Heavenly Father, my heart runs the gamut of emotions and feelings. Let them point me to what my thoughts are telling me, to what my reactions to others reveal about my interactions, to what my experiences tell me about myself and my deepest beliefs, fears, anxieties, concerns, and values.

Let me not negate my feelings or deny them, but acknowledge that you have given them to me, so that I might become a whole person. Let them not have reign over me, and so live a roller-coaster life. Let me not pour them out indiscriminately, with the damage to relationships such a habit causes.

Rather, let me consider them as signposts, to gauge how well I am coping through faith, or whether I am reacting from a human point of view. Because I want to go more like you. Amen.

God of truth and faithfulness, at every turn Satan would allure me away from Jesus. His temptations attract me at my weakest point. His whispers make every lie seem true. His offerings appear only what I deserve to possess, to experience, to enjoy.

Let me see the hook behind the bait, O Lord, that I might recognize temptation for what it is. Keep me near your Word, that I might distinguish between right and wrong, clear and dubious, edification and destruction.

Because I never want to be separated from you, O Father, I ask this. Amen.

[pertinent passages: 1 Cor. 10:12-13; 2 Cor. 11:3; Gal. 6:7; Jas. 1:13-15]

Lord, you have made our lives on this Earth to feel the constant change characteristic of human existence. The weather changes from one hour to the next. The economy and job situation can surprise us suddenly. War breaks out without warning. Accidents and tragedies occur and shake up our lethargy. One day we wake up and we have wrinkles, bald heads, spreading paunches.

In the midst of all this flux, O God who changes not, we search for an island of stability. And we find it only in you and your Son, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, He who is, and was, and yet will be. Thank you, Father, for your constancy and permanence, Rock of all the ages. Amen.

[pertinent passages: Num 23:19; Psa. 46; Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8; Rev. 1:8]

Our mouth was made to praise you and celebrate your majesty, O Lord, our voice designed to sing for joy. Our hearts swell and our resolve is hardened when we join together in songs of adoration. What a gift to sing, and not only to sing, but to sing your name, your praise, your glory!

We carry with us throughout the day exalting thoughts of your goodness and greatness, even when our tongue is still. And, oh, when we can sing out loud, with all our being! We fall down before you at the sound of our praises, and wonder how mighty it will be to hear your own voice speak on the last day. So we hope and long for the coming of your Son Jesus, that we might join the heavenly chorus. Amen.

[Pertinent texts: Isa. 24:14; Jer. 13:11]

O God, you always have the right word for us, at the right time. But we do not know what to pray for as we ought. We ask amiss, or at times we simply do not know what we should pray for. Sometimes the mind is a blank, perhaps due to our own lack of preparation for prayer, our lack of study of the Word, or perhaps from some stressful moment. So we stare at the wall or at the back of our eyelids, waiting for something to come to us.

At times like these, O Lord, we give thanks for your Holy Spirit who intercedes for us when all we can do is groan and words fail us. Then, we whisper, "Thank you, Father, for your mercy! May you be praised above all!" Amen.