Prayer for Friday

Friday - Gratitude for Ourselves

Lord, we praise you because we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We rejoice because you know our names. We are grateful for the love that you show us.

Psalm 139:1 “Lord, you have searched me out and known me: you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.”

We are grateful God that (Romans 5:8) “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We are grateful that we have received your call and invitation to not only experience the joy of reconciliation, but to find meaningful work as agents and ambassadors of your Kingdom. We thank you God that you have seen fit to work through our weakness and imperfection to make your glory known. We thank you God, because we are not forgotten; because you remember us.

Today take a few minutes to reflect on the past week. How has God affirmed your identity as his beloved child? Return these reflections to God as prayers of gratitude.

Prayer for Thursday

Thursday - Gratitude for God’s Solidarity with the Poor and Oppressed

Come, let us bow down and bend the knee: let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

God, we confess that we regularly fail to love the least as you have called us to do. We rejoice that our weakness reveals your strength, because we know that you have not forgotten the plight of the poor. We pray, Lord, that no one today finds themselves without hope, without a glimpse of the empty tomb. We thank you God that continue to proclaim hope to those in seemingly hopeless situations. We ask God that you will enable us to see the opportunities we have today to reflect your love for those that society has forgotten, that circumstances have been harsh toward, that others have neglected or abused.

We thank you God that you continue to give us new opportunities to love. And we thank you God that so often when we open our eyes to the people behind the label “poor,” we find generosity, compassion, love and wisdom far beyond our own.

Today, make eye contact and extend a simple acknowledgment of shared humanity to someone you may have normally ignored, missed or dismissed. Take a few minutes to listen and look for reasons to express gratitude to God for this beloved child.

Prayer for Wednesday

Wednesday - Gratitude for the Global Community

Lord God, we rejoice and are grateful that you hear the cries of the orphan in Uganda, the terrified in Afghanistan, the weary but hopeful in Libya, the oppressed in China, the silenced in North Korea, the poor in Brazil, the devastated in Japan and the desperate in Haiti. We thank you God that we can lay our heads down at night knowing that you are fully aware of the situation that each person on this planet is experiencing. We are grateful Jesus that you are continually calling your disciples to action across the globe.

We are grateful, Lord, that we have the opportunity to hear the stories of your children all over the world and we thank you, Lord, that these stories can teach, transform and inspire us, just as they also often convict, chastise and bring us to lament. We thank you, O Lord, that you are not a regional God...you are the Father of all!

If you regularly watch, read or listen to world news, listen for something happening in the global community that you can express gratitude to God for. If you don’t usually check in on these things, (probably because its so depressing) try doing so today with an eye toward gratitude and thanksgiving.

Prayer for Tuesday

Tuesday - Gratitude for our Local Community

Father we thank you that you have seen fit to guide us to this place at this time. Teach us to joyfully reflect the incarnation of your Son as we seek to inhabit our neighborhood. We are grateful that in you we live and move and have our being and that you have seen fit to give that life expression in the midst of this neighborhood, this coffee shop, this office, this park, this school community.

We ask Lord that you will open our eyes to the expressions of your Kingdom that are being displayed in this place. Teach us to rejoice and be glad when we see the poor neighbor opening their home to others, when we see the single mother sacrifice much out of love for her children, when a city official takes a stance in defense of the powerless. God we are grateful that you are working in this place and we ask that you continue to give us opportunities to join you in your mission of reconciliation right here, right now.

Today, take a moment to notice and express gratitude to God for some example of the Kingdom working its way into your local community. Take a short prayer walk through your neighborhood, expressing gratitude to God for the people who dwell in those houses. Let those who have eyes to see, see.

Prayer for Monday

Monday - Gratitude for the Church

Lord, we are grateful that you have not called us to serve you in isolation, but have joined us to your body, the Church. We thank you that we have companions to work alongside, to laugh with and to lean on. Grant us, today, eyes to see and ears to hear the movement of your Spirit in the midst of your people. Forgive us for our readiness to find fault in our brothers and sisters, for being so quick to argue and complain. We ask Lord that you will continue forming a spirit of gratitude within us so that the spirit of cooperation can take hold.

Today, express gratitude to one of your fellow disciples and share it also with someone else. Let us be a people known for gossiping about the virtues and value we see in one another.

Season of Prayer

We have recently begun the process of developing a new organization called Intentional People. This ministry will serve to foster:

1) Collaboration in missional life by creating space for conversation, online community and inspirational stories of whole-life discipleship among "normal" people.

2) Cultivation of missional disciples through training, resources and spiritual formation practices.

Before we attempt any fundraising or official beginning for Intentional People, we want to be people who are intentional about prayer and following the leading of the Spirit. We have invited a group of family and friends to join us over the next seven weeks - from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday - for a season of communal prayer. Each week I'll be sending out a scripture passage for reflection, a weekly devotional and daily prayers. I am also posting them all here and I invite you to join us as well.

Each week during this season of prayer we will focus on a different theme. Each day we will approach that theme from a different perspective. Here are the themes we'll use for the next 7 weeks.

Week 1 - Gratitude and Joy

Week 2 - Wisdom and Discernment

Week 3 - Faithfulness and Courage

Week 4 - Personal Discipleship and Spiritual Formation

Week 5 - Partners and Community

Week 6 - Mission and Commission

Week 7 - Fruit and Harvest

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Sunday - God

Monday - Church

Tuesday - The Local Community

Wednesday - The Global Community

Thursday - The Poor and Oppressed

Friday - Ourselves