By Hal Pickus · · 4 min read
A prayer for the week ahead
For a lot of us the new week arrives as a low hum of dread on Sunday night — the list, the inbox, the thing we're avoiding. You can let the week run at you, or you can start it by handing it to God before it starts running. The second way changes how the whole week feels.
Receive the day before you brace against it
Before you steel yourself for Monday, hear what it actually is:
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Even Monday. Even a hard week. It's a day God made and handed to you — a gift, not just a grind to survive.
A prayer
Father, before this week gets going, I'm giving it to you — every meeting, every deadline, every conversation I'm dreading. Go ahead of me into all of it. Give me strength for the hard parts and eyes for the good ones. Help me carry this week with you instead of under it. Amen.
Ask for strength that lasts
A week is a long time to run on your own steam. Here's where the strength to finish it comes from:
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31
Hold your plans loosely
Make your plans for the week — and then leave room for God to rearrange them:
A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Proverbs 16:9
Plan the week, but expect the interruptions to be his too. Some of the most important things you'll do this week aren't on your calendar yet.
Make it count
Finally, ask God to help you spend the week on what matters:
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Psalm 90:12
If there's one heavy thing hanging over your week, you don't have to carry it alone all five days — write it down and let people pray it with you as the week goes.