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Happy Monday, sweet friends!
Well, yet another week begins. We have had quite a lot going on around here in the past couple of months, but we are finally settling into a really nice routine over the last few weeks that feels much more sustainable. It is amazing how powerful a few simple routines can be. With that said, each week is also a wonderful opportunity to make a few more positive changes and reassess what we are doing and whether or not our actions are reflecting the goals and priorities we have in place.
In every area of our life, we are encouraged to set goals. Maybe, as a homeschool mom, you have written a set of goals for things you would like your children to learn this year or maybe it is a list of books you would like to read together or projects you would like to complete. Maybe, you have health goals like walking for a mile every day or drinking more water. Each of these goals is wonderful to push you in a positive direction.
With that in mind, I think it is also a very good idea to have spiritual goals for yourself and your children or family. In your homeschool, there is absolutely nothing that can replace time focusing on God and the Word of God every day.
As you approach this new week, I encourage you to find some fresh energy as you consider the journey of this new week and how you would like it to go spiritually. Does setting goals ensure that you will have a successful week? No, it does not. That said, setting good goals will give you some direction as it relates to putting systems in place that will propel you towards those good goals.
One of my very favorite quotes is by L.M. Montgomery:
“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” (link to quote HERE)
With each new week, I’m reminded of how fleeting time is. With that said, each new week and new day brings a new beginning and a fresh opportunity to have a successful week. This coming week has good things in store. On this Monday morning, I wanted to write several different prayers that can be prayed at the beginning of a new week. Though this week gives the opportunity for us to have fresh ideas and and good work, I do also want to focus on the morning prayers that address having God’s presence in our lives along with good courage and the grace of God. I believe that starting our week with praise can help get our minds in the right place, a place of worship.
Psalms that can be read as prayers.
This portion of the Bible taken from Psalm 138 is a wonderful prayer for a new week:
138 I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3 In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5 Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord: for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.
Along with Psalm 86 which says,
86 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
4 Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
6 Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.
9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.
10 For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.
11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
12 I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
14 O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.
15 But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”
These psalms can definitely be read as prayers to the Lord since the writer wrote them as prayers. I encourage you to read through the psalms and consider which ones are prayers to the Lord that you can incorporate into your days and weeks. There is something precious about reading God’s words back to Him 🙂
Here are a few prayers that I hope will encourage and inspire you to have a great week for God’s glory.
The importance of prayer.
Why do we pray? Well, first of all, we are commanded to pray. The Bible clearly says, “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer also has an incredible way of taking our eyes off of our problems and ourselves as it points our focus back to the Lord and His heart. As Hudson Taylor once said,
“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.” – Hudson Taylor (link HERE)
I believe it is also important to note here that, in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus also gives the disciples a model prayer that was to be used to learn how to pray. Through the years, I have learned that praying that “Lord’s Prayer” and truly pondering each phrase as I pray it can be a powerful tool. I believe that teaching this prayer to our children is an incredibly beautiful thing. That prayer as given by Matthew in chapter 6 is as follows:
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
This prayer may not be specific to a new week, but I believe that it is still just as relevant in this context of prayer. As a homeschool family, I think it would be so neat to incorporate this Lord’s Prayer into a morning basket of sorts. Each morning, it would be so precious to recite this prayer in a very thoughtful way in order to help hide God’s Word in the heart of your littles. God wants to be an intimate part of your children’s lives, and incorporating God’s Word along with prayer into your daily routines is a wonderful way to highlight God’s goodness and truly point children back to the God who made them and loves them more than we do.
Also, by focusing on God on a daily basis, through the good weeks and the more challenging weeks, we are also showing our children that God is bigger than our circumstances. We are proving to them that God is not just someone we turn to when our days are hard. God is our friend, and He is worthy of our love, adoration, and praise on the good days and bad.
With all of that said, I have written several prayers that I hope will be a blessing and encouragement to you today. Each of these is a prayer for a new week.
A morning prayer.
Dear Lord,
As the sun rises this morning, I’m first of all reminded of Your goodness. You did not have to allow me this new day, but You have. I have a bed to sleep in, my loved ones near me, clothes on my back, and food to eat. On this new day, I thank You for Your many blessings, for my good health and my sound mind. Lord, thank You for my family and for this beautiful morning and opportunity to come before You, once again. You have filled my life with wonderful things, and for that, I am thankful.
A new week is begun, and I pray that I will follow Your right path as the days go by. I will be doing my best to make the most of my time and be productive, but I also want to focus on You, Lord. I don’t want to forget the most important things or the big and small blessings of the week. May I not forget that the greater success of this week would be to grow closer to You and bring honor and glory to Your name. I want to point others to You this week and Your steadfast love. Please provide open doors for me to do so.
I pray for my hands this week. May I work unselfishly. I pray for my tongue that it would speak kindness and love. I pray for my mind that it would dwell on those things that are true, honest, and lovely. I pray for my eyes that they would see beauty, grace, and love in the simplest blessings around me. Lastly, I pray for my heart that it would find rest and hope in You and Your word rather than the many voices all around me.
You are worthy, my Lord, of all my honor, glory and praise.
I love You so much, Father. Thank You once again for all the blessings and new possibilities of this wonderful week. May I make much of You, today. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
A daily prayer for this new week.
Dear God,
Good morning! Thank You for this new day. As the days go on this week, please help me to refocus in this new day on Your mercies that are new every morning. Help me to not get all wrapped up in the things that have gone wrong already this week or even the times I have failed. May I ever dwell on You, Your goodness, and all that You are today. I’m so thankful that you never change even through these many seasons of change. My heart desires to be near to You today, O Lord. May the noises and busyness around me not distract me from You and the work of Your hands in my life and the lives of those around me.
Thank you again for this beautiful week. Forgive me for the times I have failed and sinned this week. May my life bring honor and glory to Your name today, Lord God. In the name of Jesus I pray it all, amen.
Prayer for a new week for your children.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for this new day. As this week moves along, I thank You for our good health and provisions. Lord, as this new week begins, I pray for my babies. I know that You love them more than I do, and I am so very thankful for that. You are not surprised by anything we are facing this week, and You are more than able to use all these things for Your honor and glory. With that in mind, I hold my children with open hands and surrender them to You once again.
Today, You know my children better than I do, Lord. You know their weaknesses and their strengths. You know their hurts and their joys. I pray this week that You would win their hearts in a way that I cannot. May they find comfort and strength in Who You are. Please be personal to them this week. I do not want them to think of You only as my God but as theirs. Please continue to draw them to Yourself and use me to point them to You through the way I live and the love I show. Live and love through me, Father.
It is easy in this changing and uncertain world for me to take my eyes of You and focus on all the scary and crazy things around me, especially when I think of my children. Yet, today, I choose joy. I choose You. I choose surrender, and I choose to once again hold the sweet blessings You have given me with open hands. May Your will be done in my life and the lives of those I love.
In Jesus’ sweet name I pray, amen.
More verses that are powerful prayers.
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” – Ps. 19:14
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” – Josh. 1:8
“Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” – Ps. 33:22
“When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.” – Ps. 56:9
“When I said, My foot slippery; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” – Ps. 94:18-19
“O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth; That thy beloved may be delivered: save with thy right hand, and answer me.” – Ps. 108:1-6
There you have it 🙂 A collection of prayers that you can pray at the beginning of a new week. I sincerely hope that each of these prayers inspire you and draw you closer to the Lord. As you work towards each of your goals this week whether those be for your homeschool, health, finances, home, or family, I hope that you will also focus on your spiritual goals as you seek to put God in His rightful place in your life.
Maybe this week feels daunting because of your homeschooling journey or because its a work week in some shape or form, even if that is the case, may you find rest and hope in the God who made you. In spite of any circumstances that you may be facing, I hope that you have an amazing week filled with great work and fresh inspiration. May you find peace today and grace and joy. Dear friend, I hope that you have a blessed week and that each of these prayers and verses have been an inspiration to you today.
Do you have any favorite Bible verses that you read as a prayer?
Did any of the prayers in this post inspire you today?
Please let me know in the comments below!
I would love to hear from you 🙂
Until next time
Here is another post that I wrote about prayer called “A Thankful Tuesday Prayer.” It also has a free printable that you are welcome to download as a prayer journal page. I hope it is a blessing!
