A Prayer for Summer
By Emma Danzey
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”
The warm weather is coming, schools are letting out, and lemonade stands and pools are back in business. Summer is a wonderful time of the year. It is a season of rest, renewal, and bonding with loved ones. It is a season of harvesting many wonderful fruits and vegetables. It is a time of slowing down and reflecting.
For many people, summer can fly by into the next school year season if not intentionally thought about. We can easily miss precious opportunities for intentionality, creativity, and good health. We can focus so much on vacations, camps, and family fun that we forget about the wonderful spiritual growth that can take place during this time. The Lord gives us rhythms in life and this is a season of rest and joy. Today, we are going to take time to pray over this summer ahead.
Let's Pray:
Our Kind Father,
Thank you for the gift of summertime. Thank you for the opportunity to have a season of celebration, family time, renewal, and adventures. We pray that you would be the center of our thoughts and actions this summer. We ask that wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we will glorify you with it. We pray that we would be dedicated learners of Your Word and give time to grow in understanding the Bible and memorizing Scripture. We pray that we would worship our hearts out to you in song. We pray that we would honor you with our own creativity and talents, whatever that might be.
Lord, help us not to waste this time away. Help us to have clarity in how we do life each day, in how we love our spouses, and in how we train our children up in You. Show us ways that we can be a blessing and witness to others in our communities. Give us eyes to see those around us who are in need of Your love. As we make plans for travel or family experiences, give us wisdom and discernment on how to be good stewards and where to go for special memories to be made. Help us to represent you whether we stay or go.
God, You says in Genesis 8:22, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” You have set up the seasons so that we could live in them and worship you in each one. As we enter summer, may it remind us of Your great faithfulness and provisions to us. May it give us joy as we see You bring back flowers, design new sunsets, and bring up morning dew again. May the heat remind us of the warmth and goodness of the sun that You have created which sustains life here for us. Help us to know that You are gifting us with this season of summer to enjoy, rejoice, and worship. We celebrate that You are the God of the harvest and that we can see the beauty in Your creation.
Proverbs 10:5 says, “He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” God help us not to be like the disgraceful son. Help us not to be lazy and careless just because of summer. Help us to be like the prudent son who gathers crops and uses his time wisely. It is so easy to allow a slower season to become a wasted one. Please give us the drive and passion to serve You wholeheartedly and to live our days to glorify You in the work that we are called to in this season. Help us to enjoy this summer to its fullest and to find joy in the purpose in which You call us each day.
Lord, we praise you for this beautiful, exciting, and restful season. Help us not to let it go by without seeking You in the midst of it. We pray that we would bring you glory with our time, our rest, and our efforts. Amen.
Photo credit: ©SalemDesign/BethanyPyle
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Originally published Tuesday, 21 June 2022.
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