Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries
I can’t imagine military living; surrendering your own will for the greater good and putting yourself in harms way for the sake of your country.
There are a few good men in my own life who are veterans, and I rarely set aside time to think about the sacrifices they have made for our country.
But the Lord placed them on my heart today, and I am so grateful I slowed down long enough to think about the price each and every one of them has paid for my freedom.
Time away from loved ones, sleepless nights, the stress of battle, the consequences of taking a life in combat…these are burdens I will never have to bear because they bore them for me.
I allocated a brief 10 minutes of my morning to pray for our military, and the experience was transformative for me.
I did not expect to share this prayer publicly, but once it was complete, I felt the Lord asking me to do exactly that.
The Lord is slowly teaching me to be generous with my words, and to write freely what He has placed on my heart.
It is my hope that this prayer inspires you to stop and pray for the men and women who serve our country, their supportive families, and the members of our government who have the power to make decisions that impact our military.
Once you have completed your time in prayer, I challenge you to ask God what He wants you to do next!
Oswald Chambers once said, “We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed.”
Good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. -Oswald ChambersI would like to modify this statement just slightly to fit my purposes today:
“We are not to pray the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be prayed, they are to be performed.”
A 10-Minute Prayer for our Military
Lord, I pray that you minister to the hearts of our soldiers today and every day.
They have experienced first hand the depth of depravity that pervades this world, and without Your love and forgiveness to balance out that experience, I can only imagine how easy it is for them to succumb to depression and desperation.
Lord, so many have made the ultimate sacrifice, and if they haven’t, they likely know someone who has.
I owe my personal security to these men and women who have forsaken their own for the sake of the greater good.
And I am eternally grateful.
Veterans forsake their own for the sake of the greater good: 10-Minute Prayer for the Military.Lord, I ask that you minister to these heroic men and women in a special way this week as our country slows down to celebrate Veteran’s Day.
Give each and every one of them a divine appointment with a generous soul and show them Your love through a simple act of kindness and gratitude from a stranger.
Do not forget the families they often leave behind; the spouses and children who suffer through burdens and trials that are unique to military life.
I cannot imagine saying goodbye to your other half, never knowing if they will return to you in the same condition they were when they left.
Never knowing if it will be your last kiss, your last conversation, your last moment as part of a couple.
Lord, I ask that you equip military spouses to offer the gift of service to one another; that every word and deed be tempered with kindness and grace.
Protect their hearts and gift them with an extraordinary sense of unity and love for one another.
Gently guide them into your presence, so that husband and wife is able to find all of their needs met in You alone.
Most of all, bestow upon these families a supernatural level patience and endurance.
When they are surrounded by storm clouds, let Your light break through, if only for a moment, to remind them that You are watching over them.
Bring Your beauty from the ashes of the lives that have been broken by war, either physically or emotionally.
Tear down the walls that have prevented them from getting the level of care and respect they deserve and bring healing to our military one soldier at a time.
A 10-Minute Prayer for Veterans. God, bring healing to our military one soldier at a time.Thank you for putting a desire in the hearts of these special men and women to serve our country.
Thank you for the freedoms I am able to experience because of their sacrifice.
Thank you for the good that has come from their tireless efforts.
Help these soldiers to see that their sacrifice is not in vain.
Help them to see how much we appreciate them and show us how to embrace and encourage their families in a way that brings You glory in heaven.
Just thinking of the milestones that soldiers miss while they are away at war breaks my heart.
Babies are born, loved ones graduate from school, weddings are celebrated, deaths are mourned, and the simplicity of a day spent enjoying the company of loved ones is replaced with the endless work of war.
I pray for the leaders of our nation and our military, that you would give them supernatural wisdom as they hold the fate of millions in their hands.
Our world system may be broken, the people of this planet may be divided, but You are the same…yesterday, today, and forever.
Intervene on our behalf!
Place your covering of protection over the Chaplains who serve our troops, give them wisdom to reach into the lives of the broken and offer them hope and faith for a brighter future.
Equip my brothers and sisters in the military to live quiet lives that shout hope, peace, and love to their fellow servicemen.
Fill up their cisterns to overflowing, and give them a double measure so they can pour your love into the lives of the soldier to their right and to their left.
Lord, give Christian Soldiers a double portion, so they can shine Your light in a dark world.There is so much war, so much strife, so many trials and tribulation in our world. Yet, You remain enthroned above it all.
May we never forget that you are our source of peace in the midst of it all.
You are our hope and You are our future.
To God be the glory, forever and ever, Amen!
I encourage you to set aside some time today to put this prayer into action.
Because good deeds are not simply to be prayed, they are to be performed.
