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INTRODUCTION
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 nlt
Women are verbal creatures. Itās been said that the average woman uses approximately 13,000 more words than the average man in a day. When this statistic is quoted, we women laugh because most of us cannot deny that we like to talk! We often find ourselves seeking answers and strength from other people. When you face a trial, do you find that youāre tempted to call or text a friend before you take the concern to God? Do you rely on your husband, mother, or sister too heavily at times?
This book provides you with some prayer starters that will help you take your troubles straight to your heavenly Father. He longs to be the one you turn to in your times of deep need. We are daughters of a sovereign God. He always hears our prayers. He chooses to answer prayers in different ways. He may calm the raging storm around you, or He may bring a peace over you as He carries you through the storm. Use these prayer starters to help you begin conversations with God. He is ready and able to help you in the most difficult of circumstances.
ABUSE
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5:17 nlt
If you are experiencingāor have experiencedāany type of abuse, you know the pain it inflicts. Whether the abuse is physical or verbal, itās wrong and itās not your fault. God created all men and women equally, and He sees us through a āJesus lens.ā When He looks at you, He sees a righteous daughter. You have been made spotless by your Saviorās death upon the cross. When you accepted Him, He forgave you of sin and a new life began in you.
Donāt allow anyone to purposefully bring harm to you. While it is certainly Godās will for you to āturn the other cheek,ā this does not mean to tolerate abuse. You must seek help immediately if you are in danger of any kind.
Lord, You saw Paul when You looked at Saul. You bring beauty from ashes. Sometimes I wonder how You could love me. I donāt even love myself at times. Help me this day to see the lies others have told me about myself as what they areālies. Remind me of the truth that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image and that You have great plans for my future.
Jesus, I feel alone at times when I think about what has been done to me. I wonder if itās somehow my fault. Thank You for reassuring me time after time that itās not my fault and that You are here with me even in my darkest hour. Help me to sense Your presence now, I pray. You are my Savior, and You have promised to never leave me. What a wonderful promise!
God, Iām afraid when I see a certain person or type of person. I feel the fear wash over me again. I keep thinking Iāve put the memories behind me, but then there they are again. I feel the sting of abuse as fresh as the times when it occurred. Please take control of my thoughts and cast out Satan and his desire to pull me down.
Heavenly Father, I look back and I see the pain but also Your provision. I see the way You took me out of yesterday and brought me into today, Father. In the Bible, Your people built altars as reminders. I call to mind in this moment the ways in which You have rescued me. I thank You for the people who have helped me. I read in Your Word of Your great love for me. Continue to heal my heart, I pray, in ways that only You can.
As a woman, Father, I feel so vulnerable. I fear being hurt again. I know that I canāt hide behind walls. Help me to trust You, Lord, and give me wisdom about the people I can trust. Show me safe people, God.
I love the verse in scripture that says the battle is the Lordās. My battle is not with weapons or against a large army, but it feels every bit as challenging! I fight a battle to love myself and to forgive the ones who have hurt me. I fight it every day. Iām thankful that the battle is Yours, Jesus. I canāt do it on my own.
I am Yours, and thatās enough today, Jesus. I belong to the Messiah, the Savior of the world. This world has its troubles, but I know that with You in my heart, I can survive. Weāve got this!
ACCIDENTS
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 niv
A wise woman told her family, āWhile we have received many blessings, we are not immune to the troubles of this world.ā Within weeks, there was a tragic accident in her own family. The woman and her loved ones grieved the loss of a child taken from them at a young age. It was impossible to feel this could be the will of God, and yet the woman remembered a scripture that said all of our days are numbered and that God ordained each one of them before we were born. Had God looked away and forgotten this family? Had He gone to sleep on the job and allowed this tragedy? Certainly not!
This is a fallen world we live in, and accidents happen. But good can come even from the worst of situations and the deepest losses. For now, we only see in part, but one day we will be granted full understanding. Trust Him. God is always in control, even when accidents take place.
Father, I know that there is a time for everything. Your Word tells me this. I donāt understand how this could be part of Your plan, but I pray You will use even this for Your glory. May I look back one day in the future and see how Your hand was at work in my life even though it was a very difficult time.
God, I know that You are in control. Just as You care for the sparrows and the lilies of the field, You take care of my needs. I am Your daughter. You will never take Your hand off my life.
I sometimes feel the shock I experienced after the accident. It seems like Iām living it again. Instead of shock, envelop me in peace, stability, and calm. You brought me through, and You will continue to do so. . .day by day.
God, in Your Word it seems like You are always turning bad things into good things. You struck down Saul on the road to Damascus only to raise him up as a great leader. You brought a flood, but when it was over, You made the world into a better place. Use this accident. Use this pain. Create a new thing here, and cause me to see and appreciate it.
I wake up in the night, Father, troubled and scared. Iām so impacted by this tragedy, and I feel like I will never be the same. Remind me that I can lie down and rest peacefully because You are watching over me. I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus who heals.
You did not look away or forget us, God. You were there. Help me to trust that Your ways are higher than mine and Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts.
God, these are hard days. I wake up to the sun shining through my window, and I wonder how it could be so bright and pretty outside when I feel so sad and sick inside. I know that it may take time, but I pray that You will restore in my heart a sense of joy. And for today, Lord, will You carry me? Will You please remind me that You are so very close and that You have notāand will not everālet me go?
Dear Lord, You are omnipotent and omnipresent. You always have my best in mind. And in You there are no āaccidents.ā
This just wasnāt how I wanted things to go, Father. I canāt believe this actually happened and that Iām sitting here in the midst of what seems impossible to overcome. Give me strength to face the mountains ahead, because in You, all things are possible. Even healing. Even moving forward from this hardship.
ADDICTION
āBe careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.ā
Luke 21:34 niv
No one plans to become an addict. No one turns on the pornographic movie or takes the drink or pops the painkiller with the realization or goal that she is stepping onto a road to destruction. And yet, families are destroyed, jobs lost, and hearts trapped every day by addictions.
As human beings, we naturally look for something to fill the gaps in our lives, the empty spots, the lonely moments, the disappointments. When we fill those gaps with anything but Jesus, we come up empty-handed again and again. We go back for one more drink, one more pill, one more. . .whatever the addiction may be.
Nothing has the power to fill the God-spot in your heart besides God Himself. Nothing. Turn and run from that which has a hold of your life. Itās nothing but a trap keeping you from the abundant life Jesus offers.
Each day is a new start. Help me this day to resist the temptation to take an easier way out. Help me to stay the course. God, my addiction causes me nothing but sickness and grief. Remind me that Your ways are pure and good and that they always bring me out on top.
Father, I canāt do this on my own. Please place in my path just the right counselor, group, or program. I pray that You will guide my steps and give me the strength to keep walking in the right direction.
I am a new creation in You, Jesus. I thought that would mean that Iām no longer tempted. I thought I would wake up a changed woman and ready to face life addiction-free, but Iām still struggling. Walk with me. Show me the way. Help me to trust Your timing as You heal me and set me free.
I wish that I could wave a magic wand and cause the one I love to walk away from this addiction. I feel like I have to compete with it day and night. I canāt change the situation, but I can bring it to You in prayer. I put this whole thing into Your strong and capable hands, heavenly Father. I ask that You change what I cannot.
Jesus, I carry a cross every day. It is a sick addiction that brings me nothing good. It offers nothing beneficial to anyone in my life. It only brings pain, pain, and more pain. I will carry this cross. I will seek to be entirely free of it one day, but if itās always there in the back of my mind, let it be a thing of the past and not something that continues to destroy my present and my future.
I remember a line from the childrenās song āJesus Loves Meā that says ā[I] am weak but He is strong.ā That rings so true today. I thought I could beat this thing anytime I wantedāall by myself. I was so wrong. I need You, Lord, to help me stay sober. I need You every minute of every day. I am weak, but hallelujahāYou are strong!
Help me, Lord, to look deep into my heart and examine my ways. Show me where I hurt those I loveāmy parents, my husband, my children, my friends. Help me to take an honest inventory of my life. I want to change. I need Your help.
Help me to surrender and lay my addiction down at Your feet, Father. I have to keep starting over. I feel like a failure. Be the lifter of my head. Be my defender against the enemy who wants to keep me captive in this addiction.
ADULTERY
āYou know the next commandment pretty well, too: āDonāt go to bed with anotherās spouse.ā But donāt think youāve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those ogling looks you think nobody noticesāthey also corrupt.ā
Matthew 5:27ā28 msg
Would you welcome a stray dog into your home to destroy things? If he stood at the door of your house showing his ugly teeth, would you beckon to him, āCome on in, boy! Go for it!ā Of course not! We laugh at such a suggestion. And yet, every day, women allow dangerous enemies into their marriages. It may start as simple as flirtation. It may feel good to receive a compliment from a man you work with or see at the grocery store. Your own husband may have been preoccupied lately or a bit inattentive. . .and here is someone who notices your beauty or your worth. Be wary. Adultery does not begin in the bedroom. Jesus warned against even a glance at another man. Honor God by honoring your husband.
God, he wasnāt faithful, but he says he wants to be now. I donāt know how to respond. Give me wisdom. Grant me the ability to face these decisions and difficulties that seem so insurmountable to me. I never dreamed I would end up here. Iām glad You have not left me, even now.
I was unfaithful. How could I have done these things and been untrue to my husband? I feel like Iāve committed the unforgivable sin. Yet You tell me in Your Word You can forgive any sin through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. I know the words, but I pray You will help them reach deep into my heart where I can somehow forgive myself. I donāt like who Iāve become, and I pray for supernatural change in my life that can only come about through Your grace and forgiveness.
Lord, I blame him. Every day I wake up blaming him. The blame is starting to eat at me and build a fortress of bitterness in my very spirit. Itās affecting everything I do. . .every word I speak. Itās dragging me down to a low, low place. Remove the blame from my heart. Remind me that I am far from perfect and that itās not all his fault. Show me areas where I need to change, and soften my heart where it needs to be softened, I ask in Your name.
Help me, Jesus, to lay this burden down at Your feet. I read about how You called upon those men gathered around the adulterous woman to throw the first stone if they were without sin. I am not without sin. Forgive me, Father, and help me to forgive.
Sweet Jesus, I am broken. Where once there was trust, there is distrust. Where once there was intimacy, I feel stone cold. Show me the way forward. Make it clear, I pray. I need You now like never before. I canāt get through this on my own.
Dear heavenly Father, You were there. You saw my unfaithfulness. Letās call it what it was. Adultery. You know my sin, and yet You love me still. Tears stream down my face. My heart hurts so deeply with something I can never take back. Help me to never make this mistake again.
I know the voice of my shepherd. I have been listening to it for many years. I am being called upon in a way I never knew possible to tune into that voice and seek direction only from the one who knows me best. Give me grace for the moment and the healing and power to get through this, Lord.
ALCOHOL ABUSE
The Spirit and the bride say, āCome!ā And let the one who hears say, āCome!ā Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17 niv
Alcohol is merely a substance, a liquid that is contained in a bottle; and yet when unleashed, it has great power and can wreak havoc in a life. āAlcoholism destroys marriages, families, and futures.
Know that there is a fulfillment for your thirst. There is an escape from the life youāve fallen intoāa life that relies on survival until you can get that next drink. There is living water. There is Jesus.
You may be so addicted and drawn to alcohol that you feel powerless over it. Thatās a great beginningārecognizing that you are not strong enough to overcome this on your own, recognizing the need for help. As you step out in faith and seek help through an addiction recovery program, God will give you the strength you need day by day. Trade the substance of sickness for living water, and you will never thirst again.
Help me this day, Father, to be wise rather than foolish. Help me to refrain from drinking, which leads me to do things that are not pleasing to You. Help me instead to be filled with Your Holy Spirit. Give me the ability to see all that You have done for me and to be thankful. Iām thankful in advance for the way I believe You are going to save me from alcoholism (Ephesians 5:17ā20).
Itās not easy to admit that I have a problem with alcohol, God. Iām such an in-control person. I go to work. I manage my household. I am a good person overall. Where did this addiction come from, and why does it have such a hold on me? I pray for the ability to see it for what it is today, Lord. A problem. Admitting it is the first step.
