A Prayer for Restoration
Three times in Psalm 80, Asaph cries out to the Lord repeating the same phrase: "Restore us, Oh God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!" Remembering that it's a privilege to pray to our God and Creator, why not call on his righteous name with me right now using the following prayer (print it and take it with you if you feel so led): Oh God...
- Restore my heart. Cleanse it so that my Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, can come and dwell in a sanctified place.
- Restore my marriage. After you, my sweet Savior, help me to love, honor and value my spouse above everyone and everything else (including my children). This is the biblical way I model Christ's relationship with His Church.
- Restore my family. Let us know you and your words in such a real way that your love oozes out of each one of us, old or young.
- Restore my children. As I strive to gracefully instruct them, keep me pointing them back to Jesus so that he becomes their true love. Only in this will they find the hope, joy and freedom you have in mind for them.
- Restore my home. Make it a holy habitation reflecting your heart in every room (including the TV room).
- Restore my relationships. Cause me to remember that an unforgiving Christian is a contradiction in terms and that the Word of God tells me that Jesus measures me by the same yardstick I use on others (ouch).
- Restore my country. We've fallen so far from your holy standard Lord. Teach me to love my country yet hate the darkness within it. This principle will properly guide me when I need to know how to treat people I don't agree with, spiritually or politically. I'm to love them with the love of Christ knowing their hearts, like mine, are plagued by sin.
- Restore your Church. Revelation 3:3 cautions us, the church, to "Go back to what you heard and believed at first; holding to it firmly." Help me - your servant, your ambassador to the world - to support your church so that it will once again become a city on a hill; a bright light reflecting your love and supremacy.
"Restore us, Oh God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!"