365 Days of Prayer for Couples (eBook)

JANUARY

The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

JAMES 5:16 NLT

JANUARY 1

Perfect Plan

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

PROVERBS 19:21 NIV

Lord, we are starting this year out together, full of ideas and expectations. We pray that your will takes first chair in our lives and that we strive to maintain wisdom and obedience. All our desires and dreams we will submit to your perfect plan. If this year does not produce in us a deeper, more intimate relationship with you, then we are wasting the year. Move in us to become more like you. If there is anything in either of us or in our relationship that may need to be changed or if there is anything that needs to be stripped away, we surrender that to you now.

We welcome you to have your way with us and with this year. Our heartfelt expectation is to draw even closer to you and to each other, so please grant us that and draw us nearer than ever before. Thank you that you continue to mature us and do not leave us stagnant.

What would you like to see change this year?

JANUARY 2

Choosing Well

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

PROVERBS 3:5-6 NKJV

As we navigate this new year together, please help us, Father, to look to you for direction and understanding.

We carefully craft plans and goals, but we also want to stay open to your intervention and even expectant of your involvement. You have a perspective that we lack, so we place our trust in you for guidance and welcome your improvising. Even when the road becomes rough, we know that you are faithful and will never lead us astray.

Throughout the journey of life we have confidence that you will be with us every step of the way, keeping us on the right path. Thank you for not leaving us to blindly stumble about, relying on guesswork rather than your guidance. Thank you also for giving us each other to lean on so we have a companion when we grow weak or tired.

Are you ready to trust God completely with your life?

JANUARY 3

Work that Matters

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

COLOSSIANS 3:23 ESV

God, when we are undervalued or disrespected, remind us that it is for your praise and glory that we work to the best of our abilities and with joy. If bosses, coworkers, friends, teammates, or our own family disregard us, remind us that our work is for you and not in vain. May you use our efforts to shine your light in a dark world. If our own children or parents do not appreciate us, or even when we fail to appreciate each other, help us find our fulfilment and acceptance in you, never forgetting that you are a good and proud Father.

This family is a gift from you and we are committed to loving and serving each other the way you have loved and served us. Thank you for this gift! May we act in a way that displays our gratitude to you for it.

What is your reason for doing all your tasks?

JANUARY 4

Positive Influence

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

MATTHEW 5:16 NASB

Yesterday, we asked you to help us work as if we were working directly for you, Lord, and not merely for others or for our own gain. Today, we come before you and request that you shine your light through our actions so that others may see that our motivation and joy come from you. May you receive the praise and worship that you are due.

We wish to be a living example of the love, grace, forgiveness, and acceptance that you have shown us. The two of us will start by extending these same gifts to each other. From that point, we know you can use us together to touch many more lives with the testimony of your goodness. Work in us so we may work for you.

In what ways can you demonstrate the love of God to each other and to others through applicable actions?

JANUARY 5

Send Friends

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

ECCLESIASTES 4:10 NIV

Father, thank you for never being further than a whisper away. You are always there for us through the good times and the difficult ones, offering your strength when we feel weak. Furthermore, you have given us one another as an extension of your love. You created us for relationships and for community so we could help lift each other up and offer or receive encouragement when it is needed. As we walk together, please help us find the humility to ask for help when we are in need and the grace to extend help without judgement when someone else is in need. We will be vulnerable with each other and tender toward others’ vulnerabilities. We will keep each other accountable and safe.

In love, Father, you gave and received from your friends and you taught us to do likewise. Like you, we will open our hearts and our homes to others because that is how you created us to live.

Who do you know that may be in need of a friend to help them this week?

JANUARY 6

Brought Low

When holy lovers of God cry out to him with all their hearts, the Lord will hear them and come to rescue them from all their troubles.

PSALM 34:17 TPT

Our cries do not fall on deaf, uncaring ears or on empty space. You hear us when we call out to you, God, and you care about our suffering. There does not exist a problem too big or too small for you. Thank you for listening, for answering, and for loving us. Thank you for always providing us with a way through any challenge. We do not want to talk about you as if you are a far off, unknown being. We acknowledge that you are close by, ready to assist us with all the trouble that comes our way.

You greatly desire to be known and do not hinder us from getting to know you. The more we bring our trials before you and stop to listen, the more you speak to us and offer us greater insight than we could ever conjure up on our own. We will listen to you, for you are the source of all wisdom.

Do you truly believe that God hears you when you cry out to him?

JANUARY 7

Abide

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

JOHN 15:4 ESV

When we feel depleted and empty, we will find our essence in you, Lord. From you we find our joy and motivation. You are the only one who can fill our cups with water that never runs out. We admit that sometimes we only search for you when we are in need of your help. Please forgive us of our self-centeredness as we learn to prioritize you because you are worthy of our whole hearts. You are our true desire and not simply a solution to our problems. We will fix our gaze on you in the good times as well as the bad times and create a lifestyle that revolves around our relationship with you.

Only by abiding in you do we find real and lasting rest. We have no purpose apart from you. You provide us focus, rest, and a reason for everything we do. Thank you for grafting us into your family and for abiding with us.

What does it look like in your personal life to abide in God?

JANUARY 8

Fully Committed

“Devote yourselves completely to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

1 KINGS 8:61 NRSV

God, we know that devotion to you goes hand-in-hand with keeping your laws. We thank you for your forgiveness when we fail, but we will also not use your grace as an excuse to break your commandments. It is our desire to uphold your statutes because it is both pleasing to you and life-giving to us. In the instances when it is most difficult to stay fully committed to you, show us the way through.

The world attempts to drown out your voice and make your Word appear subjective, but we know better than to believe that. You are the absolute truth by which everything else is measured. We remain committed to living by your truth and to growing in our knowledge of your Word so that we will not be led astray or confused by other voices who compete for our allegiance.

In what areas do you struggle to keep God’s commandments and how can you help each other to overcome these struggles?

JANUARY 9

Deliver Me

“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

MATTHEW 6:13 NIV

Father, temptations are all around us and they can serve as an opportunity for us to choose you over our own selfish interests. Inevitably, we will face temptation, just as Jesus did and everyone else has. Your Word assures us that you provide a way through any temptation without resorting to sin. Sometimes, our only way through is to fall completely on you, and by your grace you have promised that you are always willing to deliver us.

We pray for strength in those moments to lift our...