Is there a Christian prayer for Strength?

Q: Is there a Christian prayer for Strength?

Morning Prayer for Strength is a Scripture-based prayer in the Daily Devotions series from Ambient Bible. When today requires more than you have and you know it before it starts. Not emotional strength. The raw, get-through-this kind. A prayer for the power that shows up when yours is already spent.

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Daily Devotions

Morning Prayer for Strength

When today requires more than you have and you know it before it starts. Not emotional strength. The raw, get-through-this kind. A prayer for the power that shows up when yours is already spent.

Scripture

Psalms 18

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¹[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul: And he said,] I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

⁴The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

⁵The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.

⁸There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

⁹He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

¹²At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

¹⁴Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.

¹⁵Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.

¹⁶He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

¹⁸They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.

¹⁹He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.

²³I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.

²⁴Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

²⁵With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;

²⁶With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.

²⁷For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.

²⁸For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

²⁹For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.

³⁰As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

³¹For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?

³²It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

³³He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

³⁴He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.

³⁵Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.

³⁶Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

³⁷I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.

³⁸I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.

³⁹For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.

⁴⁰Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.

⁴¹They cried, but there was none to save unto the LORD, but he answered them not.

⁴²Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.

⁴³Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.

⁴⁵The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.

⁴⁶The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.

⁴⁸He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.

⁴⁹Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.

⁵⁰Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

¹For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils, and consuming fire came from His mouth; glowing coals blazed forth.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down with dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place, and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹²From the brightness of His presence His clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity, but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open; He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness; He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me; I have not disregarded His statutes.

²³And I have been blameless before Him and kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp; my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army, and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer and stations me upon the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation; Your right hand upholds me, and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath me so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise; they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle; You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind; I trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people; You have made me the head of nations; a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heart and come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock! And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges me and subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king. He shows loving devotion to His anointed, to David and his descendants forever.

God, I'm tired. Not just sleepy tired. The kind of tired that sleep doesn't fix. The kind that sits in your bones and whispers that you can't keep going. The kind that makes simple things feel heavy before the day even starts. But I'm here. Talking to you. Which means some part of me still believes you're listening. Some part of me still believes that showing up matters. So I'm going to hold onto that. Even if it's all I can hold onto right now. I need your strength today, Lord. Not motivation. Not hype. Not a speech. Strength. The kind that shows up when mine runs out. The kind that carried David when Saul hunted him. The kind that held Elijah together when he sat under that tree and said he was done. You didn't shame Elijah. You cared for him. You let him sleep. You fed him. And then you told him to keep moving because the journey was too much for him alone. I need that kind of care today. Show up for me like that. Not because I deserve it. I know I don't. But because you promised. Because your faithfulness doesn't depend on my feelings. Because your strength does not run out when mine does. Here I am, Lord. Not polished. Not powerful. Just available. Just willing. David knew this exhaustion. And you met him in it. Psalm 18 says The Lord is my rock. My fortress. My deliverer. I didn't earn that. I received it. So I'm getting up today. Not because I feel strong. I don't. But because the one who holds me together is strong enough for both of us. Strong enough for this day. Strong enough for what I cannot predict. When I am weak, he is strong. That's not a slogan for me anymore. That's survival. That's the reason I can take the next step and then the next one after that. Thank you, Lord, for not giving up on me on the days I want to give up on myself. Thank you for meeting me in weakness without distance, without disgust, without delay. Carry me through what I cannot carry alone. Keep my mind clear. Keep my heart soft. Keep my hands faithful in the work in front of me. In the name of Jesus, I pray.

Amen.

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