Praying through Every Emotion
Page 9
Lord, You are on my side, and I do not need to panic or fear or get stressed out. Stress or stressful people cannot harm me.
I will entrust all my ways to You. I will trust You, knowing that You will act on my behalf.
Therefore, I stand firm in the face of all my stresses and stressors. When I do this, I win the prize of peace, for You are the God of peace, and You will quickly crush Satan under my feet.
Thank You that Your good will is with me.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!
John 14:27 TPT
During times of trouble I called on the LORD.
The LORD answered me and set me free from all of them.
The LORD is on my side.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
Psalm 118:5–6 GW
Entrust your ways to the LORD.
Trust him, and he will act on your behalf.
Psalm 37:5 GW
Stand firm, and you will win life.
Luke 21:19 NIV
The God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. May the good will of our Lord Jesus be with you!
Romans 16:20 GW
Strife
Dear Lord,
Here we go again. Did You hear what he said? Did You see what she did? I’d like to give them a piece of my mind.
But wait. You would have me choose peace of mind instead.
I’m taking a deep breath and stepping back from the fight because You have called me to make peace my top priority. Instead of instructing me to butt heads, You instruct me to stand down. As I do, You will help me to initiate peace and encourage those You put in my life.
Your Word warns me to have nothing to do with foolish talk or arguments, which can lead to trouble. So I will work to bypass trouble by serving others with kindness, even if I have to suffer for doing good.
So help me to be gentle when You call me to explain those things that people don’t want to hear, for You may change their hearts so that they turn to the truth.
I can have more peace when I stop my complaining and arguing and avoid quarrels. Any fool can start a fight, but only a person of wisdom can avoid a conflict.
The best remedy You have given me for avoiding strife, quarrels, and hurt feelings is to love. As I love others with Your love, Your love will cover every wrong.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
So then, make it your top priority to live a life of peace with harmony in your relationships, eagerly seeking to strengthen and encourage one another.
Romans 14:19 TPT
Let me say it again. Have nothing to do with foolish talk and those who want to argue. It can only lead to trouble. A servant owned by God must not make trouble. He must be kind to everyone. He must be able to teach. He must be willing to suffer when hurt for doing good. Be gentle when you try to teach those who are against what you say. God may change their hearts so they will turn to the truth.
2 Timothy 2:23–25 NLV
Do everything without complaining or arguing.
Philippians 2:14 GW
Avoiding a quarrel is honorable.
After all, any stubborn fool can start a fight.
Proverbs 20:3 GW
Hate starts quarrels,
but love covers every wrong
Proverbs 10:12 GW
Strong
Dear Lord,
Sometimes I look at my problems and wonder if I’m strong enough to endure them all, but I have a secret weapon. I can continually seek Your strength.
I’m sorry when I’m impatient, because You always flex Your muscles and do the heavy lifting. You are always right on time—never too early and never too late.
You are my strength and my song, for You have given me victory time and again. You are my God, and I will praise You and exalt You.
It’s interesting to contrast who You are (the strong one) with who I am (the weak one). In fact, if You weren’t the muscle behind my many victories, I would have zero wins. But You hear my cry, and You always help me conquer even impossible dilemmas.
I’m not sure how You manage to do all You do for me, but You once said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” I am strong in You when I am weak. As the apostle Paul explained, Your strength was the very reason he delighted in his weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties, because when he faced such trials, he became strong in You.
I agree that “I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.” This is a wonder, a miracle, and a marvel, and I will praise You for all You have done for me.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
1 Chronicles 16:11 ESV
Wait with hope for the LORD.
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Yes, wait with hope for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14 GW
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise him—
my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
Exodus 15:2 NLT
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9–11 NIV
I can do all things because Christ gives me the strength.
Philippians 4:13 NLV
Suffering
Dear Lord,
It’s easier to be happy about the tests I’ve completed than to be happy about the tests I’m currently going through. But then I remember that You will use my current difficulty to build my faith as long as I don’t give up.
So help me to make it through this difficulty in Your power, grace, and mercy. If the difficulty continues, I will wait on You, trusting that You are moving on my behalf. Much of my suffering will be relieved if I will only trust in You. When I learn how to wait on You in trust, I will be strong and complete and will have everything I need.
The good news about my suffering is that it creates endurance, which creates character, which creates confidence as Your love pours into my heart through the power of the Holy Spirit. What I am going through is insignificant compared to the glory You will soon reveal to me.
And thank You for supplying me with Your continued peace. I am confident I can rest in You even as this trial runs its course.
With great hope, I realize that You are the one who conquered the world, so this current trial is not too big for You to handle.
I want to continue to trust in You in hope, and in Your strength. I know this suffering will end and that You will use it in miraculous ways. Thank You.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
My Christian brothers, you should be happy when you have all kinds of tests. You know these prove your faith. It helps you not to give up. Learn well how to wait so you will be strong and complete and in need of nothing.
James 1:2–4 NLV
But that’s not all. We also brag when we are suffering. We know that suffering creates endurance, endurance creates character, and character creates confidence. We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3–5 GW
I consider our present sufferings insignificant compared to the glory that will soon be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18 GW
The peace which is in me will be in you and will give you great confidence as you rest in me. For in this unbelieving world you
will experience trouble and sorrows, but you must be courageous, for I have conquered the world!
John 16:33 TPT
Suicidal
Dear Lord,
In this dark and painful night, You are with me.
The enemy whispers lies of death, but You whisper words of life. You ask me to choose life so that my descendants and I will live.
You created my life and call me to live because You have a purpose for me that I have yet to fulfill. If I trust that my times are in Your hands, I will live to find that purpose because You are the God who loves me.
Even in my despair, You tell me that Your grace is enough. You promise to give me Your power in my weakness, so please give me Your power now.
I give my heart to You and know that even my body belongs to You. May Your Spirit fill my heart and empower me to choose life.
The enemy tempts me to shut the door to my future. But I reject his lies, knowing You hold my future, a future filled with hope. I will trust You and give You the broken pieces of my life if only to watch what You can do with them.
So I will wait for You, Lord, as You move on my behalf. Be with me while I wait, for You are my help and my shield. You will help me to find joy as I learn how to trust You in every circumstance. May Your mercy rest on me as I wait in hope for You.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.
Deuteronomy 30:19 GW
But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand.
Psalm 31:14–15 ESV
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves.
1 Corinthians 6:19 GW
We wait for the LORD.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts find joy.
In his holy name we trust.
Let your mercy rest on us, O LORD,
since we wait with hope for you.
Psalm 33:20–22 GW
Tempted
Dear Lord,
When I focus on the things I shouldn’t, my thoughts lead me to act out with wrongdoing. Please forgive me for my failings and give me the strength to change my thought life so that I can focus on good things and do what pleases You. I give my thought life to You and ask that You direct it.
Like a mom who removes dangerous objects from her toddler’s reach, help me to remove those things from my life that tempt me.
As I ponder a way to break free from my sinful thought life, I realize that You understand. You sympathize with my weakness because You, Jesus, also walked this earth as a human being. You were tempted in the same ways I am tempted, with one big difference. You meditated on things above instead of on Your temptations. You walked sin-free.
Because You understand what I’m going through, You are able to give me the strength, and a plan to change my thought life whenever I am tempted. Remind me that I can call a friend, pray, read Your Word, leave the room, log off, run an errand, or change the channel.
I’m comforted by the fact that the temptations I experience are much the same as the temptations that others have conquered through You.
Lord, You are faithful. When I turn my eyes from what is tempting me and focus on You, You will make a way of escape.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
A man is tempted to do wrong when he lets himself be led by what his bad thoughts tell him to do.
James 1:14 NLV
Keep away from everything that even looks like sin.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 NLV
We have a chief priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he didn’t sin.
Hebrews 4:15 GW
Because Jesus experienced temptation when he suffered, he is able to help others when they are tempted.
Hebrews 2:18 GW
You have never been tempted to sin in any different way than other people. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted more than you can take. But when you are tempted, He will make a way for you to keep from falling into sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NLV
Troubled
Dear Lord,
I am troubled, and You are the only one I can turn to. As I call out to You, even before I finish telling You what’s wrong, You hear me and answer. You tell me that I am Yours. So I give my troubles to You and trust that You know what to do with them. Your plan will certainly be better than mine. I choose to trust You now, even though I don’t understand what You’re up to.
You are a good and a safe place where I can hide in times of trouble. Because I run to You, You open the door to me so I can hide in your safety.
I give myself to You, God. As I do, the devil sees You and runs away. He flees not because he’s afraid of me but because he knows better than to tangle with me when I am in You.
Even though my troubles are many, I will wait on You. I will be strong in You, and You will encourage my heart.
You give me peace because You have overcome the world. I ask that Christ’s peace control me, for You have called me into this peace through my friendship with You. You have also called me into fellowship with those who believe in You.
Help me to be thankful so that my discouragement and fear will lift and my mind will be free to trust You.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Before they even call out to me,
I will answer them;
before they’ve finished telling me what they need,
I’ll have already heard.
Isaiah 65:24 TPT
The Lord is good, a safe place in times of trouble. And He knows those who come to Him to be safe.
Nahum 1:7 NLV
I’ve told you this so that my peace will be with you. In the world you’ll have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 GW
So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil and he will run away from you.
James 4:7 NLV
Wait with hope for the LORD.
Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Yes, wait with hope for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14 GW
Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful.
Colossians 3:15 GW
Trusting
Dear Lord,
I have spent a lot of time in fear, afraid of the future, the past, and the present. Sometimes I’m even terrified that You won’t come to my rescue.
But I’ve got it all wrong. You’re the one who holds on to me, and You’ll never let go. All I need to do is leave my fears with You, for You can turn the plans of the enemy into miracles.
I will save myself from so much anxiety when I finally realize that You are trustworthy. With You on my side, no one can knock me down, no one can take me out of Your hand or remove Your love from me.
Yes, I can trust You. You never back away from me. Instead, You open Your arms wide.
I will trust You with all my heart. I will stop trying to figure out what to do about my problems and seek You. You will show me the direction You want me to take. You will make things come together for the good.
You will keep me in perfect peace through whatever I go through. I will keep my thoughts on You and will trust You always, for You are my God, my eternal Rock.
I dedicate my every step to You. I know that You will help me and will answer my every prayer.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
But when I am afraid,
I will put my trust in you.
I praise God for what he has prom
ised.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
Psalm 56:3–4 NLT
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Psalm 9:10 NIV
Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5–6 NLT
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the LORD always,
for the LORD God is the eternal Rock.
Isaiah 26:3–4 NLT
Give your way over to the Lord. Trust in Him also. And He will do it.
Psalm 37:5 NLV
Unworthy
Dear Lord,
I am trembling before You, ashamed to call out to You in prayer. I am not worthy to come into Your presence.
Then I remember Jesus, the one who loves me, the one who died in my place. I’m not wearing my own filthy rags when I come before You; I’m wearing the beautiful righteousness of Jesus.
So why am I so afraid of You? You are the one who loves me, the one who is always with me! You are my hero who saves me as You rejoice over me. Your love for me is never stale but always fresh. You celebrate me with joy.
You have compassion for me, just like a dad who loves his kids. You know that I am only flesh because You created me from dust.
You understand that I am weak and flawed, but You, Jesus, are strong. You were also tested in the same ways I am. But You emerged victorious, without failing God. I can stand boldly before Him because I am standing in Your unending supply of mercy and grace.
You are merciful and compassionate. You don’t view me in anger for my failures. You see me through eyes of unfailing love. You are good to me, and You shower me with kindness. Give me the boldness to realize who I am in Christ—worthy, loved, and forgiven.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
The LORD your God is with you.