Start with Praise: 7 Empowering PrayersSýnishorn

The prayers that accompany this devotional are structured around the four steps of prayer: praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. In this devotional, we’ve added a fifth section, petition, to allow you to pray scripture for yourself. When you follow the Moms in Prayer four-step prayer process day by day, you will learn to invite God’s power into every area of your life. It all starts with praise…

First Things First: We Start with Praise

How do you define a prayer?

Is it a quick plea as you dash into an important meeting? Or maybe it’s a deal you try to make with the Lord when money is tight—something like “Lord, if You help us make our rent this month, then I’ll be sure to attend church this weekend.” Or maybe you’ve given up praying all together, because You think God’s just too busy to be bothered with the likes of you. Maybe you assume God has so many bigger issues that He couldn’t possibly care enough to answer your prayers.

Yet the Bible commands us to bring all our concerns to the Lord in prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT).

The amazing fact about prayer is that God wants us to call on Him. He wants us to spend time with Him. He wants us to develop our love relationship with Him. But how fun is it to always spend time with someone who just asks for this and asks for that? That’s one of the reasons that we start the Moms in Prayer group times by praising the Lord.

Through praise we get to know who our heavenly Father is—His character, His names, His attributes. When we come to the Lord with a big concern, and start with praise, we remind ourselves that no problem is too big for the ultimate Problem Solver.

Did you know we are commanded to praise the Lord? Look back through Psalm 145. It doesn’t say, you probably should praise the Lord occasionally, when you think about it. No, Psalm 103:22 says, “Praise the Lord, everything he has created, everything in all his kingdom. Let all that I am praise the Lord” (NIV).

Starting with praise helps us follow the command in Colossians 3:2 which says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (NIV). When we begin to set our minds on God in heaven and not on our problems on earth, we become more confident in Christ and peace-filled, knowing that no matter what happens, we are promised in Romans 8:28 that “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (NLT).

 

PRAISE
Lord, You truly are “most worthy of praise” as is written in Psalm 145. You are merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry, and filled with unfailing love. Oh, Lord, we do not deserve Your mercy, love, or compassion; yet You freely offer it to us because we are Your children and You love us. How we praise You for Your free gift of undeserved love.

CONFESSION
Lord, You always deserve praise, yet I don’t always remember to praise You. Often I focus so much on my fear and worry that I fail to follow Your wisdom to set my mind “on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2 NIV). Lord, please forgive me for not moving my eyes from the problem onto You, the only true Problem Solver.

THANKSGIVING
“You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing” (Psalm 145:16 NLT). Lord, I thank You for providing for me and my family. For every meal that I might take for granted, thank You! Specifically, Lord, I thank You for…
(Add in your own thanksgivings.)

INTERCESSION
(Place someone’s name in the blank provided.)
Lord, help _______who is fallen, who is bent beneath his/her load. Lord, lift him/her from this burden.
(From Psalm 145:14 NIV)

PETITION
Lord, help me meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor and Your wonderful miracles.
(From Psalm 145:5 NIV)

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These prayers are adapted from Start with Praise by Sally Burke and Cyndie Claypool de Neve. For more prayers to empower you to be bold in all you do and to experience the joys of faithful prayer, learn more here.