Relationship Building Prayer

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

—Mark 1:35 (NLT)

Heavenly Father,

Help me to follow after the example of Your Son, Jesus, and seek after You in prayer—before the busyness of life crowds out my time alone with You and robs me of that desperately needed refreshing I receive from simply being in Your presence.

Each and every day, help me to first go to You alone in prayer—before the concerns of the day have an opportunity to overrun my thoughts—so that, through my time with You, all of the demands of my day can be viewed from Your divine perspective.

Help me to find a quiet place with You—removed from anything that would distract me from the quality time I need to devote to spending with You—so that I can tell You the things on my heart and hear those things that You would speak into my heart.

Help me be consistent in seeking You out in prayer, knowing that the development of my relationship with You—coming to more fully understand and live out Your divine plan for how You and I relate to each other—must be my greatest priority if I am to please You in everything that I do.

Help me to carry that attitude of prayer and passion for Your presence with me throughout the day—so that my communion with You might continue like a warm and open conversation, as I seek to follow Your leading in everything that I do.

Help me to follow after the example of Your Son, Jesus, and seek after You in prayer—before the busyness of life crowds out my time alone with You and robs me of that desperately needed refreshing I receive from simply being in Your presence.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Along The Riverbank

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
    with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat
    or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,
    and they never stop producing fruit.

--Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for being an eternal river of life-giving water to me.

You, LORD, are my hope…and all my confidence is in You. Because You are trustworthy, I can place all my trust in You alone, and know that in doing so, I will be blessed.

As I trust You, You make me like a tree, intentionally planted along the banks of the river of Your love, so that I can reach down deeply and draw from that refreshing life-giving water. By it I am able to remain strong and growing through the heat of adversity and with it I can patiently endure any drought that might surround me.

As long as I remain in You, You not only keep me alive, strong and growing, but You enable me to continually produce fruit for Your glory and honor.

Thank you for being an eternal river of life-giving water to me.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

In His Family

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus.  I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. 

--Philemon 1: 4-7 (NIV)

Heavenly Father,

Thank You, for surrounding me with Christian brothers and sisters—and for the joy and encouragement that I receive from them as we refresh each other’s hearts with the good things we share in Christ.

 Help me to remember always to be thankful for them and to lift them up to You in my prayers—praying for the deepening of their understanding of every good thing that we find in Christ, as they continue to live out their lives before men, as a testimony of their love and faith in You.

Help me to live out my life in You, with love for others, so that they might see You in me—and be joyfully encouraged and refreshed by my faith and love for You, and give all the  glory to You, the author of all things good.

Thank You, for surrounding me with Christian brothers and sisters—and for the joy and encouragement that I receive from them as we refresh each other’s hearts with the good things we share in Christ.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.