100 Days of Prayer for Difficult Times

By Carolyn Larsen

Prayers to Help You Get Through Life's Toughest Moments

All of us will face difficult times. Lost opportunities, broken relationships, failing health, personal failures, financial struggle. The best response we can have to hard times is to turn to God in prayer. Yet sometimes we just don't know what to say or how to pray.

Beautifully designed and perfect for gift-giving, 100 Days of Prayer for Difficult Times is a collection of go-to prayers for when you need to say something to God but you're not sure just what words to use. Covering an array of challenges, losses, and unexpected hardships, these prayers help you express yearning, lament, praise, and gratitude to the One who made you, sustains you, and loves you through it all.

If you need encouragement and inspiration each day, look no further!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781493441358

Carolyn Larsen

Carolyn Larsen is the bestselling author of more than 50 books for children and adults. She has been a speaker for women's events and classes around the world, bringing scriptural messages filled with humor and tenderness.

Book preview

© 2023 by Carolyn Larsen

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.revellbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4934-4135-8

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled CEV are from the Contemporary English Version © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016

Scripture quotations labeled The Message are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Introduction

1. When You’re Barely Hanging On

2. Battling the Worry Monster

3. Growing through Problems

4. Death Is Not the End

5. Following My Leader

6. Step by Step

7. Good and Perfect Gifts

8. Never Alone

9. Simply Trust

10. Listening for Your Voice

11. Your Constant Presence

12. Help to Control Anger Issues

13. Saving Relationships

14. God’s Incredibly Persistent Love

15. New Stage of Life

16. Longing for Peace

17. Choosing to Believe

18. Praying in Darkness

19. God’s Amazing Grace

20. The Gift of Other Christians

21. Expect Difficult Times

22. Defusing Anger

23. Building Strength

24. You Helped Me Make It

25. Secure in God’s Love

26. I Need Help to Trust

27. Your Word Promises Hope

28. Victory over Death

29. Surrendering to Your Will

30. Teach Me to Wait

31. New Life in Jesus

32. God’s Riches Freely Given

33. Getting past Worry

34. Comfort in Constancy

35. Forgiving as God Forgives

36. Satan’s Lies

37. Prayer Is Hard

38. No Fear

39. The Green-Eyed Monster

40. Keep On Keeping On

41. High Hopes

42. Be Still

43. Prayer for Peace in My Work Future

44. Controlling My Thought Life

45. My Waymaker

46. Help Us Remember Whose We Are

47. Responding to Unkind Words

48. Taking Responsibility for My Problems

49. My Place of Protection

50. Forgiveness

51. Provision

52. Stopping the Judging Monster

53. My Good Shepherd

54. Trusting God’s Promises

55. Attitude Change

56. Healing a Broken Relationship

57. My New Life Purpose

58. Working on Me

59. Letting Go of Hurt

60. Comforting Presence

61. The Woman You Made Me to Be

62. Concern for All

63. Light a Fire in Me

64. You Are My Everything

65. Getting Serious

66. Minimizing Christ’s Sacrifice

67. Reflecting God’s Love

68. Seeking God’s Guidance

69. A Life of Praise

70. Help My Failing Faith

71. Submitting to God

72. Praying God’s Love for Others

73. God Gives More Grace

74. Failure Isn’t the End

75. Truth, Not Feelings

76. The Way of Salvation

77. Taking Responsibility for Me

78. Praying with Thanksgiving

79. Right Priorities

80. God and God Alone

81. Choosing God over All Else

82. The End of Grief

83. Accepting God’s Plans

84. Serving as God Asks

85. God’s Great Love and Mercy

86. Courage, Power, and Love

87. When You Know What to Do—Do It

88. God’s Comfort and Love for My Friend

89. Showing Grace to Others

90. Make Me a Truthful Woman

91. Words and Actions That Match

92. True Satisfaction

93. What True Love Looks Like

94. Wisdom and Guidance

95. The Promise of Heaven

96. God Handles My Fear

97. Help Your Church

98. Patience and Hope

99. Hating Evil as God Does

100. Celebrating All God Is and Does

Index of Prayers by Topic

About the Author

Back Cover

Introduction

Dear gentle reader,

These last couple of years have been difficult . . . hence the name for this book of prayers. I suppose Covid started the spiral into struggle, fear, despair, hope, then struggle again. But other things willingly jumped on the bandwagon: a broken relationship with someone I love very much; retirement and moving to a new state, which, yes, has its good points, but also meant leaving behind old friends, hobbies, and activities I enjoyed very much; my aging body announcing that we’d no longer be participating in certain sports; saying goodbye to a church my family had been part of for over forty years. All of that comes under the heading of Change, which is never easy.

As I’ve thought about my struggles and where to find a new pathway forward, the gift of prayer has shone brightly in my darkness. God invites us to come to him and tell him what’s on our hearts and what floods our thoughts at 3:00 a.m. (Seriously, 3:00 nearly every dark morning, my mind will jump to what if scenarios.) He invites our prayers simply because he cares. Isn’t that amazing? The God of the universe, the God of all things, cares about my piddly problems—because they are not piddly to me. He patiently listens as I pray, even though sometimes my prayers are a laundry list of what I want him to do and how he should fix things. Sometimes my prayers are cries of despair. But, oh yes, sometimes they are declarations of submission and trust because I know—I believe—that he can do something about the situations and that he will, even if it isn’t what I think he should do. He listens to my prayers because he cares.

I also think about the privilege of praying for others’ needs. It brings to mind the childhood game of Red Rover. Did you ever play that? Teammates clasp hands, forming a hopefully unbreakable chain so that when an opponent runs full speed at the chain, trying to break through, the chain stands strong. Sure, their arms may get bruised and sometimes the chain breaks, but the goal is—TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG. I see the privilege of praying with friends and for friends as a Red Rover kind of prayer experience. We are joined by our concern for the situation or person we pray for. Together we bring our intercession to God. We are joined together by our care. Together we are strong.

Perhaps you have a specific prayer need. Check out the index of topics in the back of this book. One of these prayers may help you jump-start your conversation with God. Read these prayers through the filter of your own relationship with the God who cares and in the midst of your own difficult times. I pray you find comfort and the assurance of God’s answer as you come to a humble submission to his will. Together we are strong, so Red Rover, Red Rover, send problems right over, because God cares.

Blessings,

Carolyn

1

When You’re Barely Hanging On

Dear God,

I pray for women today who are holding on to the wildly frayed ends of their ropes. I’ve been there many times and probably will be again at some point. I pray for their weary hearts to be focused