Welcome to the daily prayer guide for the month of September! Today is Tuesday, Sept. 20.
Morning
As you might have noticed yesterday, we will be using Scripture a little more heavily to guide us through prayer this week. In many ways, such a choice powerfully enhances our prayer lives. By turning directly to the Bible for guidance when we pray, our prayers are made stronger because they are clearly aligned with the will of God. Let’s again begin by lifting a psalm of praise as a prayer.
Psalm 98
Sing a new song to the Lord,
for He has performed wonders;
His right hand and holy arm
have won Him victory.
The Lord has made His victory known;
He has revealed His righteousness
in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered His love
and faithfulness to the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth
have seen our God’s victory.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth;
be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.
Sing to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
With trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn
shout triumphantly
in the presence of the Lord, our King.
Let the sea and all that fills it,
the world and those who live in it, resound.
Let the rivers clap their hands;
let the mountains shout together for joy
before the Lord,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world righteously
and the peoples fairly.
As we usually do, take time to prayerfully consider and confess where sin has crept into your life, but know the cross makes forgiveness possible. Intercede in prayer for others, something you can continue to do throughout the day. If your church publishes a prayer list online or in a bulletin, now would be a good time to consult that list.
Today’s Bible verses are also prayers. After reading them, consider how you might reconstruct or rephrase them as prayers of your own: John 17; Ephesians 3:16-21.
Give yourself a few minutes of silence before resuming your day.
Noon
Pray the Lord’s Prayer, and spend a little more time in silence than you have previously. How might stilling yourself change the direction of your day?
Night
We continue with meditative prayer. Again, it may be useful to write down or record in some way the impressions you receive.
Here’s a prayer you can speak out loud, too:
“Heavenly Father, Your mercies were new this morning, and they did not fail me through the day. Praise and thanks be to You for being faithful to Your promises and unwavering in Your steadfastness. I am not worthy, Lord, for today I have been unfaithful and have wavered from the past of righteousness. Forgive me for the sake of the bitter suffering and death of my Savior, Jesus Christ.
“As night closes in on me, surround me with Your protective strength and almighty care. Keep me steadfast in my faith, and preserve me unto Your heavenly kingdom. Amen.” ~ Borrowed from “My Prayer Book,” Concordia Publishing House, 1957.
May your dreams resonate with the reality of God.
Methodist Life 