Your Daily Prayer

Autumn is the season of watching the old leave so that the new may appear. It arrives with a bittersweet quality — a farewell to the vibrancy of spring and summer, a slow surrender to the approaching grays of winter, and in the middle of it all, an extraordinary display of color that makes us almost forget what is actually happening. The old is not simply fading. It is being blown away in one of the most glorious processes in all of creation.
Second Corinthians 5:17 gives language to what autumn enacts every year in the natural world: the old has gone, the new is here. What looks like an ending is actually a preparation. What appears to be loss is actually the condition for new growth. Jesus' death demonstrated this truth most powerfully — that dying can lead to new life, and that the deepest losses can carry the greatest promises. The disciples watching the crucifixion did not yet understand what was coming. The leaves releasing their hold on the branch do not know what spring will bring. And yet the process moves forward, faithful and beautiful, under the care of a God who holds both endings and beginnings in His hands. Autumn is an annual invitation to trust that what feels like fading is not the final word — and to ask God to do the same work in us that He does in His creation, removing what is old and creating something new from the inside out.
Today's Bible Verse
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
— 2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV
Ponder Today
Autumn enacts the gospel every year in the natural world. The dying of leaves and the stripping of trees is not a tragedy — it is preparation. God has woven the promise of new life into the very rhythms of creation.
What looks like an ending is often the condition for new growth. The disciples who watched the crucifixion did not yet understand what was coming. We can take comfort in autumn, knowing the bare and dreary season is temporary and leads to something new.
Dying to the old is how we become alive to God. Romans 6:11 calls us to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Autumn is a vivid annual picture of that same spiritual reality playing out before our eyes.
The beauty of the process can distract us from what is actually happening. The spectacular colors of autumn make it easy to forget that what we are watching is the old passing away. God clothes even endings in beauty, reminding us that His purposes are good throughout the process.
Ask God to do in you what He does in His creation. Autumn is an invitation to pray for the old things inside us to be removed and for new life to be stirred and created from the inside out — not just observed in the trees outside our windows.
A Prayer for You Today
Dear Father, as the old passes away in preparation for the new, encourage my heart to be full and overflowing with the hope of new life. Comfort me during the autumn process, opening my eyes to see the beauty and peace that comes in dying to the old and looking forward to the new. Remove old things from inside of me and create something new from the inside out. Calm any mixed emotions I experience when seeing the old pass away, and help me keep in mind how fading beauty leads to something even more beautiful in this life and the life to come. Stir new life and new creation within me as I look forward to the earth's newness to emerge. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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A special episode from "On The Ground" with Samaritan's Purse
As believers, we trust in God—we don’t trust in ourselves or in our own understanding. Franklin Graham joins his daughter-in-law in the studio this week to share updates from across the ministry and how he stays grounded leading Samaritan’s Purse. In a world where it is easy to get bogged down by trials and uncertainty, we are to focus on what is eternal, depending fully on the Lord for strength and direction.
In this week’s episode, Franklin Graham shares where Samaritan’s Purse is currently serving around the world—from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Venezuela and Alaska. The focus of Samaritan’s Purse has always been—and will always be—sharing the Gospel with all people.
“If we lose sight of our purpose, you get discouraged. And what I mean by purpose is tohelp people, but to do it in Jesus' Name. We want people to know about God's Son, Jesus Christ. So that's our focus, and if one person gets saved, if we're able to help one family, if we can help one group of
people, then it's worth it.” – Franklin Graham
In reflecting on how Samaritan’s Purse has grown over the past several decades, Graham is continually in awe of God. Graham relies on the Lord for wisdom and discernment—not in his own strength. Kristy asks her father-in-law how he has remained grounded, and he points to familiar verses in Proverbs.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV
Graham talks about the incredible people God has brought to the ministry over the years. As a leader, Graham prays that staff never lose the heart behind the mission and that the Lord would bring in a new generation of men and women that can receive the baton.
It is important to pray for our political leaders, whether we voted for them or not. Graham implores listeners to put allegiances to political parties aside and choose to pray for these leaders.
“We're commanded by God to pray for those that are leadership. It doesn't matter whether you're a Republican or Democrat, you pray.” – Franklin Graham
If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visitSamaritansPurse.org.
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Nobody explains that the days before a funeral are full. Phone calls, decisions, forms, food, people in the kitchen, a program to approve, flowers to choose. Grief has a to-do list, and you work it because the working is what holds you upright. And then it is over. The casseroles go into the freezer, the cards pile up on the counter, everyone returns to their own lives — and for the first time, there is nothing left to do. And you realize that life has changed and will not change back. Not even for a season.
Second Chronicles 20 tells the story of Jehoshaphat facing three armies. He is afraid, he says so out loud, and then he prays one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You. The word that comes back is one everyone knows: the battle is not yours, but God's. But keep reading. Two verses later, God tells them what to do next — take up your positions, stand firm, and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. They already knew the outcome was settled. God had said so. But they still had to get dressed, get in line, and walk out into the desert to stand there. The battle was God's, but the showing up was theirs. That is what this episode carries for the person who wants to give up today. God is not asking you to win. He is not asking you to fix what happened. He is asking you to take your position — even if that position is just the laundry. Even if it is just Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday. The standing means something. The showing up is worth something. You can grow stronger in His strength, one small act of obedience at a time.
If you're still praying and starting to wonder if it's working, I wrote Praying Through Life's Battles: 90 Days to Strengthen Your Faith for you. You can preorder it now at battleprayers.com. Until next time, remember, God sees you, hears you, and He knows your needs.
Bible Verse
"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."
— 2 Chronicles 20:15, NIV
Ponder Today
The battle is God's — but the showing up is yours. Judah was told the outcome was already settled, and then they were told to get up, get in line, and walk out into the desert anyway. Taking your position matters, even when the result is not in your hands.
God is not asking you to fix it. Some things cannot be fixed, and no amount of effort will change them. God does not measure your faithfulness by whether things are getting better. He asks you to stand, not to win.
The smallest act of obedience is still obedience. Laundry that does not care what you have been through, groceries that still need to be bought, floors that still need to be cleaned — these small, meaningless-feeling acts of staying upright are the position God is asking you to hold today.
Things may not get easier, but you can grow stronger. Life remained hard for a long time after the hardest loss. But there is a difference between circumstances improving and the person inside them growing. His strength builds in the daily showing up.
As long as you are breathing, your life has meaning. Getting up is not a triumph. It is Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday. But there are people who need you to be there when they come home. That is enough reason to stay on your feet.
A Prayer for You Today
Heavenly Father, I want to stop. You know that. I have been holding this together, and I am not sure why anymore. Today, the thought of doing one more day of it feels like more than I have. I confess I have been trying to fix something You never asked me to fix and measuring my faithfulness by whether things are getting better. But You told Judah the battle was not theirs, and then You told them to get up and take their positions anyway. So help me take my position today. Set my feet on the floor, on the next thing, and on the people who need me, even when I have nothing left to give. You have not asked me to win. You have asked me to stand. Give me what I need to do that, and let it be enough. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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Psalm 28:7 arrived as a gift during a quiet morning devotional time, hours before that exact conversation had to happen: the Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. It is one of Scripture's most direct and personal declarations: not that God might help, or that help is available under certain conditions, but that He helps. Present tense. Reliable. Already present before the hard moment begins. It is the confidence that God will be with us and will go before us in every heavy moment, every difficult conversation, and every season that looks too hard to carry.
Today's Bible Verse
"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me."
— Psalm 28:7, NIV
Ponder Today
God's help is always there, even when you cannot see, sense, or fathom it. The truth of Psalm 28:7 does not depend on whether we feel it in the moment. His strength and help are present before we arrive at the hard thing, and they remain after we come through it.
We cannot do the hard things without God — and we do not have to. That is not a statement of inadequacy. It is a declaration of freedom. We were never designed to carry the impossible on our own, and He never asked us to.
God knows the exact words every receiving heart needs to hear. When we do not know what to say, when we feel unqualified and unprepared for a hard conversation or task, we can trust that He will speak through our weakness in ways we could not have arranged on our own.
Confidence in God is built in the hours before the hard moment, not only in the moment itself. Praying through the approach, pouring over His promises, reaffirming trust in His faithfulness — these are what prepare us to walk forward when our knees are weak.
God is your strength, your shield, and your help — always. Not sometimes, not conditionally, not only when the circumstances are manageable. Always. Let that word settle into whatever hard thing is on the horizon for you today.
A Prayer for You Today
Lord God, I need Your help. Every day I face big and small things, but there is not one thing I do without You. And thank You, Lord, that I do not have to. Please help me remember this when I forget. When I feel overwhelmed by what is before me, when I want to run, or when I cannot see a way through, remind me that You are my strength, my shield, and my help. You are with me and within me, closer than a call or cry away, always. Increase my confidence in the truth of Your sovereign care, so that I may point others to You and Your help as well. I praise You for Your constant presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.
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If you liked what you read, you will love Keri's latest book, Win Over Worry: Conquer What Shakes You and Soar With the One Who Overcomes. You can find it on Amazon or your favorite online retail site.
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Late summer and early fall bring a familiar rhythm: school schedules resume, new work projects launch, church programs begin, and the calendar fills back up almost immediately. Routines become necessary to manage it all. Over time, those routines become automatic. The mind moves through them almost without noticing, and gradually, the whole of life can shrink down to the level of a to-do list. The wonder hidden inside the ordinary goes unseen, not because it is not there, but because we have stopped looking for it.
Lamentations 3:22-23 reframes every ordinary morning with a truth that is anything but ordinary: God's love never ceases, His mercies never come to an end, and they are new every single morning. Not the same mercies recycled from yesterday. New ones, freshly given, waiting to be received. That means even the simple act of waking up when an alarm goes off is an occasion for something more than automation. It is a daily invitation to notice that God's love and faithfulness are present again, available again, ready to be discovered again in every corner of the day. The cup of coffee poured before work, the familiar commute route, the school drop-off, the repetitive task; God is in all of it. His presence goes with us into kitchens, carpools, classrooms, and offices. His mercies are woven through every hour. The routines do not have to be an obstacle to wonder. They can become the very places where we find it.
Today's Bible Verse
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning."
— Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV
Ponder Today
God's mercies are not repetitive — they are new every morning. Even when our routines feel identical day after day, God's faithfulness and compassion are freshly given each day. Every morning is an opportunity to receive what has never been offered in quite this form before.
Wonder is hidden inside ordinary life — but we have to look for it. The same faithful God who sustained His people in Bible times is present with you in your kitchen, your carpool, and your commute. Looking for glimpses of His love and mercy is what transforms the automatic into the sacred.
Routines can shrink life down to the level of a to-do list — or they can become opportunities. The difference is not the routine itself but the perspective we bring to it. Seeing each repeated task as an occasion to notice God's presence changes what the routine produces in us.
God does not get tired of your routines — He meets you right in the middle of them. His love goes with you into every ordinary space your schedule takes you. You do not have to leave the routine to find Him. He is already there.
Approaching each day with fresh hope is itself an act of faith. Lamentations was written in the middle of devastating circumstances, and yet it contains one of Scripture's most hope-filled declarations. New mercies do not require improved circumstances. They only require eyes willing to receive them.
A Prayer for You Today
Dear God, thank You for the gift of each day You give me to live. Sometimes the daily routines I repeat over and over shrink my perspective down to the level of my to-do list. But I know there is much more You want me to notice and experience, even on my busiest days. Your Word reminds me that Your love never stops and that Your mercies are new every morning. Please help me slow down enough to see the signs of Your wonderful work every day, including in the middle of my daily routines. As children return to school and work starts a new season, open my eyes to the extraordinary wonder hidden in the ordinary tasks I do. Let the routines of my life remind me of Your faithful love and mercy. Thank You for pouring Your love and mercy into my life every single day. Amen.
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