t know how to help so we come today asking, “How can we help? What can we do? What can we say? How can we comfort?” Show us how to commit ourselves to Your purposes in these areas.

Father we pray for the millions of lonely people, especially over the holidays, when aloneness is accentuated. Many people have no family. Many have family but are not welcome amongst them. You have given us a heavenly home, where we will always belong and where we are always welcome. Teach and lead us to invite the lonely to join us as citizens of the Kingdom of Christ.

Teach us to recognize loneliness and avail ourselves to comfort those in need. Oh Father, some of them live in our very homes, feeling lonely and excluded, alienated and unloved. Open our eyes to see these opportunities and pour out Your compassion through us that we might extend Your love to them.

During this season of holidays, family and friend events, the gatherings—may we bring warmth to those who are there and suffer from loneliness. There in our very presence, open our eyes and stir our hearts to bring relief and warmth to those in need.

Father, the homeless are everywhere. They are in our towns, our nations, and the world at large. Many are cold, shivering in the night. Many do not have the skills needed to survive. Bring unexpected blessings to the homeless. Stir those in the vicinity to help.

Strip away the cloud on our eyes that cause blindness in us so that we may be an unleashed army on behalf of these people. Help us to submit to the leading of Your Holy Spirit to bring Your blessing to those in need.

Build up an army of warriors against the challenges that prevent help from being loosed. Those that have financial resources, may they liberally give of their resources. Show them the organizations that diligently use the funding for its intended purpose. May gifting abound to them and may they be excellent stewards. Sustain the energy of these stewards to complete every detail in their charge.

Motivate those individuals who have time to give. Direct their steps to the place that can receive their gift of time. Bring a spirit of collegiality between the givers and receivers and may their time together be joyful. May the receivers be joyful, and the givers be humbled. May the blessing from You—given to those in need— be Your delight.

Father, there is such need of the homeless. The list seems endless and overwhelming: shelter, finances, a job, clothing, food…the entire foundation to be self-sustaining has been wiped out. Yet there are organizations that know how to make sense of the situation and lead people through to a place of dignity and self-sustenance.

We pray for these organizations and ask for the needed funding and know-how. May there be volunteers with the needed skills to help restore these individuals. May their dignity be restored. May You send an unceasing reservoir of hope. Invigorate these people with a drive to secure a life of independence. May they help others and may the successes build into an avalanche of success. Father, You have entrusted us to be Your hands, Your feet, Your voice, and Your presence. Show us how to be diligent stewards that in the Day of Your Coming, we are found faithful.

In Jesus’ Name.

Prayer for the U.S. Elections

There never seems to be enough time to be diligent in our choices when it’s time to vote. How can we carefully evaluate our options, the character of the people who are running for office and what they believe? The media overwhelms us with social, psychological, visual, and aural hype and litter. The election is coming up quickly. May we be diligent in our prayers.

Please pray with me:

Thank you that we still live in a nation where we can vote and express our voice by voting. We acknowledge Your Word that  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but Your words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35).

You tell us in Romans 13:1:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Yet, O merciful Father, when we see what is going on in the world, in places like North Korea, China, Russia and the Middle East, we cannot understand the heinous actions. We look at the incredible blessing that You have poured out here and we are humbled. Yet, we have taken our freedom and blessing for granted. Forgive us.

We are grateful when we read Romans 8:28:

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Yet we know that this comes with a price. We acknowledge that our nation has deteriorated to greater and greater depths of sin.

In Your Word, 1 Timothy 2:1-2 You exhort us:

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

Father, You have placed us here at this time. There are no details that You have not attended to, nothing that has escaped Your attention. We rest in the fact that You are the True and Living God. Truly, there is none like You. We come before You, a holy God, knowing that Your love is sure and we know that You are for us. We thank you.

Father in heaven we seem to be at a cross-roads in this nation. We are here because we have been at crossroads many times before and perhaps we were asleep. I know I was asleep. I have not been diligent. Please forgive me.

I acknowledge that I have not attended to those things I know are not from You; abortion, drugs, homelessness, indiscretion with regard to sexual practices and laws that protect these and other activities...and l have not prayed for our leaders. I have criticized them and not sought Your help in praying diligently for them. Forgive me and pour out prayers through me for them from this day forward. Give me a heart to pray for our leaders and this nation and prayers of substance that I may be found diligent and without embarrassment in the Day of Your coming.

For those who are believers who have courageously entered the political arena:
Holy Spirit, grant these people courage. In each day may the testimony of Christ be spoken without hesitancy. May their lives be an example to those with whom they meet, talk, and influence. Give them the words to speak, the emotional intelligence to handle their demeanor in a reasonable manner and tone so that others can hear. May Your Truth rise up above the din.

You gave the Apostle Paul discourse and argument that was so solid that many could understand. Grant your political servants the words, the logic, and the character so that others will see them as true leaders and follow them. Open the eyes of those who see and hear these testimonies and may they see the direction as viable, credible, and possible.

For those who are running for office:
Father, Your Word: Daniel 2:21

21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

Hold them strong who are Your chosen politicians. Grant them wisdom and may the hedge of protection be wide and deep. As the slandering commentary and verbal trash of untruth is unleashed through the media, separate Your chosen leaders in the minds of voters. Give voters discernment and direction to make sense of the deluge of information. May Truth rise to the top. We believe Your Word is Truth. We believe that Jesus Christ is Truth.

Grant these men and women who are Your children, a stalwart single-minded focus. May their honor and integrity be unquestionable in the minds and inner being of those who hear them.

For the families of candidates:
Father, we pray for the families of Your chosen politicians, that their health be secured. That they be shielded from the dirt and filth of the world that would speak lies and deliberately and intentionally issue hurtful words against these candidates and their families. Protect them and pour out Your Word upon them. Hold them strong and grant them a resolve to stand for what is right—as You define it. Protect them physically from disease and accident. Protect them emotionally, psychologically and spiritually and may they cling to Your Word for strength, comfort, and inner peace.

For voters:
Father, please cause the messages of Your choosing to find their way to voters. Give them an ability to hear through the riffraff to understand the true message. We ask for a hunger for substantive matters. Help us to differentiate messages that are unimportant and receive the needed information to make decisions that will stand before Christ.

We so need the leading of Your Holy Spirit! Grant us patience, and diligence in seeking Your direction and leading. Grant us ears to hear. We want to hear the Word from our Shepherd and follow it. Grant us our desire to be true followers of Christ in every way, and especially in our choices as we face these elections.

Father there are decisions that need to be made where it seems there is no win. How do we manage the choices where there is no worthy candidate? How do we make a decision? Help us to clearly hear Your leading. May we leave the election booth with peace that we have voted according to Your will.

There are many believers who can vote and do not. Father, awaken them. Cause them to be dissatisfied with this choice. May they be ashamed that they are not exercising a freedom that has been so hard won. May we be humbled by the opportunity to cast a ballot as we see those in Hong Kong who are fighting for this right. May we see this as a privilege as we observe how many people in the world do not share in this freedom. And may we not take it lightly. Humble us.

Raise us up as a voice to be reckoned with. May Your Church in the U.S. rise up from sleep. May we gather together to pray for our leaders. Establish us as a viable voice that must be recognized. We acknowledge Matthew 18:20:

20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Give us opportunity to claim this promise, especially where the elections and our leaders are concerned.

Behind these candidates and this election is the very culture and security of this nation and its future. Show us how to take a stand and be established as the “Nation Under God” that You birthed. May we become people of action, beginning with this election. May we rise up en masse to stand strong for the values and direction that our founding fathers established as the root of our being. May our manner is exercising speech and action please You and be usable by Your Spirit so that others may realize that You are Truth and Justice.

For a new day in the U.S.:
Grant us a righteous anger in our prayers and may we verse them to You continually. Help us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves in the expression of this anger—that the testimony of Christ not be tarnished. May the Love of Christ be evident in our lives and provide the True Light that others may see and follow.

Help us to become spiritual leaders. May we diligently study Your Word that the “new creature” in us be a beacon for those who are seeking You. Show us how to be “salt that has not lost its flavor” to a world that watches.

May we no long be content to stand on the sidelines as mere observers as the culture of the U.S. disintegrates before us. Pour out prayers through us. Fill us with the hope and enliven out spirit with Your Holy Spirit. May others know we are Christians by our love.

In Jesus’ Name and for His sake.

(Please add your prayers and support in the comments section.)

Prayer for the Ebola epidemic

We learn that time is of the essence with regard to the Ebola epidemic and that thousands are dying as it spreads. Learn more.

Please pray with me:

Lord God of Heaven,

You are the Creator and all the earth submits to Your will. Only You can bring good from all situations. I claim Romans 8:28.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

You have allowed this virus and it has taken the lives of so many and is devastating the lives of so many more. It is not something I can understand. I do see that here in the U.S. we are more concerned about our own safety rather than seeking how we can help. Forgive us. We are driven by fear— when You have offered Your perfect love to cast it out. Forgive us.

Truly, there is nothing happening that does not submit to Your purpose, so the virus is under Your rule.

Father, for those who minister to the victims and serve in the cleanup:  May those who work tirelessly, be strengthened for each day. Protect their bodies from the virus and may the bleach wash kill every cell of ebola that threatens them. Give them discernment as they approach people that their bodies may be protected. Father, the suits that they wear—may there be enough of them; may they have the needed supplies to keep themselves safe. 

Shield them from the emotional devastation as they see young children die, and other children lose their entire family. Cover these servants secure their bodies as well as their minds. Father, I can not imagine the emotional cost, the turmoil, the heartbreak that these workers face every day. Permeate their thinking to protect their heart.

For the leaders and officials: surely, they need wisdom as well as words. Bring the right information to them that they can make good decisions. Grant them a spirit of collaboration and unity of mind and purpose as they make these decisions. I include the doctors, their staff, the civil and national leadership— grant them focus, direction, and a plan that bring hope to those they serve. Change them Father that their lives be committed to true service. Grant them a heart of compassion. Strengthen them emotionally, especially where difficult decisions must be made.

For the families of victims, and those that have contracted the disease: Father, denial runs rampage and fear drives people to poor decisions. Raise up the voices of those who have recovered to be an encouragement for those who who are sick. May those who are ill and their family and friends, not be in denial but act swiftly that this disease be contained and they may live. May the ramifications of their decision to hide their symptoms be unacceptable and may they do the right thing.

So many people have lost their friends and their family. Yet You are there crying with them. Cause us to repent. Cause us to value this situation as an opportunity to seek You and draw close to You. I know You are ready to draw close to them—Oh Father, may their voices reach out in their desperation and their loss. May survivors and family reach out to those that grieve.

For the dying: Father, those that have contracted the disease and wonder if they will live. May Your Word of Life be spoken to them. May they realize their peril and seek You for their salvation. As they plead for their lives, may the salvation of Jesus be spoken to them. May they receive Your Gift of salvation and may the Name of Jesus rise victorious for them as well as their families and friends. May this entire situation be a revival for the glory that You for those who would call on Your Name. Jesus! Jesus Christ— may the Message and the Truth go out.

For new believers: May many turn to You. May they live to speak the Truth about Jesus and salvation. May there be an incredible revival and may the joy of Your Salvation fill the land with hope. Father, cause many people to speak Your Word and may the new believers grow quickly and minister to You and those who are dire for the Good News.

For those in the U.S.: Father, we have become a nation that is selfish and self-serving. Forgive us for being more concerned about our own safety than helping those in need. You have given us so much—like the ability to contain this virus, yet we are reticent to help those are fighting it afar. Raise up Your church to pray for our nation and free us from the love we seem to have for our stuff.

Cause our gaze to reach further to identify opportunity to share, to give, to use the prosperity that You have brought forth for Your purposes. Raise up prayer warriors and encouragers. Raise up an army that petitions You on how to walk by faith and not by sight. Squelch the fear that we choose instead of the love that would cast it out. Forgive us for our poor choices.

May we align with Your will. May preachers, and pastors be burdened to lead their congregations to take action. May the prayers from this nation and abroad capture Your attention and minister to You. Use this deadly virus to cause us to make change in our lives. May this catastrophe be part of the harvest for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

For the doctors, medical teams, researchers, and facilities: Father, please give these people ideas and insights on this virus. Guide their thinking on how to protect those who are well, and new considerations on the treatment of the sick. May those who are treating the victims be protected by Your grace. Grant a collaboration amongst the teams to come up with new and effective treatments. For the University of Nebraska Medical Centers and other facilities – raise up leaders to prepare for the near future and bring truth about the disease so that we know what is needed to protect this disease from spreading in the U.S. May there be no false statements that "all is well." Protect us with the truth and grant us emotional savvy to respond in ways that are helpful.

Grant us hope. Fill us with hope. Fill use with an encouraging word. Speak out Words of Life for all of us that would get involved that we may have an outpouring of joy in what You, the God of Creation will do. Open our eyes to see what You will will do and give us words of testimony that others may see too! Raise us up to care about the matters of Your heart and not our own.

Hear our prayers, in Jesus’ Name.

(Please add your prayers and support in the comments section.)

Prayer for the United States, our culture, the church, and a call to repent...

As we witness that the culture of the United States is deteriorating, please pray with me:

God of Creation,

You, who made the universe and all therein, You are worthy to be praised. You are holy, O God, and it is impossible for You to look on sin. We sin. Show us the path to repentance. In Your great love for us, You have placed the path to righteousness that we might have relationship with You. Thank You.

You have shown us Your mercy and Your grace through Your Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Thank You. Your compassion for us is undeserved. You sought us out, and provided a pathway to relationship with You as a free gift. If we only believe. Your graciousness is beyond what we can think or understand.

The U.S. is under siege and we, Your church have enjoyed freedoms without protecting them. Forgive us. We have not diligently prayed for our leaders or our nation. We have not watched diligently. You have given us so much but we have squandered the incredible measure of your lavish provision—when many in the world have nothing. We have not sought You, individually or as a nation and we have been driven by greed and fear. We have looked to ourselves for our sustenance and forgotten that You are our Provider. Forgive us. Call us to repent. To my shame, I have done these things. Forgive me.

O God, awaken the Body of Christ here in the U.S. Cause us to weep at that tragedy that lies all around us. We have allowed our culture to deteriorate without taking a stand. We have not acknowledged that the bountifulness of this nation comes from You. Instead, we have taken credit and You have been pushed out of the picture.

Did we pray fervently when prayer was taken out of the schools? Did we turn our backs when abortion clinics were setup? Did we question potential leaders during each election season? I didn’t. Forgive me. Forgive us. Cause us to arise. Cause us to awaken and turn from our lethargy.

Pour out prayers through Your church. Open our eyes to hear Your heart on these matters. May we beseech You day and night on behalf of this nation and its leaders. May we turn from our ways.

Father, Your church seems silent and it seems this is of our own choosing. Change us. Bring us a sense of urgency. Bring us unrest that we may rise up. May we do so in Your love and compassion. May we reach out to our neighbors and community each day with the love of Christ. Give us discernment and squelch the criticism and judgement that we are so quick to embrace.

Bring Your church together. May the Spirit raise us up in “the joy and unity of the Lord” and may it cause those who see to wonder. May Your love be expressed appropriately, with discernment and not mar the testimony of Christ. May truth reign in our hearts and minds. May they know us by our love.

Surely the harvest is ripe. People are empty and without purpose. You are hard to find in our culture because we have pushed You out and we have hidden our faith! O Father, fashion us into an army for Christ that others can say, “That’s what I’ve been looking for. Tell me what it is, so that I may have what you have.” Raise us up, daily. Bring a resurgence of revival for our nation.

Grant us the gift of shame once again. Open our eyes and hearts to see our error. Help us to raise up the Salvation of Christ and commit ourselves to Him as Lord of our lives, our thoughts and our actions. Invigorate us for the cause of Christ and send us forth as a trained and effective army that invites the lost—a message of hope and a message they can willingly embrace.

Have mercy, O gracious God, for we ask it in Jesus’ Name.


(Please add your prayers, support, and "Amen" in the comments section.) 

Prayer for Boko Haram and their captives

Yesterday in the news, it was reported that Boko Haram laid explosives on one young kidnapped girl and sent her into a school where they detonated the explosives. It was reported that as a child learned of this situation, she said, “God is our refuge and strength. May we enjoy Him while we still have life.”

Please pray with me:

Oh God of Creation, Lord Jesus,

Hear these feeble prayers for these young girls, kidnapped by Boko Haram and for members of Boko Hiram.

The courage of these saints in Christ puts me to shame as I live in such luxury. Forgive me for not taking greater care in prayer for the persecuted, and those imprisoned for the testimony of Christ.

They are tortured, they are sent to their death. May Your presence be so tangible and their joy so complete that their captives are stymied. May they be protected from the false teachings and may You seal them from doubt. Father, may the angelic host protect their mind and may Your Holy Spirit fill their consciousness with Scripture. Truly, may they pray for their persecutors.

These members of Boko Haram—Oh God have mercy. Capture their minds and hearts. May they be filled with doubt. May they find a breach in this evil to question the brain-washing that permeates their soul. Shake them at their core and cause them to cry out to You Oh Lord. May Truth reign!

Jesus, You are Truth. Use these mere children to proclaim the new creature, created by the Holy Spirit. May their testimony of true purity cause their captors to be afraid. Fill the hearts of these men with fear. May they shake and shiver in the knowledge that You are the Most High God.

Father, may these children, staunch warriors of Christ be filled with song. May Thy Spirit uplift them so strongly that their physical pain and emotional angst is out-of-mind.

Sharpen their discernment and sense of Your presence. May it be their comfort and silence the loneliness.  Fill these young hearts with prayers for their captors. May they minister to their captors, to each other, and to You gracious Lord. May their testimony be incomprehensible to those who see and hear them.

Raise up Your Church here in the U.S. and pour out prayers through us for the persecuted church around the world. Wake us up and cause us to urgently be vigilant on their behalf. May we not be found sloppy in our Christian walk. May we not hide from the situation of the church in the busy-ness of our day.

Lord, for these children, grant us prayers by Your Holy Spirit.

In the of Jesus, who was and is and is to come...

(Please add your prayers, support, and "Amen" in the comments section.) 

Dedication of Ernest Prayers

God of Creation,

Here is the blog. I dedicate it to You. I ask the Holy Spirit grant me prayers that please and bless You. Bring those who would pray with me and may these prayers minister to the Lord Jesus Christ. May our voices rise up over the din and clamor of this broken world.

Please strengthen Your church to be diligent, and to pray with urgency. May the Body of Christ join in these prayers as You bring us an intense desire each day to pray for this broken world.

May these prayers align with Your will. May we rise up boldly and with great fervor before Your throne of grace. Fill us with a richness of compassion and depth of faith…even as a mustard seed.

For Jesus’ sake and in His Name I pray.