Please help my crushed spirit

Dear God,

I've had my spirit crushed, and it really hurts. Someone I love and care about deeply said something very hurtful to me in anger.

We were upset at each other. It started off over something petty, but something that has been bothering me for some time. I saw an opportunity to express my frustration that an expectation I have has not been met. I feel respected when this is ordinarily taken care of, and it seems so easy to do.

This blew up into something I didn't expect or want to. She said things, and I decided to move myself from the situation. Then she said the thing that took the wind out of me. Maybe she didn't mean for it to be hurtful, but it sure did.

She has since apologized, and I told her I want to forgive her, but I'm dealing with the hurt right now.

I will forgive. You've forgiven me for even worse, Lord.

Right now I want the hurt to go away. I know the enemy wants to use this as an opportunity for defeat. And I can feel the temptation to use this guilt she who hurt me against her.

He will not prevail. I am not defeated and you are much bigger than that, my commitment to you will not let this happen.

I pray for the other who witnessed all of this. She hates when this happens. Please comfort her soul, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me, for giving me so much!

And thank you for healing my broken spirit!

In Jesus' name,
Amen

Prayer for one who has crossed over to the other side

Dear Heavenly Father,

This morning you welcomed home a brother in Christ. We all knew this day would eventually come, and it is indeed a bittersweet moment. We're glad he gets to live with you, but we miss him not being here.

I pray for those left behind that you would wrap your everlasting arms around them and provide them with comfort, for you are the God of all comfort.

I know there are numerous details that must be attended to, and I pray that you would give wisdom to those making decisions. I also know that as sinful people, we all need your help in times like this. Please help the family to do what it needs to do.

In addition, there will be many months of grieving. Lord, I pray that you will help the family grieve. I know this is natural. Help them to know that the pain they feel is real.

Lord, you are an awesome God! I look forward to the day I get to be in heaven with you. Thank you so much for your Son Jesus, who died and rose again.

Because of that, I have a relationship with you, and because of that, I have hope.

It's in His name I pray this.
Amen

Casting Off Anxiety

Dear Lord,

I come before you with anxiety in my heart. I know you know all things and that you rule over nature. You are the Sovereign Lord.

I am concerned about our personal financial situation. We don't have enough money to pay and get current on our bills. We get phone calls regularly from creditors, and we've come to dread the phone ringing.

We have a car that is very old and shows its age. Currently, the heater motor is not working as we need it. It's cold outside, and we've had to limit our travel because we have been unable to see out the windows.

Moreover, I am as usual concerned with my wife driving throughout the night, in inclement weather, in a car that has this situation.

As you know, I work 1+ hours from home, and the company has been on me about not getting to work by 8:30.

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I know that I have sin in my heart. I confess my sin that I have been unfaithful and have not been zealous for you. I have not led my family passionately. I have been lazy. I have been impatient. I could go on and on.

Where could I go but to you, O God? Only you can take away the guilt of sin. I'm sorry for willful sin I've committed, and I'm sorry for unconscious sin.

Please make me as white as the snow and renew my mind and heart. Help me to be the man you need me to be. I know that I'm better than I think I am. I know that I can do more than I think I can. Help me to think BIG.

Thank you, Heavenly Father.

In Jesus' name,
Amen

Help my wife fall back in love with you

Dear God,

Thank you so much for giving me my wife. I have been so blessed during our marriage, and I truly love her.

I pray for her. You know that she feels cold toward you; she's admitted it herself. She knows that what she feels isn't right, yet she feels stuck in her heart. She is reluctant to change, to give her heart to you. It's as though her heart has become a heart of stone. You know it's been this way for quite some time.

I call out to you, O God, because you see things that are not as though they are. You see the woman of God that she can become. I beg you, O Lord, to change and transform her heart, so that she really desires and loves you, the way she did at first.

There is not much I can do to change her; I leave that to you. I do so miss her love for you as displayed in her daily walk. You know what I'm trying to say. Please change my wife's heart. Help her to fall back in love with you.

In your son Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.

Prayer for help in relating to child

Dear God,

Thank you for the rain outside. I know we really need it.

I am having a lot of trouble relating effectively to my 10-year old daughter. It's no longer the "obey the first time" talks I used to have with her when she was much younger, and I keep wondering why we're arguing so much.

I'm grateful to my wife for being around because she has an objective point of view on things. I realize that I don't have everything on straight, and even in my own interactions with my daughter, I'm not doing what is right.

Please help me to be patient, Lord. Please change ME so that I can better shepherd my daughter's heart and lead her to you. Especially while we still have her under our wing, so to speak. I know that I can do much better at that. I want everyone in our family to have a passion and zeal for you, like I remember having when I was younger.

Thank you for hearing my prayers.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

Please alleviate vacation jitters

Dear God,

Good morning. I know that you know all about what's going on inside me, and yet it helps so much for me to pray to you. It's like the exercise of getting it all out is therapeutic.

This morning we leave for a week-long vacation. We'll be driving almost 1000 miles away from home to be with family we haven't seen in several years. We've made that long of a trip before, yet I'm finding myself feeling more worried about stuff this time than I had been those other times.

I don't know if it's just about money, but I do feel that's a big chunk of it. I just don't want us to be caught at the end of our trip trying to figure out how we're going to pay for stuff.

Maybe some other of it is knowing that some close friends were in a serious auto accident while traveling. If it could happen to them, then maybe it could happen to us.

Please help us all to be spiritual on this trip. I know in some ways our tendency might be to take a vacation from you. I don't think that's right, and I want to be better than that.

I look forward to meditating on you throughout the drive and beyond. I look forward to seeing family we haven't seen in years. I know that you will watch over us and protect us from harm, according to your will.

Lord God, I know you are a good God. I believe that you are out for our best interests. I just know that we cannot enjoy this vacation fully without you.

Please alleviate all my worries. Please help us to know our own limitations while we're driving. Please help us to have fun and recharge our "batteries" during this time.

I love you and thank you so much for being my God, my Savior, my Rock, my Lord.

In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen

Move the Mountains

Dear Lord God,

I want to thank you for providing for all of our needs. I appreciate so much that we have food, shelter, and clothing.

Thank you so much for my wife Jennie and my daughter Keisha. I love them so much, and I'm so grateful to be a husband and a father.

I confess to you my impatience and frustration. I confess my feelings of anxiety about the future. I lift these feelings up to you, O God, that you may lift the burden that is in my heart.

O God Almighty, I know you have plans for me for my next job. I would love to not simply have a job, but to have a career. I want to provide for the needs of my family even further. Right now our monetary responsibilities far exceed our ability as a family to meet them.

Today I started dreaming about being debt-free. I imagined, just for a little bit, what that will feel like. It was like breathing fresh air. I imagined a big smile on my face and on Jennie's and Keisha's as we made that finally payment that brought us out of debt. I imagined dancing and cheering. I imagined laughter. I imagined feeling happier than I'd felt in a long time.

I believe that this can happen for us. I believe it is possible.

Lord, what I want is, no matter what job I'm in, to be able to pay these debts off by next year. I honestly look forward to being able to choose what kind of car to drive, where we live, and so forth. I believe you can help with this, not for my name's sake, but for your own glory.

So God, I ask you to move in a way that I've not seen before. Help me to be diligent, determined, and faithful. I want to do all that I can and for you to move the mountains.

Please get me my next consistent-paying job that will put us on track, during this next month. But I even believe that it's possible for you to do this before the existing year is over.

Hear my prayer, Lord. According to your unfailing love for me, for Jennie, for Keisha - make this happen.

In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen