Category: pray

I seek you

Ruth Kirk
Image: Tomas B, Pixabay

If you seek him, you will find him
(1 Chronicles 28:9; NLT).

1. Living God,
I seek you in my mind,
So I may know your presence
Every day.

2. Son of Man,
I seek you in my heart,
So we can walk together, talk,
And pray.

3. Counsellor,
I seek you in my soul,
For I can’t live without your strength
And love.

4. Lord,
May we be one for evermore,
In mind, and heart, and soul;
In flesh, and blood.

References

1. You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16; NLT).

All who live in love live in God, and God lives in them (1 John 4:16; NLT).

2. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

3. The Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things (John 14:26; CSB).

You have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you (1 John 2:27; NLT).

He will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit (Ephesians 3:16; NLT).

He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love (Romans 5:5; NLT).

4. I pray […] that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity (John 17:20-23; NIV).

God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us” (Genesis 1:26; NLT).

You are the children of the living God (Hosea 1:10; NLT).

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5; NKJV).

I will give them one heart (Jeremiah 32:39; NLT).

We all share the same Spirit 1 Corinthians 12:13; NLT).

There is one body (Ephesians 4:4; NLT).

In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body (Colossians 2:9; NLT).

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you (John 6:53; NLT).

Love God

Ruth Kirk
Image: Pexels, Pixabay

Never give up (Luke 18:1; NLT).

1. Love God,
Even when you cannot find him.

2. Worship,
Even when you cannot pray.

3. Listen,
Even when you cannot hear him.

4. Follow,
Even when you’ve lost your way.

References

1. You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind (Luke 10:27; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Psalm 22:1; NLT).

2. Worship only God (Revelation 22:3; NLT).

The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8:26; NLT).

3. Listen to his voice (Deuteronomy 13:4; NLT).

Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer (Psalm 22:2; NLT).

4. Follow me (Luke 9:23; NLT).

They have lost their way (Jeremiah 50:6; NLT).

Seek him in darkness

Ruth Kirk
Image: Christopher Kuszajewski, Pixabay

1. Seek him in darkness,
And find him in stillness.
Listen in silence,
And pray, on your own.

2. See him in paradox,
Active, unchanging:
Christ is in paradise,
Waiting, alone.

3. Meet him in darkness,
And bow down in stillness.
Christ speaks in silence:
His words fall like dew.

4. See him in paradox,
Active, unchanging:
Christ is in paradise,
Waiting for you.

References

1. Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him (Psalm 105:4; NLT).

Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light (Micah 7:8; NLT).

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me (Jeremiah 29:13; NLT).

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10; NIV).

This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him (Luke 9:35; NLT).

Be silent before the Sovereign Lord (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT).

2. You cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5 NLT).

I the Lord do not change (Malachi 3:6; NIV).

Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43; NIV).

The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

3. Moses approached the total darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21; CSB).

Bow down to him (2 Kings 17:36; NLT).

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10; NIV).

God speaks again and again, though people do not recognise it (Job 33:14; NLT).

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew (Deuteronomy 32:2; NIV)

4. The Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

May I serve you

Ruth Kirk
Image: WikiImages, Pixabay

He has planted eternity in the human heart,
but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work
from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11; NLT).

1. May I serve you
Somehow, Lord, today.
Yet, if I cannot serve,
Help me to pray;
Or, if I cannot pray,
To feel you near.

2. But, if I cannot sense you,
I’ll wait here
As patiently, and calmly
As I can,
For you are God, unchanged
Since time began.

References

1. You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him (Luke 4:8; NLT).

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

2. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him (Psalm 37:7; NIV).

I have calmed and quieted myself (Psalm 131:2; NLT).

I am the Lord your God (Hosea 12:9; NKJV).

I am the Lord, and I do not change (Malachi 3:6; NLT)

Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God (Psalm 90:2; NLT). 

All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time (Jude 1:25; NLT).

In your hands

Ruth Kirk
Image: shameersrk, Pixabay

1. Father,
I am in your hands:
Do with me as you will.

2. No matter what you send,
Dear Lord,
Help me to love you still.

3. In good and bad
Please let me cling
To you, Lord, every day,

4. Then I will thank you, Lord,
Rejoice,
And never cease to pray.

References

1. In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10; NIV).

I want your will to be done, not mine (Matthew 26:39; NLT).

2. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).

I love you, Lord (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

3. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21; NIV).

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord (Habakkuk 3:17-18; NLT).

I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely (Psalm 63:8; NLT).

4. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; NLT).

Help us all (for M.R.)

Ruth Kirk
Image: Tereza Flachová, Pixabay

Lord,

1. Please help us all
Throughout today:
Those who are lonely,
Those who’ve lost their way;

2. Those who are hungry, homeless,
Those who’ve strayed;
Those who are grieving,
Comfortless, afraid;

3. Those who are sick, or dying,
Old, distressed;
Those who are longing
For your peace and rest;

4. Those who have ceased to hope,
And cannot pray:
Father, please help us all
Throughout today.

We are one

Ruth Kirk
Image: Antranius, Pixabay

You are all one in Christ Jesus
(Galatians 3:28; NLT).

1. Son of God,
When I feel sad,
May I remember
Those who feel the same,
Praying for us all,
For we are one.

2. Word of God,
When I feel scared,
May I remember
Those who feel the same,
Praying for us all,
For we are one.

3. Lamb of God,
When I feel lost,
May I remember
Those who feel the same,
Praying for us all,
For we are one.

References

1. Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (John 20:31; NIV).

He began to be sorrowful (Matthew 26:37; NLT).

2. The Word became human and made his home among us […] and we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son (John 1:14; NLT).

Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (Luke 22:44; NIV).

3. John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29; NLT).

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? (Mark 15:34; NLT).

To sit alone

Ruth Kirk
Image: Free-Photos, Pixabay

1. To sit alone
With you
Is to be one, Lord.

2. To walk with you
In darkness
Is to see.

3. To live with you
In silence
Is to pray, Lord.

4. To rest with you
In stillness
Is to be.

References

1. Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray (Mark 1:35; NLT).

When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private (Matthew 6:6; NLT).

Whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17; NIV).

2. If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God (Isaiah 50:10; NLT).

You, Lord, are my lamp; the Lord turns my darkness into light (2 Samuel 22:29; NLT).

To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you (Psalm 139:12; NLT).

3. Be silent before the Sovereign Lord (Zephaniah 1:7; NIV).

Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

I know everything that comes into your minds (Ezekiel 11:5; NLT).

He knows the secrets of every heart (Psalm 44:21; NLT).

4. Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10; NIV).

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1; NLT).

Nothing

Ruth Kirk
Image: young ho seo, Pixabay

No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven
(John 3:27; NLT).

Lord,

1. There’s nothing I can do
To earn the love you give each day,
Nothing I can do
To win your help along the way;

2. There’s nothing I can do
To grasp the joys you want to share,
Nothing I can do
To gain your peace in all I bear;

3. There’s nothing I can do
To make the sunlight you supply,
Nothing I can do
To find your truth before I die;

4. There’s nothing I can do
To be at one with you today,
Nothing, Lord, at all –
Except believe in you, and pray!

References

1. You are trying to earn favour with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you (Galatians 4:10-11; NLT).

2. May God, who gives us his peace, be with you all (Romans 15:33; NLT).

3. He gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45; NLT).

4. What is impossible for people is possible with God (Luke 18:27; NLT).

This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent (John 6:29; NLT).

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17; NIV).

Pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done (Philippians 4:6; NLT).

You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).

Trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge (Psalm 62:8; NLT).

We are sinners

Ruth Kirk

Father,

1. We are sinners –
Please forgive us.
Wash away our guilt
And make us whole.

2. Speak to us,
And help us all to listen.
Heal us, Lord,
In body, mind, and soul.

3. We forgive all those
Who sin against us,
Praying for our enemies
And friends.

4. Help us to bear our cross,
And follow Jesus
Through good and ill, Lord God,
Until life ends.

References

1. We are constant sinners (Isaiah 64:5; NLT).

Forgive us our sins (Luke 11:4; NLT).

Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin (Psalm 51:2; NLT).

2. Let me hear your voice (Song of Songs 2:14; NIV).

O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed (Jeremiah 17:14; NLT).

3. We forgive those who sin against us (Luke 11:4; NLT).

Love your enemies! (Matthew 5:44; NLT).

Pray for those who hurt you (Luke 6:27; NLT).

4. If you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27; NLT).

Should we accept only good things from the hand of God, and never anything bad? (Job 2:10; NLT).