7 Prayers That Work

Experts guess that between 10-25% of pregnancies end in miscarriages, for various reasons. To a woman who knows she's pregnant--who knows there's a baby forming in her womb--it doesn't matter why the pregnancy fails. She just knows that one day she was a mother, and the next day, she was not. She feels grief. For all those excited and anticipating the birth of a baby, a miscarriage is a death. If this is you, here is a prayer to help you grieve and hope: Dear Abba Father, You have created all things. Your work is perfect. You created me for a purpose, and you created this little life for a purpose, although it doesn't make sense to me now why a helpless baby's life should be cut short so quickly. I am so terribly sad-- I feel such a sense of emptiness and loss. To be honest, I feel robbed. This is confusing, because I know you aren't a robber. You have come to give life and give it more abundant. So why did you bless me, only to remove the bl

Merry Christmas, everyone —I pray that your day will be filled with delight, joy, and thanksgiving. The Hallmark movie kind of moments would be great, for sure, but I hope you have more substantial moments filled with real love, acceptance, and security. I hope you are humbled by the meaning and spirit of Christmas. Christ with us, the hope of glory. God took on human flesh—and a helpless baby from a poor, unwed mother, at that—and He called Himself “Emmanuel,” God with us. I pray for God to be with you today and every day, to give your life purpose and meaning. Not just on Christmas so you have warm fuzzy feelings of happiness, but every day when the warm fuzzies are gone and you have to work and pay bills and be kind to difficult people. God with you, and give you hope, peace, and eternal glory. Amen. Merry Christmas!

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for the opportunity and ability to Christmas-shop. I love this season, and I love choosing gifts for people I love. This is a luxury not enjoyed by most people in the world. Keep me mindful of my blessings and thankful for the wealth you've given me. Help me to share generously and remember that everything I have is yours! Most of all, I want to be always cognizant that you are the perfect GIFT. You're all I need. May you be all I want. I recognize that I celebrate this amazing holiday because of your humility-- your decision to enter the world as a helpless baby, to live your life for other people, and then to die a cruel, unjust death so that I could enjoy your presence forever. How shocking and horrific that we often make the Christmas holiday about what we get and what we do. How blasphemous that we make it about snow, winter, and baking cookies. If we're not remembering you, sharing you, and honoring you, then what's t

Lord Jesus, I'm asking your forgiveness and grace on some fellow-believers. They're mean and nasty, and they don't love the body Christ. They're always stirring up trouble, berating believers, gossiping about fellow- Christians, and spewing venom against the church and what it doesn't do for them. They are incredibly selfish, immature, and divisive. I know you'll judge these people. You hate this kind of behavior, more than you hate anything. I know they will feel the effects of their attitudes in their own families. Perhaps their children will reject You and the church because of their example. Perhaps they will lose friends and lose community. I don't wish these natural consequences on them, although I know the course of rebellion can't be stopped apart from repentance and your incredible grace. Give me the grace to forgive them, (even when their hate isn't directly against me)-- help me to not hold grudges and made assump

Christmas is hard for people who grieve. They remember other Christmases filled with memories and laughter, and grief becomes overwhelming. Or perhaps Christmas is their loneliest time, without any cherished memories, which makes it that much harder to be festive. Is Christmas hard for you? Does it make you feel hopeless? Just since December began, I've attended one funeral, watched one on television, and revised my family, whom I haven't seen since my mom died. Collectively, grief is strong and real. But I do not grieve as one without hope ( 1 Cor. 15:18-20 ). Perhaps that is why we sing the "Messiah" at Christmas. Hope began with the birth of a baby, but hope continues through Jesus' resurrection and  his predicted triumphant return. Hope culminates with the " Hallelujah Chorus ." (Turn up the volume--it's the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!) This Christmas, pray this prayer of hope. Hope dispels grief. Hope gives suffering a context and a