- Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff
- 201627 Nov
Whether you have had a personal relationship with God for years or you are only beginning to discover who Jesus is, we all need guidance sometimes when it comes to prayers. It’s often hard to find the words to pray, that’s why we put together this collection of short prayers. The following short prayers offer guiding words to use for praying over various topics including worry, anxiety, doubt, forgiveness, fear, and other areas of life where we need to ask for God’s help. Please use these prayers and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as you add some of your own words and personalize your petitions to God.
Short Prayer for Difficult Times
Prayer for Peace
Father God, my heart is filled with chaos and confusion. I feel as if I am drowning in my circumstances and my heart is filled with fear and confusion. I really need the strength and peace that only You can give. Right now, I choose to rest in You. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen. ~ Mary Southerland.
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Through prayer, our devotions reaffirm our total commitment to our Lord, Jesus Christ. And in return, we hope to obtain favors that only He can provide through his infinite mercy and blessings. Our comprehensive selection of Catholic devotions - prayers, novenas, litanies and meditations – is designed to help Catholics grow in their faith. . daniel prayer (dr. Richard ing) 11. daily spiritual warfare – the anti-evil prayer 12. prayers concerning the heavens 13. releasing the power of god 15. prayers to release the arm of the lord 17. prayers for angelic deliverance 19. releasing the fire of god 21. FREE: Powerful Prayers Booklet America's favorite and most affordable prayer booklet. Perfect for everyday use: includes dozens of timeless classics. Dozens of timeless classics, Mass prayers, novenas, and more. “A Prayer for Mad Sweeney” is designed to be this drawing back of the curtain about who Mad Sweeney is, but it’s all rather surface-level. We learn that Sweeney was a king of some kind and refused to go to war, thus getting demoted to just a leprechaun. It might be character exploration, but it’s a shallow one at that.
Prayer for the Broken-Hearted
Lord, my heart is broken but You are near. My spirit is crushed, but You are my rescuer. Your Word is my hope. It revives me and comforts me in especially now. My soul faints, but you are the breath of life within me. You are my help, the One who sustains me. I am weak but You are strong. You bless those who mourn, and I trust You to bless me and my family with all that we need. You will rescue me from this dark cloud of despair because You delight in me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Jennifer White
Prayer for Perseverance
Holy Lord, Thank You for grace. Please help me move beyond the hurdles that trip me up and give me the strength and wisdom to look up and see the hope I run toward in Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Gwen Smith
Prayer for Self Control
Father, today I ask forgiveness of all the negative and harmful words I have spoken about myself. I do not want to abuse myself in such a way again. Transform my thoughts and let me understand how marvelously you made me. Change my habits so I use my tongue to speak hope and favor upon my life. In Jesus' name, Amen. ~ Sarah Coleman
Prayer for Your Children
Prayer for Loving Like Jesus
Father, I have to thank You for looking beyond my faults and for loving me unconditionally. Forgive me when I fail to love others in the same way. Give me eyes to see the needs of the difficult people in my life, and show me how to meet those needs in a way that pleases You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Mary Southerland
Prayer for God’s Direction
Lord, help me not to lean on my own understanding but in everything acknowledge You so that You can direct my words, thoughts and actions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Sharon Glasgow
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Prayer for When You Feel Unworthy
Prayer For Worry
Father, I am tempted to worry about so many things. Our world is a mess! Forgive me for focusing on anything or anyone but You. Thank You for the Bible that equips and empowers me to live each day. Right now, I declare that You are my only Hope. Please help me remember that You really are in control. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Mary Southerland
Prayer for God’s Strength
Lord, thank you for your greatness. Thank you that when I am weak, you are strong. Lord, the Devil is scheming and I know he desires to keep me from spending time with you. Don’t let him win! Give me a measure of your strength so that I might not give into discouragement, deception and doubt! Help me honor you in all my ways. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Debbie Przybylski
Prayer for Control of Tongue
Prayer When Feeling Inadequate
Dear Lord, Thank You for fearfully and wonderfully creating each of us. Thank You for giving us worth in Your eyes. Help us live as the one You uniquely intended us to be. Help us abide instead of strive, living peacefully and joyfully as heirs to Your Kingdom and co-heirs with Christ. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ Julie Sunne
Prayer for Being Grateful
Father, I am so sorry for the way I complain about my circumstances. Please forgive me for my bad attitude when things don't go my way. I want to see Your hand in every part of every day - good or bad. Help me learn how to face every storm with confidence, knowing that You really are in control even though I cannot hear Your voice or see Your hand at work. In Jesus Name, Amen. ~ Mary Southerland
Prayer of God’s Provision
Dear Father God, Thank You for Your unfailing love for me, Your blessings, and goodness. Thank You for Your faithfulness to guide me and see me through times of uncertainty, for lifting me up, and setting me on high. Thank You for Scripture that comforts and reminds me of Your promises, plan, and provision. Thank you for taking away my fears and worries, the what-ifs, and reminding me that my help comes from You. Help me be a good steward and to sow wisely. In Christ’s Name, Amen. ~ Renee Davis
Prayer for Growing Faith
Dear Lord, help me - every single morning - to find faith in the midst of the chaos. Give me the desire and ability to see You, hear You, talk to You, and give thanks to You. And as I do, I pray that I will draw nearer and nearer to You, and that my faith will multiply exponentially as I understand in new, deeper ways that You are everything I ever hoped You would be. And so much more. Amen. ~ Kelly O’Dell Stanley
Prayer for Confidence
Lord, help me let go of my fear of failure. I know Satan wants to use my fears to hold me back from living boldly for You. Forgive me for not living in faith, and help me from this moment on to live with bold confidence in You. Lord, help me not compare myself to others around me. I pray instead that I can keep my eye on You and live a life that proclaims Your excellence. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen. ~ Rick Warren
Prayer for a Heavy Heart
Lord, I want to lay before you all that weighs heavy on my heart. Reveal even the sin I am not aware of, Lord. I lay these at your feet and pray your forgiveness on me. I believe you when you say that you wash us whiter than snow. Thank you Lord for your unending love for me! Help me start fresh right now to make choices that honor you. In Jesus' Name, Amen. ~ Rick Warren
Prayer for Hope and Trust
Father, sometimes it does feel that you have left us in the battle. We know that you are with us, but so are our feelings of aloneness. The Enemy seems to be taking ground. Our crying out to you seems to go unanswered. We know you are at work, but help us trust you in the midst of our questions. In Jesus' Name, Amen. ~ Ron Moore
Short Prayer for Thankfulness
God, sometimes life gets me down and I find it hard to see things to be thankful for. Open my eyes to see the gifts you’ve given me in my life. I’m going to start by thanking you for loving me enough to come to earth and die so we can live together forever. Amen. ~ Wendy van Eyck
Prayer for Restored Relationships
Father God, open my eyes to see the ways I’m like Cain. What conflicts am I allowing to brew in my family? What anger is bubbling into murderous rage in my relationships? Thank You for the clarity to see how hatred kills relationships. I choose instead the way of love. Love protects. Help me to protect those I love by loving them. Your way is always best, Father. I pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen. ~ James MacDonald
Which one of these short prayers spoke the most to you and how can we be praying for you? Comment below and let us know!
This article is part of our larger Prayers resource meant to inspire and encourage your prayer life when you face uncertain times. Visit our most popular prayers if you are wondering how to pray or what to pray. Remember, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and God knows your heart even if you can't find the words to pray.
Prayer for Healing
Prayer for Strength
Prayer for Protection
Morning Prayers
Good Night Prayers
Intercessory Prayer
Prayer for Peace
Prayer for Faith
Prayer for Love
Now available is our new Daily Prayer devotional! An easy way to find start your day with prayer, read today’s prayer and sign up to receive by email.
In traditional Jewish practice, the daily tefillot or prayers are divided into three separate services: Shacharit (the morning service), Mincha (the afternoon service), and Maariv (the evening service).
Origins of the Daily Prayer Services
By the talmudic period, the institution of praying three times day was an assumed part of Jewish life. The Mishnah records that there are three daily services, each connected to a particular time of day (Mishnah Berakhot 4:1).
The Babylonian Talmud also declares that men should pray three times a day, and a famous dispute emerges about the origins of this practice. Rabbi Yose bar Rabbi Hanina says that the weekday prayers were instituted by the patriarchs: Shacharit by Abraham, Minhah by Isaac, and Maariv by Jacob.
In opposition, Rabbi Joshua ben Levi cites Rabbi Hanina, who says that the three daily prayer services were instituted in accordance with the daily sacrifices of the Temple period (Berakhot 26b). Shacharit corresponds to the morning offering, Minhah corresponds to the afternoon offering, Maariv corresponds to an offering made on the evening, and Musaf corresponds to an offering brought on certain special occasions. Though a consensus was never reached, rabbinic authorities agreed that three daily services are the basic requirement of Jewish daily prayer.
Shacharit
For the majority of the rabbinic period, when the Mishnah, Talmud, and other early rabbinic sources refer to “tefillah,” they are always specifically referring to the Amidah prayer.
For much of the rabbinic period, the three services most likely only consisted of the Amidah and nothing else. However, by the beginning of the geonic period, and with the assemblage of the first complete liturgy for the synagogue—Seder Rav Amram Gaon in the ninth century—the content of all three services expanded significantly in both breadth and depth.
In terms of content, Shacharit is the most extensive of the three services. The morning prayers begin with a series of blessings meant to start the process of thanking God for our most basic needs. The most notable of these blessings is the Birkot Hashahar. The early portion of the services offers blessings for various fundamental needs, such as clothing, and freedom, and includes textual references to sacrifices and other core Jewish texts. Practices vary regarding how much of these early passages are recited.
The first major portion of Shacharit is Pesukei D’zimra, a series of passages mainly from Psalms that begins with Psalm 50 and concludes with the recitation of Yishtabakh. The purpose of the Peseukei D’zimra is to properly prepare oneself for the central portion of the morning service.
Following Peseukei D’zimra, the main section of the Shacharit service begins with the Barkhu prayer, followed by the Shema in the middle, and ending with the Amidah. This portion of the service is also known as Shema U’Birkhotekha, or “Shema and its subsequent blessings.” It is customary for one not to speak or interrupt their prayers from the Barkhu through the Amidah.
After the Amidah comes Tahanun, the penitential prayers. On Mondays and Thursday, the Torah is read in public minyanim (groups of 10 or more). This is in accordance with the practice instituted by Ezra the Scribe in Ancient Judea (Nehemiah 8). The weekday reading is shorter than the one on Shabbat; the first aliyah of the coming week’s Torah portion is split into three smaller aliyot.
Mincha and Maariv
Mincha is the shortest of the three services. It begins with Ashrei (Psalm 145), is followed by the Amidah and Tahanun, and concludes with the Aleinu.
In some sense, Maariv is comparable to the other daily services, as it contains similar content to Shaharit, with both the Shema and the Amidah, which are meant to be joined together as a single liturgical unit. However, in some ways, Maariv is the most dissimilar of the three daily services, because of the ways in which it is described by the rabbis of the Talmud and Mishnah.
The Mishnah states that Maariv is “ein la keva,” or “without a fixed time” (Mishnah Berakhot 4:1). This statement could mean that the Maariv service does not have a window of time in which it should be recited, as opposed to Shaharit and Minhah, each of which have very proscribed time frames.
Yet, when commenting on the meaning of this statement that Maariv is “ein la keva,” the Talmud says that the Maariv service is reshut, which means that it is optional, as opposed to Shaharit and Minhah, which are hovah, or mandatory (Berakhot 26a).
Later rabbinic authorizes assert that Maariv has the same status as Shacharit and Minhah, the halakhically mandated services. However, because Maariv is given a different status by the Talmud, it is the only daily service where it is not customary for the prayer leader to repeat the Amidah after the silent recitation.