5 Prayers for God’s Guidance in Uncertain Times
Snow falls like a quiet kind of awakening, and when I listen closely, I can hear the heavy flakes gathering. I stand among the beech leaves as they cling to finger-like branches, waving at the dusk like these chilling grey days are not only expected but welcomed. As I listen to the leaves rustle, I begin praying prayers for God’s guidance into the next season.
I invite you to join me as I sort through my thoughts in the woods. Afterward, I’ll share five prayers for God’s guidance.
5 Prayers for God’s Guidance
On this dusky evening, snow falling like anything but grace from the ever-grey sky, I’m here in the woods to talk to God about my life.
I’ve always encountered his heart most purely with a Bible in my hands beneath open skies, away from the words and worries of others, and this is why I’ve come to the woods tonight.
I’m in the woods because I thought I had a well-crafted plan.
I even believed it was led by the Spirit of the Living God. It was a plan wrapped around the timing of life-changing decisions for our little family. The plan considered all things. It was prayed through, weighed out, and orchestrated with flawless precision.
I had imagined that by the time the snow fell heavily upon the hemlock boughs, our family would be well into our next endeavor.
I set deadlines and timelines, and if Option 1 hadn’t transpired by the prescribed date, I was diving into Option 2 head-on.
And here, in the thick of this season of darkness, our little family stands on the brink of a precipice in which neither option has taken place, and we’re not so sure what comes next.
It’s the not knowing that’s making my head spin.
I don’t have much control over how this is all unfolding. I’m starting to wonder if the calling to let God lead my life is too hard.
The Prayer God Will Answer
I brush the snow from a fallen maple tree along the creek and sit to ponder the words of a mentor.
I told her all about my options, and she didn’t offer an answer, but she did offer words of wisdom. She advised me to pray that my thoughts will become agreeable with God’s thoughts as I roll my weighty decisions onto him.
Now, I can’t help but wonder if she was unwrapping the gift of what it really means to live a surrendered life, what it really means to let God lead you over the hilltops and through the valleys of life.
And so, on the log, I stop praying for open doors. I stop praying for things to happen or for some kind of human-contrived confirmation from heaven. I simply ask God to make my thoughts agreeable with his.
I’m met with only silence. There is no divine revelation or strong impression from the Spirit. Only the sound of white crystals piling high, one upon the other. A chill races down my spine, and I begin a slow walk home in the milky twilight.
God Is More Concerned with Your Heart than Your Circumstances
As I slip silently beneath the hemlocks, a thought passes through my mind: I’ve spent so much time making plans and asking the Lord for discernment about what to do next.
What if this entire journey isn’t even about the way my life is unfolding?
What if it actually has everything to do with learning to walk with God in a step-by-step sort of way?
I generally prefer a 5-year plan when it comes to organizing our lives. God rarely provides this kind of future insight, but he is often gracious to grant a 1-year or even 6-month glimpse into what the future might hold for our family.
As we delve into this new season, it’s clear to me that he is leading us into a week-by-week kind of plan.
He’s asking us to trust him with what we can’t see about the very near future.
It’s somewhat terrifying.
However, learning to need him, lean into him, and seek his direction in an ongoing way might just be the greatest gift he’s ever given. Maybe this whole experience has very little to do with our plans and everything to do with learning to press closer to the heart of God, one slow step at a time.
Later in the day, I return home and write the following prayers for God’s guidance.
5 Prayers for God’s Guidance
1. Pray that God will make your thoughts agreeable with his thoughts.
Here is a prayer: “Father God, thank you that your plans for me are good and full of hope. As I seek to follow you, I ask that you make my thoughts agreeable with your thoughts. Show me any wrong motives and help me follow you with a fully surrendered heart. I want to desire what you desire. I claim the promise that when I delight myself in you, you will fulfill the desires of my heart.”
2. Pray that God will help you roll your heavy decisions onto him.
Here is a prayer: “Lord God, I often carry life’s decisions like burdens. They weigh me down. Forgive me for this as I roll these decisions onto you. I trust that you will direct me. Thank you for lifting these burdens. I trust you to make the way clear and redirect me if I step off the best path.”
3. Pray that your human will might become neutral, and open to wherever God leads.
Here is a prayer: “Dear Lord, you know me better than I know myself. I want to come to the point in all of life’s decisions where I am neutral in my will. I want to be fully open to your guidance and direction. Please help me to lay down my will and follow you with an open heart.”
4. Pray for a surrendered heart, open to whatever God wants to teach you while you wait.
Here is a prayer: “Father God, thank you for working in my heart and life. I confess that I don’t always wait patiently when your timing doesn’t match mine. Today I pray for a surrendered heart. Help me to wait patiently and only follow where you lead. Help me remain open the lessons you want to teach me while I wait on you.”
5. Pray that your experience will help you grow in trust.
Here is a prayer: “Lord, thank you for always being trustworthy. I pray that this time in my life will help me learn to trust you more. Help me grow in trust and faith as I watch for you and follow you.”
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