12 Ways to Pray

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12 Ways to Pray

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 ESV

As I sit here mulling over all the uncertainties in my personal life, the future of those I love, our nation, and the world, I hear the Spirit whispering, “Come to me…. Come to me with your brokenness, your heartaches, your fears, your concerns, and your questions.” He is inviting me to enter His presence in prayer. If I run into the shelter of His wings, I will find solace there.

It can be difficult to know how, or what, to pray when our hearts are overwhelmed. But Christ implores us to come to Him to find all that we need. If you are struggling with praying today, here are 12 prayer prompts to inspire your prayer life, along with Bible verses to read and encourage your heart as you pray.

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The Hope of Resurrection

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The Hope of Resurrection

While they were talking and discussing together,

Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

Luke 24:15-16 ESV

Two men, Jesus’ disciples, are walking down a dirt road leading into the town of Emmaus. They witnessed the death of Jesus on the cross three days ago, and they just heard that His body has disappeared from the tomb where He was buried. The women told them an angel proclaimed Jesus had arisen from the dead, but they’re finding this news difficult to believe.

Heads hung low, and brokenhearted, they’re wondering how they could have gotten it so wrong. After all, when Jesus said He was the One they were waiting for––the One who came to set the captives free––they wholeheartedly believed Him. They’d sunk their hopes into His promise of a better life. But now, all those dreams have vanished, and they are filled with dismay.

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Hope in Troubling Times

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Hope in Troubling Times

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life.

Psalm 138:7a (ESV)

The first daffodils are blooming here in the South with bright golden hues, and the first day of March ushered in 80-degree temperatures. Certainly, Spring is in the air, and I must say I’m welcoming it after two snow falls in January (a rarity). And just as the weather has already set records in this new year, this season in my heart revealed its own record of pain––my family has experienced another great loss.

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Replacing Lies with God's Truths

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Replacing Lies with God's Truths

Holding the crisp pages in my trembling hands, I kneeled and spread the note before the Lord. My sense of direction, peace, and joy was lost. The enemy’s whispers had become resounding. I realized the only way to regain steadiness was to go to God for answers. It was time to face the enemy’s lies that had replaced God’s truths in my life: the lies that kept me bound to fear, disappointment, and discouragement.

The paper I held so tightly contained the lies from the enemy that constantly swam in my mind. And I came to petition God for reassurance of the truth. At the Holy Spirit's prompting, I searched His Word to find out His answer to the taunts, and I replaced them with the truth.

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When Only Peace Will Do

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When Only Peace Will Do

And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

Mark 10:51 ESV

I could hear the low rumble of my car’s motor as the cool air from the ac blew strands of hair into my face. The summer heat in the South pushed a band of perspiration across my forehead, and with one swipe of my hand I pushed back the hair, patted the sweat, and wiped a stray tear from my eye.

The summer of 2019 was a rough season for me as depression sunk deep into my soul. The welcome of new crops to the local farms signaled new life all around me, but I felt like I was slowly dying. I couldn’t contribute this heaviness to just one thing. There was a list of uncertainties consuming me.

That’s why, for the second time on that same Sunday, I drove back to church in hopes of hearing something that would shake me out of the doldrums that I felt locked inside. As my grip tightened around the steering wheel, I whispered the same words again, “Help me, Lord.”

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

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Finding Beauty in the Darkness

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5 ESV

The weather report revealed snow actively falling which sent me bounding across the hardwood floors to open the door and peer outside. Snow is so rare here in the South that when it comes I don’t want to miss it. At first glance I could not see it. Its beauty was obscured by the darkness of the night. It was only when I shifted my gaze to the streetlight that I could see the wisps of powder circling in the air. My soul quieted as the fluffy flakes fell. I wanted to perch by the window in a state of wonder at the glory showering down from heaven.



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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

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A Christmas Prayer for Grieving Hearts

Today is the day.


I sit here staring at the twinkling white lights on my Christmas tree as “Silent Night, Holy Night––All is calm, All is bright,” rings softly in my ears. But I’m struggling to stay calm and things don’t feel so bright. There’s a knot in my stomach and a choke in my throat as I walk through this day with a weight on my chest that I can't bear on my own. The beauty and the pain of the season intertwines together. And I wonder if this is what it truly means to hold joy in one hand while grief weighs heavy in the other.

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Steadiness in Changing Seasons

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Steadiness in Changing Seasons

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV

Spring turned into summer, and summer has turned into fall. I’m not completely sure how it all happened so fast. Time does fly.

I sit staring out the balcony window as leaves flutter from the trees in bright hues of gold, orange, and red. The temperature is 68 degrees (today’s high), and it will be followed by a low of 43 degrees tonight. I don’t know what your dream temperature is, but these days are like heaven to me. I would like for it to stay like this forever. But nothing in this life remains the same. It is ever changing––leaving us with the before and after.

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Glorious Hope in Despair

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Glorious Hope in Despair

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.” (Psalm 42:1 NASB)

My hands tremble and my body shakes uncontrollably as the cold air of loss blows deep into the hollows of my soul. Like a broken record, I keep hearing the words, “He has passed…He has passed.” In my mind, I’m running away. It’s as though my heart has grown feet and they leap in response to the runner’s gunshot as I speed to out-run my opponent—in this case, reality.

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Three Keys After a Chronic Illness Diagnosis

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Three Keys After a Chronic Illness Diagnosis

After receiving a chronic illness diagnosis of Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Disorder, my world as I knew it shattered. Joy, excitement, and happiness were replaced by shock, fear, disillusionment, and despair.

Waking to a broken body, mind, and spirit at the young age of twenty-six-years-old left me reeling,
What will this mean for my present and my future? What will it cost personally and financially? The loss of independence and dreams seemed daunting.

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