Prayers for You
If you want to pray but are not sure what to say, here are some common prayers we use.
Taught to us by Jesus Himself, this is probably the most common prayer used by Christians:
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Martin Luther wrote a simple prayer for Christians to use at the beginning of their day:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
To complement his morning prayer, Martin Luther also wrote an evening prayer for the end of the day:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The common table prayer:
Come, Lord Jesus, be our Guest, and let Thy gifts to us be blessed. Amen.
An alternate prayer:
God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our Food. By His Hand we all are fed, give us, Lord, our daily bread. Amen.
Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever. Amen.
Heavenly Father, my heart overflows with thanksgiving for the countless blessings You pour out on me each day, even though I do not deserve them. May I never take for granted your gifs of life and health, home and family, and all that You give to support my body and life. Above all, I praise You for Your gift of saving faith in Jesus Christ, my Savior, through whom I have received Your priceless gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. In His name I pray, Amen.
Lord, in the midst of pain and suffering caused by sickness, remind me that You are always near. You have a purpose and a plan for every moment that I endure sickness. Give me strength for today. Be with those who care for me. As You have healed all types of sickness in the past, I ask that, if it is Your will, heal me quickly. Amen.
God of wisdom, You revealed in Jesus Christ that Your thoughts exceed the wisdom of men. Give me the grace and wisdom to understand that in Your gentleness there is power, in Your kindness there is might, in Your forgiveness there is life. Keep me from the folly of relying on my own power or my own purpose. Grant me confidence in Your mercy and hope in Your promises. In Your Son's Name, Amen.
Lord of all power and might, in Your wisdom You use men and women to protect our country and its citizens. Grant that we who live under the protection of our brave and selfless soldiers and sailors may treat them with all the honor and respect they deserve. Preserve and protect them as they perform their duties. Grant wisdom to their leaders. In Your Son's Name we pray, Amen.
Almighty Father, when evil darkens our world, give us light. When despair numbs our souls, give us hope. When we stumble and fall, lift us up. When doubts assail us, give us faith. When nothing seems sure, give us trust. When ideals fade, give us vision. When we lose our way, be our guide! Grant that we may find serenity in Your presence, and purpose in doing Your will. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
Heavenly Father, Your Son, Jesus Christ, has brought life and bodily resurrection into the world. We give thanks for the sacrificial love of Jesus and the redemption we find in His resurrection. Thank you for the gift of salvation and the promise of eternal life. May our hearts overflow with gratitude and praise. Amen.
Informing How to Pray
There are things that stick out in our minds, about things that happened in our lives many years ago. One such incident happened when a friend informed me that they did not know how to pray. Now I must admit I was taken aback; for this admission is the last subject area that we might talk about. We usually talked about the awkward ways we had in our youth that we thought were very hip.
When you run into people you’ve known in your youth, after so many years to go into these thoughts about prayer. The conversation was open and quite simply and could be readily understood. My job, and I mean job, was to convey a message to my friend in the most direct terms and not a long drawn out example. My knowledge of the bible, Lutheranism, catechism and family were of known importance. When I inform someone about praying, I found that it must be a short message between one’s self and an authority greater than yourself. In this case my higher authority is called Jesus Christ.
My friend, pray to the God of your understanding to bless you in the morning when you wake up and ask for guidance for the entire day. At night repeat this process, asking for God to protect you at night keeping you safe. Now this might seem simplistic but for someone who had not prayed it was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I added another time to pray and that was over his food, prior to eating. And to thank him afterward. The ending of the prayer could end with amen.
This seems like such an easy method of telling someone about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the significance of prayer. Therefore, my exchange had to be broken down to the times which would help any novice in prayer. I am not the best prayer, my cause in this instance was to put forth a message as to start praying. As of this day my knowledge of prayer is still very private and with no knowledge, just try the easiest way to talk to God. When you told me, you did not know how to pray it said to me; that you were aware of God and needed to find a way to talk with Him.
My friend died some months later and the joy I had for him was that he started on a journey that has no ending. Only salvation comes for believers not by the number of years one believes. My blessing is that I did not make it a long drawn out method of praying.
Merlin Fields
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