Short prayers based on the book of 1-2 Chronicles
<aside> 🙏🏻 “Jabez was more honored than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez and said, “I gave birth to him in pain.” (1 Chronicles 4:9)
Father, we are so grateful that you sent your Son to redeem us from the curse that has been upon creation from the time sin entered our world. We praise you for the glimpses we are given of His curse-reversing work and the picture of what the world to come will be like for us in His earthly ministry, as He restored sight to the blind; speech to the mute; movement to the paralytic; hearing to the deaf; health to the sick; freedom to the demon-possessed; life to the dead; and light to those in darkness. Lord Jesus, we long for your return when we will be with you and there will be no more curse. Come, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They prostituted themselves with the gods of the nations God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel roused the spirit of King Pul (that is, Tiglath-pileser) of Assyria, and he took the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and Gozan’s river, where they are until today.” (1 Chronicles 5:25-26)
Lord, we confess that there are times when we struggle to see your faithfulness to us. We are prone to forget all that you have already done for us, and we doubt that you will do all that you have promised to do for us in the future. We become discouraged and we find ourselves being lured away from you to other gods which are false. Help us, we pray, to learn from the mistakes of people in the past who ended up in exile and who remained there and did not return to you. Lord, we don’t ever want to find ourselves in that position, so by your Spirit, help us to fix our eyes on Christ so that we keep going in the faith and press on to the end. If we have gone astray, draw us back to yourself. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “The first to live in their towns on their own property again were Israelites, priests, Levites, and temple servants.” (1 Chronicles 9:2)
To you, the God of hope, we pray for your help to set our minds on things above, and not on earthly things. Direct our gaze to the New Jerusalem, to our heavenly home, and to where we will be with you, Lord, forever. We long to be with you, the one who has saved us, to see you face to face, for the fight against the world, our sinful flesh, and the devil to be over, and to reach the finish line of the race we have been given to run. So, as you have promised, we pray that you will complete the good work you have begun in us by keeping us in your love each day. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Even previously when Saul was king, you were leading Israel out to battle and bringing us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will be ruler over my people Israel.’” (1 Chronicles 11:2)
We thank you Lord Jesus for being our good and great Shepherd. Thank you for laying down your life for us to save us from our sins and bring us into the fold of your people. As the shepherd of our souls, we pray that you will love us, cherish us, guide us, feed us, and protect us. Provide for us everything we need to do your will and what is pleasing in your sight. We praise you that in your wisdom, you give to your people undershepherds, elders to lead local churches under your rule, and so we pray for our elders that they would be faithful men, above reproach, who skilfully direct the affairs of this local church and take care of the members over whom they have been appointed by the Holy Spirit to be overseers. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “David appointed some of the Levites to be ministers before the ark of the Lord, to celebrate the Lord God of Israel, and to give thanks and praise to him. Asaph was the chief and Zechariah was second to him. Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel played the harps and lyres, while Asaph sounded the cymbals and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel blew the trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God.” (1 Chronicles 16:4-6)
It is good to praise you, O Lord. To ascribe greatness to your name. To proclaim your salvation. To express our gratitude for all that you have done to us. To declare that your faithful love endures forever. We praise you for every opportunity we have to sing together as a local church, and for those you have given musical abilities to which help us to lift our voices in adoration and thanksgiving. Lord, we pray that the hymns and songs we sing as a church would be full of truth which edifies our hearts, and with which we can build one another up. Help us to sing well by singing up, singing with belief, and singing with joy. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Then King David went in, sat in the Lord’s presence, and said, Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?” (1 Chronicles 17:16)
Who are we, Lord God, that you would bless us in all the ways you have? None of us deserve to be in a relationship with you. We don’t deserve to be saved by you and enjoy eternal life. What we really deserve is to be eternally condemned in hell for our sins. Yet you have shown us grace by giving us the opportunity and the ability to respond to the gospel. The fact that we live in a place and in a time where we can hear the good news of what Christ has done for us is nothing to do with us and all to do with your loving kindness. Even our ability to respond in faith is because we have been born again by the work of your Spirit. Gracious God we give you our thanks for all that you have done for us thus far and for what you will do for us in the future. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “So David reigned over all Israel, administering justice and righteousness for all his people.” (1 Chronicles 18:14)
Sovereign God, there is a great need for good leadership in every area of life. We pray for those who are leaders in some capacity, whether that be at home, in the workplace, in the church, or in the community, that the way they lead would be beneficial to those under their care. Help them to lead according to your Word and in ways that reflect your character. We pray especially for those in high positions, as you have commanded us to - for our Prime Minister and government, for the MPs and local councillors - that they would lead with justice and righteousness. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Above all, may the Lord give you insight and understanding when he puts you in charge of Israel so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will succeed if you carefully follow the statutes and ordinances the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or discouraged.” (1 Chronicles 22:12-13)
God, we pray for the children in the church, and the generation that will come after us. Grant to them discretion and understanding that they might faithfully follow your Word. Help them to know your Word and to be strong and courageous in obeying your Word. Lord, obedience to you can be hard and lead to timidity and fear, so give them the strength they need by your Holy Spirit to press on in doing everything you have commanded. May trials and tribulations, difficulties and temptations not cause them to shrink back but be occasions when they walk by faith. We pray we might be examples for them of faithfulness to Christ, so give to us discretion and understanding that we might keep His Word with the strength and courage which His Spirit provides. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Ahithophel was the king’s counselor. Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.” (1 Chronicles 27:33)
Our God, we have a great need for counsellors and friends, who can provide us with help and support as we follow you. We thank you that counsellors and friends are good gifts from you. Surround us with people who know your Word, who understand what it is says, and who have the discernment and wisdom to help us apply it to our own individual situations when we have decisions to make. Lord, we want to faithfully follow you in every area of our lives, so help us to know what counsel and encouragement is from you, and that which is not. As we pray for people to provide counsel and friendship to us, we pray that we would be good friends who offer godly counsel to others. Holy Spirit, grow our understanding and skill so that our words are more attuned to what you have spoken, and we can be a blessing to those whose lives we are part of. Amen.
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