This month at Awakening, our focus has been on prayer, and I am so excited for what God is doing through that. I honestly believe there is nothing better we can do that will produce more favorable results or have more impact in this world for the kingdom of God. As I have been committed to prayer and seeking the Scriptures for inspiration and affirmation that I am praying the Lord’s will for us, He keeps bringing me back to the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6:9-15 (ESV). It is an example for believers about how to pray, and I have been taking the individual lines and personalizing and expounding upon it. I am really hoping to share my heart with you and also share in this time of prayer with you. I am excited for the potential that this group of young adults can have when we all join together with our hearts united in prayer.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your name is great and greatly to be praised. You have provided for me, protected me, ministered to me and blessed me with much. You never fail or fault me. You delight in me because you created me. You know all and see all; nothing is outside of Your control. You are all that is good: truth, love, mercy, justice, compassion, forgiveness, wisdom, integrity and steadfastness. Without You, I have no meaning; without You, I do not exist. You have provided a way for me and You call me to you. I bring You nothing, yet You have chosen me and set me apart. You sent Your son to live and die for me. You conquered death and sin and disease for me. You picked me to spend eternity with You. Thank you, Father. Thank you for giving me life and life abundantly. Praise be to You, God!
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Father, take my life and make it Yours. Do what you will in me and through me. God, Your kingdom is the only thing that matters because it is the only thing that lasts. Help me surrender my life to You. Make my everyday actions – living, breathing, relationships, thoughts and allegiances – be an extension of Your plan. Help me to live my life broken-hearted for the things that break Your heart. Let me see things, people and opportunities as you do. Use me, Lord. Mold me, Lord. Have Your way with me.
Give us this day our daily bread,
God, I can do nothing without you. Every good and perfect gift comes from You. Father, You know our needs. Only you can supply them. We ask you, God, as Your children, dependent on You, to bless us. Pour out good things on Your children, Lord. From the food we eat, to the air we breathe and even the desire for You, God, we know it all comes from You. Let us not lose sight of that. Let us be filled with the knowledge that all we have comes from You. You are so generous, Father! Blessed are we to know you!
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Search my heart, Lord, and reveal any evil way in me. Reveal the sin that so easily entangles me. Help me, God, to relinquish control and lay that at your feet. Thank you for Your work on the cross…for paying the debt of my sins. Thank you for ultimately securing my place in eternity with You. You see my battle, God; You know that I am at war with my flesh. Help me to keep my eyes on You, to seek the truth that casts out all the lies. Use me in spite of flaws; be glorified in my imperfections. As I interact with others, let me be a reflection of You. Let me be filled with a love that surpasses all understanding and that can only give witness to Your name. Help me to forgive the way You do, disciple the way You do, speak with words of grace the way You do. We know we are not worthy, God, but you forgive us anyway. Lord, do not turn your face from me. I repent completely before you.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The battle is not just with flesh and blood but also against evil, God. Deliver us from the grip of Satan. He moves, works and attacks when we are the most vulnerable. In Your name, God, I pray against the enemy! Let him have no footholds in my life. Send Your angels to guard and protect me. I know that I am weak, God; I know that there are areas of sin in my life where he seeks to turn my eyes from You. Society has subscribed to his ideas and is constantly seeking to desensitize me to his evil. I pray against that, God. Let me see this world with eyes like Yours. Let me abhor evil and long for a world where it does not exist. Deliver me from evil, God, here on this earth, and give me hope for my future in Heaven with You. You are stronger, Lord, and you have won the battle! Thank you for being victorious!
I love you Lord. And I cannot live with out. Be my everything.
In the name of the Father, which carries all authority on Heaven and on earth, I go forth and fight the good fight. You are with me God and no one can be against me.
Talk to you soon!
In Jesus name,
Amen
Author: Kelsey McDowell