I have been suggesting methods and resources for your prayer life. Today, I want to suggest some short, simple, and convenient little prayers. These are one sentence prayers and can be easily memorized. The prayers have to do with sin, forgiveness, gratitude, obedience, anxiety, and the need for God’s help. Those things are a part of your daily life, so these brief prayers, once memorized, will come to mind often, keeping you in touch with God throughout the day. We all struggle with the difficulties of prayer, but you don’t have to be an expert to pray these simple little petitions.
Most of the prayers today are from our oldest prayer source, the Bible itself.
We cannot see the One to whom we speak as we pray. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you.” God promises that when we speak to Him in prayer, He will hear us. But God wants us to acknowledge our sinfulness and confess our sins; so, that is where our prayers begin. We open our hearts to Jesus and we pray the prayer of the tax collector in Luke 18:13:
O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
This is a simple prayer, and one that you will have many opportunities to pray through the day. Think back through your actions the past 24 hours, bringing to mind any wrong you might have done: that flash of anger, that unkind word, your impatience with your loved one, the ‘little’ white lies, your unclean thoughts, that moment of dishonesty, the ingratitude toward God, that lingering jealousy, that bit of gossip passed on, that ongoing resentment, that troubled relationship, and more. Can you think of anything? Today or tomorrow, when that next wicked thought comes into your mind, or the angry or spiteful words come out of your mouth, or without thinking you do the wrong thing or neglect doing what you know you should do; let this prayer follow close behind: O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
That is the first part of the repentance that God requires of us. The second part of repentance is that we change our life; that we make the effort, with God’s help, to change our actions and even our heart. We then can pray the prayer of David after repenting of his great sins of adultery and murder, from Psalm 51:10:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
You may know that prayer by heart already. It has been a part of the Lutheran liturgy for many years. Bring to mind those aspects of yourself that you know aren’t right and you want to change, and pray: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
We pray for God to forgive us of our sins, and at the same time we pray that we may forgive those who sin against us. There are many times each day when we need to pray both parts of the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer:
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Just as you are forgiven by God, you must set your mind to forgiving those who have wronged you. Along with that, there are those who may not be hurting us directly, but who are hurting themselves and need God’s forgiveness. There are those whose actions anger us, those of whom we are ashamed, those who are hurting the ones that we love, and so many more. And so we pray as Jesus prayed.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
You can pray, “Help me Jesus to remember that whatever they are doing to me, they are not pounding nails in my hands and feet, they are not spitting in my face; they did all that to you and yet you prayed, and so may I pray: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
The key to a happy life is gratitude, and that is another significant part of a good relationship with God. The surest way to be unhappy is to resent what you do not have, rather than be grateful for all that you have been given. If we keep in mind all that we receive from God, we will have many opportunities to express our gratitude. We can thank and praise God with two one-liners from the Psalms (103:2 and 136:1):
Praise the Lord, O my Soul, and forget not all his benefits.
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endures forever.
Throughout our lives we all experience one loss after another. Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17), but we might take those gifts for granted; and then, when one is taken away, we may be filled with anger and resentment. When one of God’s precious gifts is lost or taken away, we can pray another great Biblical prayer, this one from Job 1:21b:
The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.
And if you are not feeling blessed at all, that doesn’t mean you aren’t blessed. But sometimes we just cannot help our feelings, and you might just want to express your disappointment with God. You can do that, and the Bible even gives you the words for it; in Psalm 22:1, and in our Lord’s own words from the cross (Matthew 27:46):
My God, My God why have you forsaken me?
That may, or may not be your prayer today. It isn’t mine today, but some days it is.
The next prayer needs no explanation, but is one we can all use now and then. This old classic is attributed to Lord Jacob Astley, who prayed it on the morning of a big battle in the English Civil War in 1642. He prayed;
Lord, I shall be very busy this day. I may forget thee, but do not, I pray, forget me.
Have you ever had one of those days?
There are wonderful Bible stories of Jesus helping people in trouble on the sea: in the storm that was threatening to capsize the boat while Jesus slept, Peter sinking beneath the waves and Jesus rescuing him, and even Jesus directing the empty-netted disciples to where they will catch a boatload of fish. We speak of feeling like we are swamped, going under, drowning in troubles, or lost in a sea of despair. With these images in mind, we can imagine sinking under wave after wave of trouble, and then seeing Jesus, coming and offering his strong hand, as he did to Peter, or stilling the storm, as he did on that other occasion. Imagine now you are being tossed about, all alone, on the sea of your overwhelming troubles, and pray the centuries old Breton’s Fisherman’s prayer:
Dear God, be good to me and protect me, for my boat is so small and your sea is so wide.
Or, you may pray one of the shortest prayers in the Bible, the prayer of Peter as he was sinking beneath the waves (Matthew 14:30):
Lord, save me.
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I Thessalonians 5:16-18 — Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Matthew 6:7 — (Jesus said), “When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.”
Colossians 4:2 — Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Philippians 4:6-7 — Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Mark 11:25 — (Jesus said), “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
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