Praying with Paul

1 Corinthians 9:24​

Dear Father,
Help me to compete like a runner aspiring for an Olympic gold medal. Help me to exercise discipline and self-control in all things that I may receive the imperishable victory wreath.
Help me not to run aimlessly or to box as one sparring against the air. Give me the grit to pommel my body, to bring it under subjection, lest after having shared the Good News with others I myself should be disqualified.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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1 Corinthians 9:19-23​

Dear Father, lover of all peoples,
Though I am free from all men, let me become a slave to all, that I may win many, many more people to the cause of the Lord.
To Jews help me become as a Jew, to non-Jews as a non-Jew, to the poor as one who is poor, to the weak as one who is weak, that I might by all means save some of them.
Help me to gladly do whatever is needful for the sake of the Good News, so that I may share in its blessings.
In the name of Jesus...

 

1 Corinthians 9:1-18​

Dear Father, who sees my heart,
Help me to follow the excellent example of the Apostle Paul. Though he had a right to earn his livelihood from his preaching, he didn't do so. He chose not to make full use of his rights in the gospel and instead preached the message free of charge.
Grant that my service to you will not be motivated by monetary gain or personal ambition. Whatever I do, let it be done out of love for you, your Son, your Word and your holy...

 

1 Corinthians 8:7-13​

Dear Father, the one real and only God,
Many do not understand that all reality is rooted in you, so they chase the "gods" of this world, the "idols" which they worship - money, fame, glamor, power, security - and in some cases real idols and the real demons who are behind those idols.
Many brothers and sisters in Christ have recently been freed from bondage to a culture that worships these false gods, and due to their weak consciences they can easily be...

 

1 Corinthians 8:1-13​

Dear Father, the one real and only God,
Give me more love and humility than knowledge, for "Knowledge puffs up but love builds up."
People know lots of things, but they let it go to their heads. Help me, Father, never to imagine that I know everything, because I know that I do not yet know as I ought to know. What I want is to love you as I should, for if I love you, then I am loved and known by you. All the things that men and women pursue, O God, seem to...

 

1 Corinthians 7:36-40​

Dear Father, head of our one enduring spiritual family,
We live in our bodies and in families and we have strong needs for these very human things.
Thank you for consenting to our involvement with these, as long as we possess them without grasping or coveting, and as long as we love you more than these.
Whatever freedoms we have, let us exercise them by abiding in the Lord. Grant us the grace to follow Paul's teaching, since he spoke as one having the...

 

1 Corinthians 7:25-35​

Dear Father, head of our one enduring spiritual family,
Thank you that you have not left us uninformed in matters of family relations. Thank you for the apostle Paul's instructions, which tell us to be holy in body and spirit and to give ourselves up to please you. Help me, Father, to do that.
May we be content in the situations in which you have placed us. May those of us with spouses live, in a sense, as if we had none. May those of us who mourn over...

 

1 Corinthians 7:10-24​

Dear Father, lover of families,
May my spouse and I both strive to satisfy the spiritual, mental, economic, emotional, and physical needs of the other so neither of us will ever be tempted to look to someone else for companionship. Help us both to exercise perfect self-control, never giving Satan any opportunity to deceive us.
Father, grant that there may never be any rupture in our marriage relationship that would lead to quarreling, unfaithfulness...

 

1 Corinthians 7:1-7​

Dear Father, third party to our marriage,
Thank you that in matters of family relations you have not left us uninformed. Thank you for your apostle Paul's instructions. Help me take all these to heart.
While it may have been better for me to remain unmarried and to have dedicated my life wholly to your service, I am married now, so please help me to fulfill all my vows and obligations to my wife and to freely give to her my love. Help me constantly to show...

 

1 Corinthians 6:14-20​

Dear Father, powerful and holy God,
This body of mine is not just temporary, meant for the decay of the grave. You have promised to redeem it, to make it glorious like Christ's. It will be my instrument to glorify you throughout eternity. Let me use it with that thought in mind.
Surely you, God, who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead by your power, will also raise my body by your power. Make me ever aware that my body is a member of Christ's body. Shall I...