A Daily Prayer

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in You I trust, O my God.  Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  O Lord my God, I called to You for help and You healed me.  Though weeping may endure for a night, I’m grateful that rejoicing will come with a new day.  O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever.  Amen.  
(Prayer adapted from selected verses in Psalm 25 & Psalm 30)

Father, we recognize that our endurance and persistence are attitudes derived from a faith-filled life with You. Our endurance is realized by continuing this race though others may drop out making us feel like we run alone.  Our persistence is marked by our determination to finish the race though struggles weigh us down and doubts cloud our vision of the finish line.  Thank You for marking the race out for us by showing us the great examples of those who cheer us on as we participate in this Christian race.  They finished their race on earth through their enduring faith, though they experienced opposition from sinful men.  We endure hardships and struggles as discipline from You, our loving Father, that we may share in Your holiness.  We look forward to the harvest of righteousness and peace that comes as a result of our persistence in this spiritual marathon.  Strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees as we repent of the sin that entangles us.  We lay aside everything that drags us down or tempts us to give up.  We persist in the name of Jesus Christ for the heavenly finish line, amen.

O God, You are our Help in ages past and You are our Hope for years to come.  You are our Shelter from the stormy blast and You are our eternal Home! Amen.

Father, help me not to waste my time and energy in futile or wishful thinking.  Instead I want to fix my thoughts upon the living hope I have in Jesus Christ my Lord.  I anchor my soul in the bedrock of Your Holy Word so that when other viewpoints counter the truths prescribed in Your Word my anchor remains firm and secure.  When difficulties appear insurmountable remind me that I serve an extraordinary God who does not rely on natural solutions but works in the supernatural realm to meet each one of my needs.  Your solutions to my problems are not subject to my scrutiny but rather I conform to Your leading and accept Your plan for my life.  In doing so I am not tossed to and fro by wishful thinking but I am firmly grounded in the living hope of our resurrected Lord and Savior.  It is in His name that I pray, Amen.