Things to Pray for Today

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 14-15; Psalm 143

I have long adopted a prayer pattern that has worked for me. It keeps my prayers varied and helps me not to fall into too much of a prayer rut. I pray for saints on Saturday (fellow Christians), sinners on Sunday (people who need the Lord), missionaries on Monday, tasks on Tuesday, workers on Wednesday (both church and government leaders), thanksgiving on Thursday, and family on Friday (while I pray for family every day, it becomes my main focus on Friday).

Like a lot of people though, I can fall into a pattern of focusing primarily on the physical and temporal needs. Not that that isn’t important and shouldn’t receive our attention in prayer, but we can forget about praying for the spiritual and eternal matters of life.

Reading through Psalm 143 reminds me of some things I could do better on in my own prayer life. His emphasis is on his relationship with God. He asks God not to hide his face from him (verse 7). He wants to hear of God’s steadfast love in the morning (verse 8). He wants God to make him know the way that he should go (verse 9). He wants God to teach him to do His will (verse 10).

It is not that he doesn’t pray for the physical and temporal issues of life. He does. But he a major emphasis is relational. He wants to know God’s love and presence. He wants to know God’s will and to walk in God’s ways.

I need reminders like this so that I will remember to pray for these kinds of things too, for myself, my family, and for others.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash