When something is weighing heavily on us, our prayers can quickly narrow to one request: Lord, please fix this. There is nothing wrong with asking God for change, healing, provision, breakthrough, or relief. He invites us to bring our desires to Him honestly. But sometimes a difficult situation becomes an invitation to pray something deeper: Father, while I am asking You to change what is happening around me, would You also meet me and do Your work within me?

Surrender does not mean pretending that the outcome does not matter. It means bringing what matters deeply to the Father and entrusting it to the One who sees what we cannot see.

Use this prayer as a guide for whatever is concerning you today. Bring the person, situation, or problem honestly before God. He is the God of the impossible, and He is near.

Father, I bring You this person, situation, or problem:

I choose to place it in Your hands and surrender it to Your perfect wisdom and will.

Teach me everything You desire to teach me in the middle of this. Help me receive what You have for me here, even as I continue to ask You for change.

Keep me seeking You and not only relief from this situation. I want You to be glorified, and I want to know You more deeply. Give me a greater revelation of who You are and who You are for me here.

Holy Spirit, search my heart. Bring into Your light anything in me that needs Your cleansing, healing, correction, or forgiveness. Reveal any pride, fear, bitterness, unbelief, or sin that is keeping me from walking freely with You.

Give me the grace to confess what needs to be confessed, repent where I need to repent, and receive again the cleansing and forgiveness that are mine through Jesus.

I surrender myself to You. I place on Your altar the people I love, my family, and those You have knit closely to my life. They belong to You before they belong to me. Draw each of us more deeply into Your life and Your love.

Remove bitterness, resentment, and anger from my heart. Fill me with Your love even if this situation does not change in the way I hope. Show me where I need to forgive, make something right, or release what I have been holding.

Help me obey You as You lead me. Quiet the noise around me and within me so that I can recognize Your voice and respond to Your direction.

As I stand against the enemy, I remember that I belong to Jesus. I am clothed in Your armor and covered by the finished work of Christ. Thank You, Father, that through the cross and resurrection, Jesus has triumphed over the powers of darkness.

I choose to pray Your character and Your promises over this situation.

Bring Your Word to mind and lead me to the Scriptures You want me to hold onto and pray.

(Pause here and write down any Scriptures or promises the Holy Spirit brings to mind.)

I offer You my praise before I know the outcome.

You are still faithful.

You are still good.

You are still present.

You are still God.

I choose to rest in You even while I continue to pray. Whatever the outcome and however You choose to answer, Your character does not change. Your goodness and mercy endure forever.

Father, accomplish Your purposes in this situation. Reveal Yourself. Turn hearts where hearts need to be turned. Bring truth into what is hidden or confused. Give wisdom, conviction, courage, mercy, and grace to everyone involved.

I trust You with what You are doing even when I cannot yet see it. I give You all praise, honor, and glory. Thank You that You are at work in ways I know and in ways I cannot yet understand. This situation belongs to You. And I belong to You.

In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

Sometimes the deepest work of prayer is not reaching the place where we no longer care how the story turns out. Love means we do care. We may still long for healing, reconciliation, provision, justice, or a completely different ending.

Surrender simply means we no longer carry the outcome as though everything depends on us. We can keep asking boldly while resting deeply.

We can tell our Father exactly what we want while trusting Him with what we cannot control. And in the middle of the uncertainty, we can return again and again to what has not changed: God is near. God is faithful. And the situation we cannot hold together is still safely held by Him.

by Sylvia Gunter
used by permission

FURTHER READING

More Sample Prayers

How to Pray

Solving Problems Through Prayer

Why Our Walk with Jesus Seems so Hard Some Days

The post What To Pray In A Difficult Situation appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”  Psalm 100:4

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Help me Lord, not to fall into temptation but always stay firm in Your teachings and Your Word.

Help me to be a “promise focused” person, not allowing emotions or fear to overwhelm me, nor allowing circumstances to pull me down, but always to think positive, with joy and thanksgiving and to count my blessings one by one.

Even in the times of great difficulties, I continue to give You praise and believe in You and Your many promises to me.

I look to the skies and count the stars which go beyond my human understanding and focus on Your promises.

The meek shall inherit the earth.
What I am today is by the riches of Your grace.
Your mercy and grace are new every morning.
Help me Lord, not to take them for granted.
Give me a thankful and grateful heart. In Jesus’ name.

by Joshua Chin Hong Lim
Used by Permission

Further Reading

• Thanksgiving Day Sample Prayers

• Count Your Blessings

•  Salvation Explained

The post Prayer of Thanksgiving appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. “ Romans 8:28

Thought

Bad stuff happens in life. Satan has a part to play in the bad stuff. Our own sins and their consequences also play a part. The rebellion against God and the spiritual weakness in those we love bring hurtful things into our life. Sometimes, God even disciplines us to awaken us out of lethargy or to correct some sinful problem in our lives. Yet in all these things, we have an incredible promise: If we love God and are seeking to honor his call in our lives, our Father in heaven will work out all of the things going on in our life for our good.

Prayer

Father, I appreciate your promise to work out all things in my life, both good and bad, for my good. I ask, dear Father, for faith to believe this promise is true during painful and difficult times. I ask for patience, O God, to hang on to my convictions when trying times persist. I believe your promise, dear LORD, and look forward to what you will eventually make of me when you are finished with your work. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray. Amen.

By Phil Ware
Used with permission

You can also follow Phil’s daily devotionals on https://www.verseoftheday.com

FURTHER READING

Just How Bad Could it Get?

God Works Things Out for Our Good

Where is God When I Hurt?

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The post Bad Stuff Happens appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Prayer from Psalm 46:10-11

BE—God, I say “yes” to You. I choose to allow Your way to shape me and Your will to direct me in what is best. I surrender instead of resist, I yield instead of fight, I believe instead of doubt.

STILL—Father, may Your rest abide and Your peace abound within me. Quiet all anxiety that troubles my thoughts and unsettles my emotions. I bring my soul under the control of the Holy Spirit; I stand steady upon the unmovable foundations of Your kingdom; I receive the sufficiency of Your grace and the encouragement of Your promises as you calm my soul.

AND KNOW— Lord, thank you that Your word is sure, unchanging, and indisputable. Your word is true. I am certain. You have saved me from guessing, wondering, wishing, or pretending. I know! I believe!

I AM GOD— You are who You say You are. You do what You say You do. There is no other! You are the highest, the greatest, the best. You have no weakness, no lack, and no equal. You are my God, and my Heavenly Father. I find comfort in Your nearness, security in Your voice, courage in Your strength, hope in Your promises. You are enough. More than enough! You are with me. You are my refuge. I am safe in Your care.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.”  Psalms 46:10-11 NKJV

By Roy Lessin
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• Be Still, My Daughter by Sylvia Gunter
• Be Still by Max Lucado
• Impatient Heart, Be Still

The post Pray This appeared first on Thoughts About God.

As I read the emails that come to me my heart is touched by the places where many of you walk. I wish there was time in life to sit over a pot of tea and share with one another about God’s faithfulness to us in the challenges of life.

As I have thought about you and prayed for you, God reminded me of a prayer in the Bible that is a great model of how to pray for one another. This morning I want to pray this prayer for each one reading this today and seeking to trust God in the places where you walk.

“Since the day we heard about you we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through spiritual wisdom and understanding.

And we pray this in order that you may:
•    live a life worthy of the Lord
•    and may please him in every way
•    bearing fruit in every good work,
•    growing in the knowledge of God
•    being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might

So that you may have:
•    great endurance
•    and patience
•    and joyfully give thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Amen.  Colossians 1: 9 – 14

May you be filled with all He is and has for you as you walk on the path before you today.

May God bless you abundantly as you trust Him with all your heart.

by Gail Rodgers
used by permission

FURTHER READING

• How to Pray Articles
• Sample Prayers – List
• Foundational Core Truths about Prayer by Sylvia Gunter

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The post He Has What We Need appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Lord, little by little You are getting through my befuddled mind to teach me another practical concept about living a life pleasing to You.

Lord Jesus, I know You said that in this world we would have troubles, but for some reason, I really thought there would be fewer problems as I aged, that I would become wise. But life becomes more complicated.

I wonder, Lord, is it because You need to constantly remind us that this earth is not our home…that we are heaven bound?

So many times I forget that people, circumstances or things cannot give me happiness; only You can. I realize now that my discouragement can be because of the lack of trusting You.

This day, Lord, I pray that You will enable me to trust You each time a problem arises. Whenever I get stressed, remind me to turn my eyes on You and Your sufficiency.

My help comes from You, Lord. Amen.

By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

MORE ON PRAYER

How to Pray
Sample Prayers

The post A Morning Prayer appeared first on Thoughts About God.

A Mother’s Day Prayer

Heavenly Father, to You I pray…
On this day called,
“Mother’s Day.“
Let all mother’s on earth give praise,
To You…for the children that You gave.

For You have blessed them from above,
with little souls to nourish and love.
Let them mold each one with care…
And teach them to be kind and share.

Forgiveness is the special key…
Start early on, to help them see.
Their fragile minds are easily impressed.
Please teach them ways, so they’ll be blessed.

Sow godly seeds into their minds.
With careful pruning, you will find…
Young adults with such strong roots,
 all through life, will bear rich fruit.

And then have faith for God to show…
Them all the rest they have to know.
Remember they’re His children too.
For they were only lent to you.

Author Unknown

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