Tuesday - Pray Like This (Lead Us and Deliver Us)
Welcome to daily prayer. This week we are focused on the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” This is a corporate prayer for God’s people to be kept and protected from temptation and to be delivered from the evil one.
Lord, teach us to be watchful and pray for one another especially when we are going through difficulty and trials. We want our faith to be refined not destroyed by trials and difficulty.
As we begin our time together, let’s quiet our hearts and minds before the Lord.
Lord, you are always with us. You are the one who can keep us from losing heart. We praise you as our Creator and Sustainer.
Father, today we praise you as our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.
A Scripture reading from 1 Peter 5:5-11:
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
A Time to Rejoice in the Lord:
Father, I rejoice that you are the God of all grace. You have called us to your eternal glory in Christ and you will do in us and for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
I rejoice in your mighty hand and outstretched arm. You save, heal, and restore. You care for us. You invite us to bring all our anxieties and burdens to you.
If we are willing to humble ourselves and draw near to you, you will lift us up in due time. You are the Great Refiner and you know what we need. We trust you.
A Time to Acknowledge our Needs and ask God for help:
Father, we humble ourselves before you and acknowledge how deeply we need you.
Forgive us for our pride, for failing to be alert and sober-minded, and for not taking seriously your warnings that our enemy seeks to devour us.
Lord, keep us, our families, your church from the evil one.
Teach us to resist him by casting all our cares on you, standing firm in the faith, and walking in humility before you and each other.
Father, when trials come, help us not to lose heart.
Keep us from being surprised or offended.
We ask for your wisdom and strength.
Help us to watch and pray, and to encourage each other with the faith and hope and love you have given us.
Let’s take a minute to offer up to the Father any particular area of difficulty or struggle in your life or in those you know.
Lord, restore. Strengthen us. Make us steadfast. We ask for your grace.
As we listen to the passage again, let’s listen for a word or phrase that the Holy Spirit may want to say to us from todays verses:
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,
“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
Dear friends, do not lose heart. “Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. These light and momentary troubles are producing for us an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
God of all grace, we yield ourselves to your wise and loving care. Father, guide us, uphold us, protect us, and deliver us from the evil one.
As we finish our time together, receive this blessing from 2 Thessalonians 3:5:
“May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.”