Short prayers based on the book of Psalms
<aside> 🙏🏻 “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers!” (Psalm 1:1)
Our Father in heaven, we do not deserve your blessing because we have not lived our lives as those shaped by your Word. Rather than being separated from the world, we have conformed to it. We have appreciated the way the ungodly live, adopting their lifestyle, following the path they take, embracing the habits they have. To our shame we have supported and celebrated that which you call “sin”. We acknowledge that we have sinned against you. O how we need to be forgiven and to be made righteous in your sight. O how wonderful it is to know that we have because your Son was everything we are not. We thank you that He is the blessed man who earned your blessing and shares it with us. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully, doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.” (Psalm 10:17-18)
God, you are the helper of the weak and the vulnerable, the fatherless and the oppressed. Do not forget them. Hear the prayers of those who turn to you, who have nowhere else to turn to, and who have no-one else who can help them. Strengthen their hearts and enable them to wait patiently for the justice that is coming when you deal with the wicked and rescue your people. We pray for this relief especially for our persecuted brothers and sisters. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not appealed to what is false, and who has not sworn deceitfully.” (Psalm 24:3-4)
Lord Jesus, only you may ascend the hill of the LORD, only you may stand in the holy place, because you alone have clean hands and a pure heart. You committed no sin, and no deceit was found in your mouth. You have been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet you were without sin. You said, “I always do what pleases the Father,” and it is true that you did. Jesus, you alone can enter heaven, and we rejoice that because of our union with you, we can too, because God now sees us as those who have clean hands and a pure heart, not because we have, but because you have. We thank you for this hope you have given to us. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5)
Lord, we need to be forgiven of all our sins, and we recognise that this begins with owning up. Coming clean to You about who we are and what we have done. We confess that we have sinned against you in thought, in word, in deed, and in desire. We have done this intentionally and unintentionally. Not a day goes by when we don’t fall short of your glory. As we confess our sins to you, we thank you that there is a place where forgiveness can be found. We thank you that when Jesus died on the cross, our sins were laid on Him, and He acknowledged them before God, and then was punished for them until they were forgiven. O God, what a wonder it is that now when we confess our sins, trusting in Him, we can say “You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:10)
Teach us what it means seek you Lord, to fully entrust ourselves to your care. You are an abundantly generous God. You are not a stingy God who is hesitant to bless your people. If you clothe the grass of the field and feed the birds of the sky, we can trust that you will certainly provide us with everything that we need. If something is good for us, you will give it to us. If it is not, you will withhold it. Please help us to believe that you will give us exactly what we need for each situation we find ourselves in. Forgive us for our sinful self-sufficiency, for trusting in our own abilities to meet our needs. We pray, Father, give us today our daily bread. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Saviour and my God.” (Psalm 42:5)
Lord, we confess that there are times when we feel downcast and overwhelmed. The circumstances of our lives weigh us down. It feels like you are far from us and we wonder if you have forgotten us. Help us by your Spirit, in those moments, to remind ourselves of the hope we have in you because you are our Saviour and God. Thank you that in all things you are working for our good, that you are for us, that because of Jesus nothing will separate us from your love, and the day is coming when we will be in your presence praising you and will never feel this way again. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Mankind, with his assets but without understanding, is like the animals that perish.” (Psalm 49:20)
Lord Jesus, press home this reality to our hearts today, that it is foolish to trust in wealth, because it cannot save us from our sins nor give us eternal life and it leaves us no better off than the animals. We feel the pressure to chase after money and possessions from our culture, which defines success in life by status, power, and riches, and applauds those who boast of what they have. Help us to resist the temptation to join in and strengthen our understanding that no worldly gain will ever be worth it if our trust is not in you, for you alone can save us from death and hell. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “God, hear my prayer; listen to the words from my mouth.” (Psalm 54:2)
It is Father, astonishing, that you do hear our prayers, that you do listen to the words from our mouths. More than that, you answer them. Thank you that we can bring all our prayers and petitions to you because Jesus, who by His death and resurrection, has made a way for us to boldly come as your children into your presence and approach your throne of grace where help can be found. And yet, Lord, we don’t make the most of this awesome privilege. Forgive us for our prayerlessness. Forgive our lack of desire for communion with you. Hinder the work of the evil one who seeks to distract us so that we don’t draw near to you. God, hear our prayer. Amen.
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<aside> 🙏🏻 “Place no trust in oppression or false hope in robbery. If wealth increases, don’t set your heart on it.” (Psalm 62:10)
Our Father in heaven, we look to you to provide for our needs and we are so grateful that you do. We often have far more than we need because you are such a generous God. But we aware of the danger that this brings to our souls. You warn us that the love of the money is the root of all evil and that we cannot serve both you and money. Lead us not into the temptation of setting our hearts on riches so that our affections are not drawn away from Christ. Help us to seek first His kingdom and use what you have given us to contribute cheerfully to the work of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations. Amen.
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