(To be prayed out load, slowly and meditatively. If a scripture stands out to you, turn to it and spend time seeking God through it)
Lord Almighty, You have purposed. Who can thwart You? Your hand is stretched out; who can turn it back?[i] Certainly not me! Instead of me imposing my desires on You, let me join You in Your grand purposes as You sweep me along in Your great and glorious current.
You have saved me and called me to a holy life – not because of anything that I have done, but because of Your own purpose and Your grace. This grace was given to me in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.[ii] God, I’m awestruck, that that’s how long You have been planning things out – from before time. As I’m caught in the eddying currents of life, trying to decide what Your will is for me, teach me to trust in You will all my heart I choose not to lean on my own understanding, which is so often flawed and me-centred. In all my way, I choose to acknowledge You as the author and perfecter of my faith, knowing and believing that You will make my path straight. [iii] I ask You to shed your light on every hidden agenda, every secret motive, every purpose I have that may not be in line with Your overarching plan. I submit these to You, and lay them under Your authority.
Give me wisdom. Give me understanding. Bind me to Your words that I may not forsake them. Give me wisdom that she may protect me; teach me to love wisdom that she may watch over me. [iv] Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. [v] You are good and upright, O God. I know that You will instruct me, a sinner, in my ways. Make me humble and guide me in what is right. Teach me Your way. [vi]
You are the Lord my God, who teaches me what is best for me. You direct me in the way I should go. As I pay attention to Your commands, my peace will be like a river, and my righteousness like the waves of the sea. [vii] Instead of giving in to the temptation and tendency to dwell in anxiety, I choose to do something counter-cultural and revolutionary: with a spirit of thanksgiving, through prayer and petition, I will present my requests to You. As I do so, Your peace will guard my mind and heart in Christ Jesus! Your peace will stand sentry outside my mind and heart and, in the power of Christ Jesus, will bar the way to Anxiety, stating “You can go NO further”. Flood my heart with peace. [viii] Replace my thoughts of anxiety by teaching me to think on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. If I’m dwelling on these things (which are all attributes of You), how will I have time to wallow in the mire of fearing for the future? As I put this into practice, I will come to experience the GREATEST thing – the deep knowledge that You, the God of peace, are with me![ix]
May I never seek guidance for this life outside of Your word. Give me a love for Your word that is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. [x]You are my refuge and shield. I have put my hope in Your word. [xi]Give me more insight than all my teachers (the clever and well-read people in my life) as I meditate on Your statutes! Give me more understanding than my elders (the ones I look up to and respect) as I obey Your precepts. [xii]
God, I confess that I lack wisdom. So, in faith and obedience to Your word, I ask You for this precious gift. You promise to give me wisdom generously to me (and all who ask), without finding fault. But as I ask You for wisdom, I determine to believe and not to doubt.
If I doubt, I will be like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. This is not who I want to be: double-minded and unstable in all I do.[xiii] Instead, I stand firm. In You, nothing will move me. I give myself wholly and solely to Your work, because I am convinced that, in You, my labour is not in vain![xiv]
Just as Mary said, when told that she had a vital role in Your purposes of salvation for the world, so I choose to rest in You with these words: “I am Your servant. May it be to me as You have said”. [xv] I also join myself with the spirit of Christ, as He was faced with total knowledge of the worst future that any human has faced: “Not my will but Yours be done”[xvi]
You are the Head of the body, the Church. You are the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, including my future plans, You might have the supremacy. [xvii] During Your time on earth, Jesus Christ, the prayers You offered up were heard because of Your reverent submission to Your Father, the One who could have saved You from death. May I offer up prayers in a similar spirit of reverent submission, not insisting on my own way, but allowing You to have Your way with me. [xviii]
You have prepared me for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Your Son. May I be just one part of bringing maturity to Your body, enabling Your church to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ![xix] Whatever the future brings; whatever I do, I will work at it with all my heart, as working for You, not for men, since I know that I will receive an inheritance from You as a reward. It is You, Lord Jesus I am serving.[xx]
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but You, the same God works all of them in all men. [xxi]
I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so my eyes look to You, the LORD my God, till You show me Your mercy. [xxii]
[i] Isaiah 14:27
[ii] 2 Tim 1:9
[iii] Proverbs 3:5-6
[iv] Proverbs 4:5-6
[v] Psalm 25:4
[vi] Psalm 25:8
[vii] Isaiah 48:17-18
[viii] Phil 4:6-7
[ix] Phil 4:8-9
[x] Psalm 119:105
[xi] Psalm 119:114
[xii] Psalm 119:99-100
[xiii] James 1:5-7
[xiv] I Corinthians 15:58
[xv] Luke 1:38
[xvi] Luke 22:42
[xvii] Colossians 1:18
[xviii] Hebrews 5:7
[xix] Ephesians 4:12
[xx] Colossians 3:23
[xxi] 1 Corinthians 12:4
[xxii] Psalm 123:1
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