To Help You Pray
Prayers and suggested readings
A word of encouragement
Prayer is the name that we give to talking to God. We were created to be people that communicate, both with God and others. You can sit down and find a quiet place to pray or talk with him as you move through the day. All types of prayer are important. Suggested here are some prayers, and readings, to get you started in the conversation that we call prayer. As with all conversations once they have started they develop. Let your conversation (prayer) develop.Geoff Bayliss (former Curate)
A prayer for the beginning of the day
The night has passed and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind: (silence)As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you; now and for ever. Amen.
A prayer for our home
God our Father, our Lord Jesus grew up in a home at Nazareth. You know how hard it is for a family to live happily together.Forgive us when our lives fail to match your standards, and help us to forgive ourselves, and one another, when we let each other down.
May our home be a place you are pleased to call your home. Fill us with your love, your peace and your joy, now and always, for the honour of your name. Amen.
It is often helpful to link prayers with reading from the Bible - God's Word to us. The Book of Psalms is a rich source of spiritual help and encouragement.
Especially famous are Psalms 8, 23, 24, 40, 42, 51, 100, 121; Psalm 150 is often good to finish with. Other Bible verses for particular situations are given later in this leaflet.
A prayer for a marriage
O God of love, look mercifully upon N and N as they seek your help and guidance for their life together. Unite them in your love.Keep them faithful to the vows they made to each other. Enrich them in their marriage with every good gift. And let your peace be with them, now and always; for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
A prayer for guidance
Help me, Lord, to think about my life as Jesus thought about his. Help me not to drift through life but to seek your guidance; then give me the courage to follow it. Save me from making hasty decisions; save me from making no decisions at all.Help me not to seek my own glory but yours. Help me to have no ambition but to do good. Make me pure in heart. And help me finally, not to judge others, but to leave judgement where it belongs, with him to whom all power is given, the one who knows all and loves each, Jesus Christ, my Saviour and Lord. Amen (Adapted from a prayer by Dick Williams)
A night prayer
Come, O Holy Spirit of God, make within us your dwelling and your home.May our darkness be dispelled by your light, and our troubles calmed by your peace; may evil be redeemed by your love, pain transformed through the suffering of Christ, and dying glorified in his risen life. Amen.
A prayer for the future
May our Lord Jesus Christ be near us to defend us, within us to refresh us, around us to preserve us, before us to guide us, above us to bless us; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit,God for evermore. Amen.
Some Bible verses which may help
you in your situation.....
You Feel Guilty --2 Samuel 14:14; Psalm 130 3-4; Romans 8:1-2;
I Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 3:12: Hebrews 10:22-23
If You Feel Dejected --
Psalm 130:7; Isaiah 65:24; Matthew 11:28-30;
Romans 8:26-27: Hebrews 4:16 ; James 4:8, 10
If You Feel Despair --
Psalm 119:116; Isaiah 57:15; Jeremiah 32:17;
Hebrews 10:35
If You Are Disappointed --
Psalm 22:4-5; Isaiah 49:23; Matthew 19:25-26;
Mark 9:21-24; John 15:7; Ephesians 3:20
If You Are Anxious --
Psalm 55:22; Isaiah 41:13; Matthew 6:25;
Matthew 11:28-29; Philippians 4:6- 7; 1 Peter 5:7
If You Are Sick --
Psalm 23:4; Psalm 73:26; Isaiah 57:18;
Matthew 8:16-17: John 16:33; Romans 8:37-39;
James 5:14-15
If You Are Confused --
Psalm 32:8; Isaiah 42:16; John 8:12; John 14:27;
1 Corinthians 2 15-16; James 1:5
If You Are Tempted --
Job 23:10-11; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 2:18;
Hebrews 4:15-16; James 1:2-4, 13-14; 1 Peter 5:8-10
If You Are Afraid --
Psalm 4:8; Psalm 23:4; Isaiah 35:4; Romans 8:37-39;
2 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:6
If You Are In Need --
Isaiah 58:11; John 6:35; 2 Corinthians 9:10-11;
Ephesians 3:20-21; Philippians 4:19;
If You Grieve --
Psalm 119:50, 76-77; Jeremiah 31:13; Matthew 5:4; John 16:20-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; Revelation 21:34
If You Suffer --
Psalm 34:19; Nahum 1:7; John 16:33; Romans 8:16-17; 1 Peter 2:20-21; 1 Peter 4:12-13
If You Fail --
Joshua 1:9; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 5:8; Hebrews 10:36; 1 John 1:8-9
If You Doubt --
Psalm 34:22; John 3:18; John 11:25-26; Romans4:5; John 4:15-16
If The Future Seems Hopeless --
Isaiah 54:1-7; Lamentations 3:19- 24; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; 1 Peter 1:1-9; 1 Peter 5:10-11; Revelation 11:15-19
If You are Seeking God's Direction --
I Kings 3:1-14; Proverbs 2:1-6; Romans 12:1-3; Ephesians 5:15-17; Colossians 1:9-14; James 1:5-8
If You Need Comfort --
Isaiah 12; Isaiah 40:1-11; Jeremiah 31:10-13; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; 2 Corinthians 7:6- 13
If You Need Assurance of Salvation --
Psalm 91:14-16; Micah 7:18-20; John 3:14-21; John 11:25- 26; Acts 16:31-34; 1 John 5:9-13
If Others Have Sinned Against You --
Genesis 33:14; Genesis 50:15-20; Matthew 6:14-15: Matthew 18:21- 35; Colossians 3:12-14; James 2:12-13
If You Desire to Learn How to Pray --
2 Chronicles 6:13-42; 2 Chronicles 20:5-12; Matthew 6:5-15; Mark 11:22- 25; Luke 18:9-14; Philippians 4:4-7
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