A Prayer for Hard Days
It's been a hard day.
I'm frustrated. I'm discouraged.
My patience is running out.
God, I'm tired.
I want nothing more than to crawl into bed and forget this day ever happened.
On days like today it feels like You have stepped away.
God, have You forgotten to intervene?
Have You taken the day off while my life turns to chaos around me?
You said You would be with me, but God, I'm not seeing it.
On days like today, I struggle to hold onto hope.
On days like today, I find myself doubting that You really are good,
That You really do love me.
But God, Your Word says You are good and You are faithful.
You tell me that You never sleep.
You never remove your hand from me.
You are always with me, always sovereign, always good.
God, will You help me to believe that?
Today is hard, and I need Your help.
God, I need You.
Will You help me to remember that You use every annoyance and every bit of pain to refine me and make me holy?
Will You give me wisdom to take hold of this opportunity for growth and step out in obedience and dependence?
Will you forgive me for believing that my hope comes from better circumstances
or an escape from the troubles of this life, when the truth is that You are all I need?
Will You satisfy me with Your goodness?
Will You forgive me for using my bad day as justification for harsh words and unloving attitudes?
Will You refresh me with Your love and let it overflow to those around me?
I am weak and weary from trying to pull from my own depleted strength.
Will You help me to depend on Your strength?
Will You make Your power perfect in my weakness?
Will You give me the humility to trust that Your eternal plans for me are far better than my short-sighted vision of a good day?
I don't always understand what You are doing.
I can't always see Your hand at work.
But I believe that with You, no moment is wasted.
No bit of pain, whether big or small, is meaningless.
I can look back over my own life and see how pain has brought forth beauty and how the testing of my faith has produced endurance and character and a hope that does not disappoint.
I hear the stories of believers whose lives have been marked by great suffering as well as great joy.
I see Your faithfulness to Your people throughout Scripture in the midst of really hard days.
You have been faithful, and I know You will be faithful again.
God I believe–help my unbelief.
It's been a hard day, but even as I grieve the brokenness around me, I will praise You because the gospel gives hope even for today–even for this moment.
Even in the hard days, let my words and actions and attitudes be glorifying to You.
God, use today for my sanctification.
Use today for my joy and the joy of those around me.
Use today to draw me to Yourself and to show me Your glory.
Amen
