Praying Luke
Every day (Mon-Fri) I send out a short prayer via WhatsApp to the members and attenders of Banstead Community Church based on a verse from The Big Read book for that month.
Here are 20 short prayers based on verses from the book of Luke
Luke 1:3-4
“So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honourable Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.” (Luke 1:3-4)
Our God, we praise you that we can know with certainty who Jesus is, what Jesus taught, and what Jesus has done for us because we have in your Word the accounts of what the eyewitnesses saw and heard written down for us. We praise you for those who first told us these things and introduced us to Jesus. We are so grateful for parents or grandparents, friends, pastors or Sunday School teachers who shared the gospel with us and explained how Jesus can save us from our sins if we repent and believe in Him. We pray that you would be pleased to use us today to do the same. Give us opportunities to speak of the Saviour to someone who doesn’t know you so that they might turn to Him and be saved. Amen.
Luke 1:68
“Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and provided redemption for his people.” (Luke 1:68)
We bless you, the Lord God of Israel. There is none greater than you. You are perfect in your nature and in all your ways. And we give thanks to you for the mercy you have shown to us by visiting us in Jesus Christ and providing salvation by His blood. We thank you that as you visited Israel in the past and delivered them from slavery in Egypt, so you have rescued your people from sin, Satan, and death. We thank you that this redemption that is ours is from all condemnation and wrath to come, and includes every blessing in it. We praise and glorify you for the certainty we can have that we are justified, forgiven, adopted, sanctified, and that eternal life is ours. Amen.
Luke 2:10-11
“But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Saviour was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)
Father, we thank you that you so loved the world and that you showed this by sending your Son to be the Saviour that the world needed. We thank you that the coming of the Lord Jesus is good news of great joy for all people because all people need saving. We thank you that anyone from any nation, both Jew or Gentile, who turns to Him as Lord will be saved. So, Father, help us by your Spirit to comprehend more and more the length and width, height and depth of your love and that of your Son Jesus who loved us and gave Himself for us. And we pray that we would love you in response to this love you have first shown to us. Amen.
Luke 3:8
“Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.” (Luke 3:8)
Help us, gracious God, to bear fruit that is consistent with repentance. As those you have set free from the power of sin, we ask for your strength to keep turning from sin, to show that we are your followers, and that our repentance is true and genuine. Lord, we confess that we are prone to giving into certain temptations and turning back to certain sins. We need the enabling only your Spirit can provide. We pray that for your glory and our good, you would fill us with your Spirit that we may have power we need to live how you want us to. Amen.
Luke 5:1
“As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God’s word, he was standing by Lake Gennesaret.” (Luke 5:1)
We pray, Lord, that we would have such an eagerness to hear the voice of Jesus speak God’s Word to us. We are so blessed to have access to the Scriptures and so many opportunities to hear it read and preached, and yet to our shame “pressing in…to hear” does not describe our attitude. Increase our appetite for your Word. May we crave after it as newborn infants desire milk. Grant a dissatisfaction with a shallow faith that we strive to grow in our knowledge, and by your Spirit give us understanding of what you have revealed to us. Help us to treasure your Word in our hearts and meditate on what we have read and heard from it during the day. Amen.
Luke 6:46-48
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.” (Luke 6:46-48)
Lord Jesus, when you speak, you speak with the authority of the King, and so we can trust that what you say is true and should be obeyed. We are aware that it is possible to be someone who is a member of a local church, who enjoys listening to your Word being read and preached, who appears to be one of your followers, and yet not be because they don’t listen to you in the right way. We want to be like the wise man who built his house on the rock. We want to be among those who will survive when the flood of God’s judgment at sin comes. Help us to listen in the right way and act on what you say by repenting and turning to you, and then displaying the fruit of our repentance by walking along the narrow road of obedience to all that you have commanded. Amen.
Luke 7:34
“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Luke 7:34)
God, help us to follow the example of your Son, by being a friend to sinners, to outcasts, to those who are normally rejected and excluded by the society around us. We pray that we would be a welcoming community of your people, who love and care for everyone who comes into our midst, who are hospitable towards them, and who reach out to them with the good news that they can be saved from their sins. Guard us from having an attitude that looks down on people, and protect us from being proud and thinking we are better than them. Forgive us for those times when we have done this. We praise you that you are saving people from all kinds of backgrounds, and may our actions be consistent with this reality. Amen.
Luke 8:39
“Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town how much Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:39)
Lord Jesus, you have done so much for us. We praise you for all the benefits that are ours. You have forgiven us. You have rescued us from hell. You have set us free from slavery to sin. You have made us holy in God’s sight. You have set our feet on the path of righteousness. You have given us your Spirit. And you have promised that you will come again to take us to be with you for eternity. What love and what grace you have shown to us because none of this is deserved. We pray that we would be ready to tell anyone we meet all that you have done for us, and would this lead to them turning to you in repentance and faith and receiving these blessings as well. Amen.
Luke 9:51
“When the days were coming to a close for him to be taken up, he determined to journey to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51)
Father, we thank you that in obedience to your will, your Son set His face towards Jerusalem knowing what would happen to Him when reached there. We praise you that He went willingly to His death knowing that it was the only way we could be saved from our sins. Christ Jesus we thank you for your determination to go to Jerusalem to bear our sins, to take the curse of the law, and to satisfy the wrath of God against us. May we, we pray, have the same desire to follow your example by obeying your Father in everything as a way of showing how grateful we are that you went to Jerusalem to lay down your life for us. Amen.
Luke 10:41-42
“The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)
Lord, when we consider all that we have to do and all that we could be doing, we confess that it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Our lives feel busy. There are so many things that require our time and our attention and our energy. We pray that you would help us to make the right choice and do the one thing that is necessary, which is to take time to fix our eyes on you and hear you speak to us. Thank you that when we do, we find salvation and light and life and knowledge and our relationship with you is strengthened. Help us to stop and sit and listen each day. Help us to be committed to stopping and sitting and listening with your people each week by gathering with them to worship you. Amen.
Luke 12:6-7
“Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Luke 12:6-7)
We give you our praise loving God for your care for us. We thank you that we live each day under your watchful eye. Lord, if not one sparrow is forgotten by you, surely you won’t ever forget about us. And knowing that you have numbered every single hair on our heads, help us to believe that we are precious in your sight, and that we can trust you to look after us by protecting us and providing for our needs. Father, we pray for those in our number who need to know your loving care today as they are going through hard times. Reassure them that you are with them, and for them, and that nothing will ever separate them from your love. Thank you that you are a faithful God upon whom we can always depend. Amen.
Luke 13:4-5
“Or those eighteen that the tower in Siloam fell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the other people who live in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.” (Luke 13:4-5)
Lord, life is a mist. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. We are not immune to sickness and death. All kinds of disasters can quickly come upon us. So, we pray that in the light of this we would see the urgency of being right with you by repenting of our sins and trusting in Christ to save us. But also we would see the urgency in making this good news of salvation known to other people so that they can repent and trust in Him. Help us by your Spirit to flee from our sin each day and run to Jesus. Enable us to speak to other people about their need to repent while they still have time to do so. Amen.
Luke 15:32
“But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:32)
We thank you Lord Jesus that you search for those who know they are sinners and those who are religious and trusting in their own righteousness, and that your desire is to save them. We thank you that you found us and save us when we were dead in our sins and made us alive and able to respond in repentance and faith to the gospel. Help us, by your Spirit, to appreciate how incredible this salvation is and be amazed by all the benefits that are now ours. We praise you that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing, so that it is like the best robe, the ring, the sandals have been put on us and the fattened calf has been killed and we are enjoying the feast, knowing that one day this will be a reality. It is truly remarkable what you have done for us. We give you all glory. Amen.
Luke 16:30-31
“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:30-31)
Our God, it is easy to think that if our friends and family who don’t know you were to see a spectacular enough sign they would believe in you. Yet your Word makes it clear that if their eyes are blind, their ears are stopped, and their hearts are hard, even Jesus Christ risen from the dead would not convince them. We know that to be true because He is risen, and many did not believe in Him then and don’t today. God, we pray that you would have mercy on those whose minds are closed to the truth, as you have had mercy on us, and grant to them the gift of repentance and faith so they turn to you and find salvation through Christ. Amen.
Luke 18:1
“Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up.” (Luke 18:1)
Father, we confess that we give up praying too easily. When we have been regularly praying for something and it seems like it is never going to happen, we lose heart and stop. Help us to keep going by remembering who you are. We thank you that you are a powerful God who is able to do far more than we can imagine in response to our prayers. We thank you that you are a wise God who acts in ways that are best, and this includes not answering our prayers immediately or in ways that we would like. May your power and wisdom encourage us to persist in prayer and not give up. Amen.
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
We praise you Lord Jesus for your promise to build your church, and that nothing can stop you from accomplishing this. We praise you that this is happening as you seek out lost people and save them as the Father draws them to you. It is our longing that we would see this seeking and saving of lost men and women, boys and girls, take place before our eyes, as members of our family, our friends, and people who live this community repent of their sins and put their faith in you, so we pray that your salvation would come to people we know and come into contact with. Give us the joy of seeing one person believe and make that belief public by being baptised, and then another, and another. Thank you that you came to save sinners, and that you have sought us and saved us. Amen.
Luke 20:25
“Well then,” he told them, “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:25)
God, our hope and our trust is in you alone. Only you are worthy of our praise and glory. We honour you our great God for who you are and for all that you have done for us as our Creator and Saviour. We thank you that in your wisdom, and for our good, you have placed rulers and authorities over us. Though we should not give our ultimate allegiance to any government, political party, or MP, your Word tells us that we should honour them and give to them what is due. We pray that we would show that we honour you, by honouring the leaders we have. Help us to pray for them, to obey the laws of this land while remaining faithful to your commands, and to pay the taxes that we owe. Lord, whether our government is good and godly or wicked and ungodly, may we do what is right by them, trusting that you are in control and working out your plans and purposes. Amen.
Luke 21:33
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Luke 21:33)
Lord, we praise you for your Word. We praise you that you have spoken and revealed yourself to us in your Word. We praise you for the gift it is to us, a gift which lasts forever. Lord, everything around us is temporary. The grass withers and the flowers fade. But, we thank you that your Word stands forever. Help us we pray to hunger for it, to read it, to meditate on it, to study it, to hide it in our hearts, and by your Spirit give us understanding of what it says. Help us we pray to obey it, knowing that when we do, we are building our lives upon what is eternal. And Lord, we ask that you would enable us to spread your Word by making it known to those whose paths we cross each day. Amen.
Luke 23:42
“Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42)
Lord Jesus, we look back with gratitude to that moment we said to you “Remember me”; that moment we asked you to save us; that moment we pleaded with you to take away our sins, to remove our guilt, to pay the penalty we deserve by your blood shed on the cross. We thank you that when we put our hope and our trust in you, we heard by faith you say to us, one day “you will be with me in paradise.” As that dying thief rejoiced to see in his day what you did for him, so we who are just as vile as him, in our day rejoice to see what you did for us to wash all our sins away. Assure us now by your Holy Spirit that our future is certain and secure because Jesus will remember us. Amen.
Luke 24:45
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)
Spirit of Christ, open our minds to understand the Scriptures. We want to see Jesus. We want to know Him more. Thank you that the Old Testament, not just the New Testament, is all about Him. Help us to understand how He is promised in the Old Testament. How all of the promises made are fulfilled in His coming, His life, His death and resurrection and ascension, and in His return to reign in glory. Help us to see the work He accomplished pictured in the events which take place that have been written down for us. And help us to understand how He is present in the Old Testament, as people met Him, believed in Him, and were saved by Him. Lord, as we see Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures, would it lead to us knowing who Jesus is and what He has done better and our hearts burning more with love for Him. Amen.