Lesson 3: Tuesday

“Our Father” - Our Relationship with God

Dear Heavenly Father,

I worship you, for you are: “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).

You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). The heavens declare your glory; and the sky above proclaims your handiwork (Psalm 19:1).

You are all wise (Daniel 2:20; Romans 11:33). You never make a mistake (Psalm 33:11). Your understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5).

You are all loving (1 John 4:8). You are never unkind or cruel (Psalm 119:68). You desire the very best for my life.

You are infinite in your power (Jeremiah 32:17). Nothing is impossible for you (Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37).

I want to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). Increase my capacity to love you, I pray.

Someday I will stand in your presence to be judged for everything I’ve said and done (Matthew 16:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Empower me to walk humbly with you today (Micah 6:8) and to demonstrate the godly fear that you desire (1 Peter 1:17).

You tell me that since I have become part of a kingdom that cannot be shaken, I am to express my gratitude by serving you with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28).

You said, “Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling” (Psalm 2:11). Help me to do this.

I thank you, Lord Jesus, that you are “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).

Because you suffered when you were tempted, you are able to help me when I am tempted (Hebrews 2:18).

As my heavenly High Priest, help me to keep my focus on you (Hebrews 12:2) and to draw from you the strength I need for this day.

The Psalmist says of You, “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

You know me intimately and sympathize with my weaknesses. You faced the same type of problems and temptations I will face today. You are with me to help me and enable me not to commit willful sin (Hebrews 4:14-16).

I thank you for loving me. It comforts me to know that you are praying for me today (Hebrews 7:25).

Grant that the people I come in contact with today may know that I love you, Lord Jesus, by my obedience to your commandments (John 14:31).

You said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Blessed Holy Spirit, thank you for dwelling within me (Romans 8:11).

Strengthen me with power in my inner being so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith (Ephesians 3:16-17).

I yield to you full control of my thoughts, my attitudes, and my actions. Enable me to walk in the Spirit throughout this day (Galatians 5:16).

Thank you for rooting and grounding me in Christ’s love. Grant that I experience what it means to comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:17-19).

“In Heaven” - God’s Royalty

Heavenly Father, I join with the Psalmist and proclaim, “You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you” (Psalm 118:28).

“For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 97:9).

You are the King of kings, and the Lord supreme (Revelation 17:14).

I pledge allegiance to you. I purpose to be loyal and completely obedient to you, as you enable me to do so by your grace. You are my King.

“Hallowed Be Your Name” - God’s Reputation

Father, you said, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

You are holy in all that you do. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17).

My heart rejoices in you because I have trusted in your holy name (Psalm 33:21).

Father, help me to live today in such a manner that will not detract from your holiness. Your reputation is in my hands since I claim to be a disciple of Jesus. May I not bring a reproach on your holy name by anything I do or say.

May people see your holiness—Christlike attitudes and actions—shining forth from my life, for you command me, “You also be holy in all of your conduct” (1 Peter 1:15).

“Your Kingdom Come” - God’s Reign

Heavenly Father, you are a sevenfold King.

1. You are the King of the Jews—an ethnic King (Matthew 2:2).

2. You are the King of Israel—a national King (John 1:49).

3. You are the King of righteousness—a spiritual King (Jeremiah 23:5).

4. You are the King of the ages—an eternal King (1 Timothy 1:17).

5. You are the King of heaven—a heavenly King (Daniel 4:37).

6. You are the King of glory—a glorious King (Psalm 24:10).

7. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords—the supreme King (Revelation 17:14).[1]

Your kingdom is a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men and women who are born again (Luke 17:21). May your kingdom grow as more and more people come to know you as their Lord and Savior.

Bless, strengthen, and encourage all the missionaries that labor for you throughout the world.

You said, “Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest” (John 4:35). Lord of the harvest, raise up and send out laborers into the harvest (Matthew 9:38). Help me to be alert to opportunities to share the good news about Jesus with people I meet (Colossians 4:3-6).

I pray for... (names of people who are not saved)... to be saved.

Father, draw them to Jesus (John 6:44). Grant them a heart of repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). Create in them a hunger and thirst for you (John 6:35).

Oh God, as long as they are happy in sin, they will not sense their need for you. Therefore, cause the pleasures of sin to turn to gravel in their mouths (Proverbs 20:17). Hedge them in to your will and your way (Hosea 2:6).

Please bring people into their lives who will help them know how to be saved (Romans 10:13-14).

Bind the powers of darkness that hold them captive (Matthew 12:28-29) and open their eyes to their need of you (Acts 26:18).

May the day of their salvation be soon.

This petition teaches us to be more concerned about God’s will being done in our lives than our plans and wishes being done. If our desires are not in harmony with his will, we should ask God to change our desires. His will is to be done by us as it is done by the angels in heaven—eagerly and joyfully. We are to submit to the authority of his Word.

“Your Will Be Done, on Earth as It Is in Heaven” - God’s Rule

Heavenly Father, help me to be more desirous that your will be done than I am desirous that my will, my plans, and my wishes be done.

You are the potter; I am the clay. I am the work of your hands (Isaiah 64:8). Help me to be good clay and help me to stay on the potter’s wheel as you mold me and shape me.

Some molding hurts, and some changes you wish to make in my life may be painful. Nevertheless, I desire with my whole heart to be a vessel for honorable use. I want to be set apart as holy. I want to be useful to you, my Master, and to be ready for every good work (2 Timothy 2:20-21).

Help me to trust you and not shrink back or run from your loving hands (Hebrews 10:38-39).

“Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” - God’s Resources for Us

Dear Father, you promised that as I put you first in my life, you will take care of all my other needs (Matthew 6:33).

Jesus, you said, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).

You forbid me to grumble, murmur, or complain (1 Corinthians 10:10). Please forgive me for murmuring or complaining about any of my circumstances.

If people treat me unfairly, help me to see beyond them to you and know that you have let this come into my life to make me more like Christ (Romans 8:28-29).

Forgive me for worrying about material and physical problems. You instruct me, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). As I do this you promised, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

I thank you for your promise to supply every one of my needs according to your riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Thank you! Help me to trust in and rest on this promise.

I pray for… (whatever you need that is within God’s will for you).

Help me to remember and be thankful for all you have already done!

I pray for… (people who are in need around the world).

I pray for those who occupy positions in local, state, and national government. I pray that you would guide them by the principles of your Word. Grant that they would honor you and that righteousness would reign. Please frustrate the purposes of evil and may your will be done. Grant “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2).

“And Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors” - Reconciliation with God

Search my heart, O God, for you said, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

Thank you, Father, for drawing me to Jesus! (John 6:44). Thank you for saving me and adopting me into your family. Thank you for creating within me a clean heart (Psalm 51:10).

I thank you that you forgive iniquity, transgression, and sin (Exodus 34:7).

Is there anyone I need to ask to forgive me for failing to be as kind or tenderhearted or forgiving as you wanted me to be toward them?

Father, help me not to resent your chastening. You said, “Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law” (Psalm 94:12).

May I learn to say with the Psalmist David, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes” (Psalm 119:71).

“I know, O Lord, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me” (Psalm 119:75).

Father, you require me to gain and maintain a clear conscience. Paul said, “So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man” (Acts 24:16).

Help me to keep my conscience clear today. A clear conscience provides confidence toward you (1 John 3:21).

You said for me to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with my heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and my body washed with pure water (Hebrews 10:22).

“And Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil” - God’s Protection

Father, Jesus came to set me free from self-centeredness, obsessions, compulsions, or anything else that would keep me from being fully Christlike.

Transform me by your grace into the unique person you created me to be.

In the name of Jesus, I ask for your divine working in my life so I can be free from all that would hinder your will for my life.

Grant that today, Father, I may be spiritually strong in you. You said, “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10).

“For Yours Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, Forever” - Praise to God

I praise you Lord, that you are the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth (Isaiah 40:28).

You do not faint or become weary (Isaiah 40:28). You neither slumber nor sleep (Psalm 121:4).

Your understanding is inscrutable. You give power to the faint, and to him who lacks might you increase strength (Isaiah 40:29).

“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

In the name of Jesus I pray this, Amen.