Adoration
I will exalt You, my God and King;
I will bless Your name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty
And on Your wonderful works.
Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome works,
And I will proclaim Your great deeds.
I will express the memory of Your abundant goodness
And joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, and great in lovingkindness.
The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works. (Psalm 145:1–9)
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!
You have set Your glory above the heavens! (Psalm 8:1)
Lord Jesus, You are the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. (Revelation 22:16)
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone does wonderful things.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
May the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen. (Psalm 72:18–19)
Pause to express your thoughts of praise and worship.
Confession
You were pierced for our transgressions,
You were crushed for our iniquities;
The punishment that brought us peace was upon You,
And by Your wounds we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way,
And the Lord has laid on You the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5–6)
“Even now,” declares the Lord,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
With fasting and weeping and mourning.
So rend your heart and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness,
And He relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12–13)
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
Lord, I have heard of Your fame, and I stand in awe of Your deeds.
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In our time make them known;
In wrath remember mercy. (Habakkuk 3:2)
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Thank You, Lord, that You have said:
For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
In a flood of anger I hid My face from you for a moment,
But I will have compassion on you with everlasting kindness. (Isaiah 54:7–8)
Renewal
Lord, renew me by Your Spirit as I offer these prayers to You:
May I keep the commandments of the Lord my God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. May I follow the Lord my God and fear Him; may I keep Your commandments, hear Your voice, serve You, and hold fast to You. (Deuteronomy 8:6; 13:4)
May I know God and serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every motive behind the thoughts. (1 Chronicles 28:9)
May I love the Lord my God and serve Him with all my heart and with all my soul. (Deuteronomy 11:13)
May I love my enemies, do good to those who hate me, bless those who curse me, and pray for those who mistreat me. Just as I want others to do to me, may I do to them in the same way. (Luke 6:27–28, 31)
Pause to add your own prayers for personal renewal.
Petition
Father, using Your word as a guide, I offer You my prayers concerning the things of the world.
May these beatitudes be a reality in my life:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3–10)
May I seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, and all these things will be added to me. (Matthew 6:33)
When I have found one pearl of great value, may I go away and sell all that I have and buy it. (Matthew 13:46)
Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things,
And revive me in Your way. (Psalm 119:36–37)
May I keep my life free from the love of money and be content with what I have, for You have said, “I will never leave you, nor will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
May I not be like those among the thorns on whom seed was sown, who hear the word, but the worries of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and pleasures, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it immature and unfruitful. Instead, may I be like the good soil on whom seed was sown, who with a noble and good heart hear the word, understand and accept it, and with perseverance, bear fruit, yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown. (Matthew 13:22–23; Mark 4:18–20; Luke 8:14–15)
As a servant of Christ and a steward of His possessions, it is required that I be found faithful. (1 Corinthians 4:1–2)
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. I cannot serve God and wealth. (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13)
By Your grace, I want to hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:21)
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)
Lord, make me to know my end
And what is the measure of my days;
Let me know how fleeting is my life. (Psalm 39:4)
Teach me to number my days,
That I may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)
Pause here to express any additional requests, especially concerning growth in wisdom:Developing an eternal perspective Renewing my mind with truth Greater skill in each area of life
My activities for this day
Special concerns
Intercession
Lord, I now prepare my heart for intercessory prayer for my family.
May the Lord make me increase and abound in my love for believers and for unbelievers. May He establish my heart as blameless and holy before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:12–13)
May Your commandments be upon my heart, so that I may teach them diligently to my children and talk about them when I sit in my house and when I walk along the way and when I lie down and when I rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6–7)
In the spirit of these passages, I pray for:My immediate family My relatives Spiritual concerns Emotional and physical concerns Other concerns
Affirmation
Feed my mind and heart, O Lord, as I affirm these truths from Your word concerning the benefits of salvation:
Having been justified by faith, I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom I have gained access by faith into this grace in which I stand; and I rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1–2)
Lord, You have said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
You are the light of the world. He who follows You will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. (John 8:12)
You are the bread of life. He who comes to You will never hunger, and he who believes in You will never thirst. (John 6:35)
Everyone who drinks ordinary water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water You give will never thirst. Indeed, the water You give becomes in us a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (John 4:13–14)
Pause to reflect upon these biblical affirmations.
Thanksgiving
For who You are and for what You have done, accept my thanks, O Lord:
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits;
Who forgives all your iniquities
And heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit
And crowns you with love and compassion;
Who satisfies your desires with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1–5)
I will give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever. (1 Chronicles 16:34)
For who is God besides the Lord?
And who is the Rock except our God?
God is my strong fortress,
And He sets the blameless free in His way.
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
He enables me to stand on the heights. (2 Samuel 22:32–34)
I will give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His lovingkindness endures forever.
I will give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
And His wonderful acts to the children of men. (Psalm 107:1, 8)
Pause to offer your own expressions of thanksgiving.
Closing Prayer
This is the day the Lord has made;
I will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit are with us. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Now to Him who is able to establish us by the gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and through the Scriptures of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all nations for obedience to the faith—to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25–27)
Boa, K. (1993). Handbook to prayer: praying scripture back to God. Atlanta: Trinity House.
MATTHEW HENRY’S “METHOD FOR PRAYER”
Acknowledge God’s Incontestable Sovereignty and Irresistible Power
Adoration 1.6 | ESV
That his sovereignty is incontestable, and he is the owner and absolute Lord of all.
The heavens, even the heavens are yours, Psalm 115:16(ESV) and all their hosts. The earth is yours and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. Psalm 24:1(ESV) In your hand are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are yours also: The sea is yours, for you made it, and your hands formed the dry land. Psalm 95:4-5(ESV) Every beast of the forest is yours, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10(ESV) You are therefore a great God, and a great King above all gods. Psalm 95:3(ESV)
In your hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:10(ESV)
Your dominion is an everlasting dominion, and your kingdom endures from generation to generation: You do according to your will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay your hand or say to you, “What have you done?” Daniel 4:34-35(ESV) or “Why have you done that?”
That his power is irresistible, and the operations of it cannot be controlled.
I know, O God, that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2(ESV) Power belongs to you; Psalm 62:11(ESV) and with you nothing is impossible. Luke 1:37(ESV)
All authority is yours, both in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18(ESV)
You kill, and you make alive; you wound, and you heal; and there is none that can deliver out of your hand. Deuteronomy 32:39(ESV)
What you have promised you are able also to perform. Romans 4:21(ESV)
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