6/3/24 Prayer

Truth to remember when the day before you feels too daunting to face:

God is always with me and never leaves my side. (See Joshua 1:9)

God has given me all I need in Christ. (See Philippians 4:19)

God is my strength when I am weak. (See 2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

God's Word lights my path and directs my steps. (Psalm 119:105)

God is glorified when I do small things with great love for him. (See Matthew 22:37)

Written by Gretchen Saffles (Well-Watered Women Co.)

5/20/24 Prayer

Precious Lord Jesus,

Thank you for who you are! Protector, Shield, Provider, Savior, Healer, Comforter, Prince of Peace, Shepherd, the Lord who prays for us! You never give up on us. Thank you Jesus! You fill us and provide all we need. Thank you Lord God! We long to be made right; for our hearts to beat with yours! Thank you Jesus for enduring the cross, defeating death once and for all! We love you and need you! As we walk, or run through this life, help us live the abundant life you came to give us. We need you Lord. Left on our own, we tend to mess things up. Thank you that you never mess up or leave us! Help us quickly forgive wrongs to be forgiven. Shine your light so brightly in our hearts that people see you. For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory now and forevermore. Amen

Lindy Bettis

5/13/24 Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are majestic, all-powerful, yet gentle and humble. How beautiful that You can hold all good together. You don’t lord Your power over us, in fact, You give us free will. And when we come to You, Your arms are wide open, ready to receive us just as we are.

We pray that You draw us to You, that You lead us into a closer more intimate relationship with You. Please help us Holy Spirit invite You into our daily lives, thinking of You more frequently—giving You thanks, asking for help in even the most small and menial tasks, and seeking Your counsel and direction in decision making. There is nothing too small or big for You; there is nothing outside of Your purview. And why wouldn’t we, You care so much about us.

Well…

Sometimes we are scared. We may not like what You want or where You are leading us. We may want to be the “bosses” of our own lives. We may fear losing our own identities.

Yet, you are gentle and humble. You are for us. You want good for us. You hold all good together. You can be the boss of our life and do so in a way that is good for us and glorifying to You. And we are fearfully and wonderfully made, each of us unique. You don’t want to change the essence of what You made. And since You made us and the world around us, You would know how best it works together. Help us trust that and You.

We pray this in Your Holy and Gentle Name, Jesus Christ.

Patty Covington

5/6/24 Prayer

Almighty and gracious God, thank you for the gift of a new day and a new week! Your goodness and greatness is all around us in the beauty of the flowers, the warmth of the breaking sun and the drizzle that is replenishing the earth. Although so much of our world, community and church can seem unsettled, it is wonderful to experience the stability of your presence, for you are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. You are all-wise, faithful, dependable and reliable, so we lean on you to guide and direct us in the way that is best for us today. There is no one who knows better, has more experience, or has better intentions for us than you. May your love, joy, and peace fill us to overflowing. We long to point others to you and through our thoughts, words and actions bring you glory, honor and praise! We pray all this In the marvelous name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Pastor Mike Maxwell

4/29/24 Prayer

There is so much hope for those of us who believe. You are our God, the only One True God. And You are for us! How awesome is that!

The Creator of everything that exists cares for each one of us, so much so, You know how many hairs we have on our head.

It still blows my mind that in carrying out Your will, You do it in a way that is also for our good. We should be constantly praising and worshipping You because You created us. And yet we don’t. Thank You for caring for us so much!

A person can love someone but not extend care for him or her. Love and caring are two very different things. You tell us in Your Word to cast all our anxiety on You because You care for us. (1 Peter 5:7). Thank you for telling us this.

In caring, You are constantly interested in us and in being in relationship with us. If we only understood how much so!

This world and our sin distorts our view of Your goodness and the good things You give. Our viewpoint is self-directed, self-centered, revolving around what we think, feel or want. You have the bigger picture in mind—our entire lives as well as those around us, as coalesced with Your Glory and Your Good Plan.

If we think about it, how small minded are we to just think of ourselves.

But we do—at least I do. But You get it. You understand and forgive us. Thank You Jesus!! You came to this earth to walk as a mere man, to experience what we experience. Not only do You know as God, the Omnipotent, but as a man who experienced.

You also tell us that Your Power is best expressed in our weakness. We don’t like having weaknesses or vulnerabilities. We like to be in control. That coupled with our self-centeredness is a recipe for not wanting to be in need, not wanting to make room for You to do Your work.

We need You whether we realize it or not. We’re blind to see that or even to want it. But there is so much beauty and richness in experiencing Your Presence and provision.

I live that way now. I need and my life has been so enriched. I’ve experienced tremendous overwhelming beauty in it. You’ve brought so many people into my life, from my church family, to co-workers, to close as well as long lost friends, to HVAC workers, to call center representatives, to random people I’ve talked with on the phone to take care of bills, to medical professionals—the list goes on and on.

We’ve talked about You, we’ve lifted up Your name up, prayed for each other, shared life experiences, helped and encouraged each other. Beautiful. Your power is truly best expressed in our weakness.

And in these experiences, You’ve provided all that I need. I no longer fear needing because in that weakness, You will show Your strength and provide.

So, let us all say “help me, Lord.” Let us not want to be self-centered or self-dependent. Let us delight in seeing You show up. Let us share these experiences with others to encourage and spur each other along. This journey on earth is hard. But, You are there and provide if only we ask.

Let us praise You. Let us delight in You. You are always good. Let us invite You into our lives more and more.

In our Precious Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Patty Covington

4/22/24 Prayer

Majestic Lord,

Thank you for who you are! Thank you that your eyes are on all the earth! Thank you for your finished work on the cross! Thank you for your Holy Spirit! We need you so! There are so many times that we have not honored you. Please forgive us and lead us in your way everlasting. Search us and know our hearts. Show us what we need to change and give us all we need to do it! Thank you Lord God that you are the Lover of our souls!  When the circumstances of life seem too much for us to handle,  help us turn to you, for you are our strength and our hope and our peace. Your Word says, blessed are those who hunger for righteousness, the miraculous healing of our hearts and souls. Help us understand our need for your healing presence in the here and now so that somehow we bring more friends to you. In your loving spirit, send us and always bring us home to you. 

For your honor and glory and praises for all time. 

Amen

Lindy Bettis

4/15/24 Prayer

“Through Jesus we discover, by faith, absolute trust: that which we turn over to God is secure. He is not careless or absent-minded with the precious treasure of our lives. God takes care of that which we give Him. I commit myself and those I live with into your safekeeping, dear Father. Permit no evil to ruin our faith, no testing to damage our obedience, no unbelief to diminish our love, no anxieties to weaken our hope. You bought us with a great price; now keep us for eternity. Amen.” 

Eugene Peterson 

4/8/24 Prayer

Dear Lord, it’s been a hard week. There have been lots of ups and downs, joys and disappointments, strong moments of faith and weak moments of worry. But nonetheless, it’s been good. Not because of me, but because of You. You have walked with me through each day and each moment. You’ve held me and You’ve led me. You’ve brought me peace in the midst of challenges, and times of joy where You’re light and love have shone through.

This is not just my story, it’s that of every one of Your believers—those who follow You.

We must cling to You. We must rest assured that You will carry us through. We must count on You showing up. It won’t be easy. We’ll have times of worry and doubt—however, we are never alone. Thankfully, You’ve shown us this in Your Word. There are so many life stories in The Bible of people who struggle like us. We just need to read and remember.

You instruct us to read and know Your Word. You’re not a teacher giving us homework or being a demanding God who wants us to prove that we obey You. No, it’s so that we learn and know that You are there with us, that we can lean on You and count on You for coming through for us.

You tell us in The Bible—You are “for us”! We cling to that! You tell us that You’ll work everything together for our good according to Your purpose. We’re counting on it!

Help us remember and believe these promises. And help us be okay with Your plan, however it works out.

Our hope is in You. You are our true source of strength and joy.

In the Precious Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Patty Covington

4/1/24 Prayer

Dear amazing, almighty and marvelous Lord!

Thank you for the ways you continue to delight, dazzle and inspire us! We join our voices to that of all creation that sings your praise! You are so worthy and full of glory!

What a blessing to be in relationship with the God who raises the dead! We don't fear sin and death any longer! We rest in the work you did on the cross and how you have left the grave empty! Your resurrection changes everything!

We acknowledge that in many ways, the struggles, challenges, frustrations, disappointments and discouragements remain real and all around us. However, because of you we have hope! Because of you we have salvation! Because of you we have freedom! 

In these days following Easter, we know they are the days of Peter's reinstatement (John 21:15-19), the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the Ascension (Luke 24:50-51), Pentecost and the birth of your Church (Acts 2:1-13). We marvel at how you continued to meet and encourage people and it reminds us of how you continue to do so today!

Thank you for your presence, power and promises. As we cling to you, help us to know how to faith-fully represent you in all we think, say and do. In all our encounters, guide us in demonstrating your love, grace, mercy and compassion. Help us to share your strength, peace and hope. Fill us with your Holy Spirit and lead us into the beautiful unknown of the days ahead. We are committed to follow you!

We pray all this In the name of the risen Christ!

Amen!

- Pastor Mike

3/25/24 Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, 

 Thank you that your timing is always on time. As I fretted over lint that was left on our roof from a dryer lint cleaning event last fall, the rain that we’ve had recently, finally washed it down on our driveway. As a little bird has quickly built a beautiful little nest in my front door wreath, I realized that she had used all that lint to line her perfect little nest. If it had blown away or been washed down earlier, she wouldn’t have had it to use. 

Thank you God for providing for each of us and knowing that there is a time for everything and a season and that your timing is perfect. You do not forget those who have been faithful, and you do not have to conform to what we expect. 

Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the cross at the perfect time to save each of us. 

In your most precious name I pray. 

Amen 

Billie Wallace

3/18/24 Prayer

Heavenly Father, Abba, thank You that You made us to be in relationship with You.  That we are never alone.  That You want to be a part of our lives; that’s why You made us.  And, even when we turned away from You, You sent Jesus, Your Son, to get us back in right relationship with You.  You clearly love us more than we can understand or deserve.

We need You, even when we don’t think we do—both when things are going well and when they’re not.  Sadly, when things are going well, we’re content with it and may not think to thank You and praise You.  Forgive us for that.  

And sometimes when we’re overwhelmed with life or a particular situation, we’re running ourselves into the ground trying to control it or fix it.  Forgive us for that too.  

In all these situations, You know the beginning, the middle and the end.  You know how it will play out at this particular time and season, and more importantly over the course of our entire lives.  

Trust, that is what we must do, trust You.  It’s so hard, because we want to control and know the outcome.  We want it to go the way we think is best.  But, really, what do we know as compared to You?  You created the world, all that fills it, our solar system, all galaxies, everything that exists, and us.  

Hmmm, do we really need to control things all by ourselves, or just relax a bit and rely on You to lead us through?

Please help us do this, to see Your Presence in our daily lives.  Please help us seek You!

Holy Spirit, open our ears and eyes to be attentive to hear You speak softly in our minds and hearts, and even through other people; to see You open doors, bring us opportunities, place people in our lives. 

Let us actually look for You and Your work and give You the credit and the glory! 

Thank You for being so patient with, and faithful to, us.  You love us more than we understand, and though meager in comparison, we love You.  And that delights You!

In the Precious Name of Jesus we pray.

Patty Covington

3/11/24 Prayer

Precious Lord Jesus,

Thank you for who you are! Protector, Shield, Provider, Savior, Healer, Comforter, Prince of Peace, Shepherd, the Lord who prays for us! You never give up on us. Thank you Jesus! You fill us and provide all we need. Thank you Lord God! We long to be made right; for our hearts to beat with yours! Thank you Jesus for enduring the cross, defeating death once and for all! We love you and need you! As we walk, or run through this life, help us live the abundant life you came to give us. We need you Lord. Left on our own, we tend to mess things up. Thank you that you never mess up or leave us! Help us quickly forgive wrongs to be forgiven. Shine your light so brightly in our hearts that people see you. 

For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory now and forevermore. 

Amen

Lindy Bettis

3/3/24 Prayer

Glorious Heavenly Father, Creator of heaven and earth, we praise your Holy Name. All the days of my life, I praise you and give you honor and glory. Lord Jesus, You are the Light spilling out in dark places. In the midst of pain and hurt, disappointment, stress and anxiety, You are present. We thank you, God, that darkness does not overcome the light. 

Lord, when my heart is troubled and my head is full of anxious thoughts, help me to remember to be strong and courageous, because You chose me by name, and You are with me wherever I go. I am yours. Steer me away from self-reliance and into your Word. May hymns of praise and scripture bring peace and joy to my heart and strengthen my relationship with you so I may be a witness to others in my words and actions. Help me to trust in You and be held.

I love you, God, and I thank you for providing me with loving church friends who guide me closer to you. Be with my friends and family this week. Hold them in your care and help them to feel your love. Thank you. 

Amen.

Mallory Smith