Esther Stoll - The Amish Book of Prayers for Women

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover illustration tandaleah / Bigstock

THE AMISH BOOK OF PRAYERS FOR WOMEN

Copyright 2015 by Esther Stoll

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-6375-6 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6376-3 (eBook)

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To those who share the desire to lean wholly on our Heavenly Father

I am deeply indebted to

My Heavenly Father, for the provision He has made in giving me the gift of living for His glory and His pleasure.

My faithful husband, Philip, who cherishes me deeply as his wife and lives with me daily as a God-ordained husband is called to; and for his continuing encouragement in putting my thoughts on paper.

My precious children, Keith and Gloria, who bless and enrich our lives and homes daily.

My parents, Dan and Mattie, who bear the sweetest name and who brought me up in a Christian setting and care deeply about what happens in my life.

My brothers, David, Harvey, Wyman, and Reuben, and in-laws, Laura, Grace Ann, and Naomi, who are a big part of my life and are a great blessing to me.

All my sisters in Christ, who touch my life in so many ways and help me be the woman I am today.

Contents

Dear Father of Love and Mercy,

You delight in pouring Your Spirit into our hearts and homes. I thank You for that gift. Your eyes also run to and fro looking for homes to show Yourself strong (2 Chronicles 16:9). Thank You, Father, for being for us. You are for strong homes and close family ties, and who shall be against us? May You, Father, be manifested in each of our hearts and in our home. The goal, the visions, the dream of what my husband and I long for our home move us to draw closer to You and, with a new zeal, we set out to face the challenges of each new day, knowing the choices we make today will affect the generations to come. Amen.

Father of Love and Mercy: thank You for the many gifts You have bestowed on usthe shelter we call our home, the stores of food from our own garden and farm, the gift of two healthy children who are so eager to learn and help in making our home a pleasant one. I am so blessed in always having enough to share with family and friends and all who pass our way. My desire, Father, is to be given to hospitality as was the woman of Shunem. Amen.

Thank You, God, for choosing my father and mother to bring me into this world. I know its not by chance, but by Your choosing that I am here at this time in history. May I in no way hinder Your purpose for me. And may I find a joy in fulfilling Your calling as a mother and wife and a servant for You. Amen.

Thank You, Father of Heaven and Earth, for giving me such weighty work. You committed two of Your precious souls to our care, to nurture and admonish and lead back to You. Daily, hourly, and momently You give me important work: cleaning, baking, laundering, and being a witness and inspiration to those around me. May they see You as they observe me being about my Fathers business. And may it be a daily joy and inspiration to my own life. Amen.

Thank You, Loving Father and Lord of All. I praise You for the provision You have made for me, that You have given Your life that I might live. And You have done it even before I could ask. At times I fail, stumble, and fall. Of myself, I am nothing. And yet pride and fear have been too much a part of my life. May You continue to daily cleanse me, mold me, shape me, and do with me what You see fit. I also pray for my husband as he puts in another day of winning bread. May he be a shining light to all he meets. May he be richly blessed for his faithfulness. And for each of our children, I pray that You would guide their purity, and if destruction should fall on them in any way, that You would reveal it to us. And may they grow to build up Your kingdom. I give this day in Your charge. I trust that You will fight as we work and pray. Amen.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the work of the cross, for shedding Your blood for my redemption, in which I can now live a victorious life. My desire is to have my heart continually turned to You, putting away all strange gods and having a heart prepared unto You, that our householdour home and childrenmay be sealed in You and be delivered daily from the invading enemy. Amen.

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for choosing me for royal priesthood, for the gift of being able to continually direct our little souls to You. Thank You for giving us a home thats special, where the latest styles and fashions are not found, but where Your Spirit reigns richly. Our house is no mansion, yet to us its the most wonderful place on earth. May our home show forth the praises of You, the One who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9b). Amen.

Dear Heavenly Master, thank You for the gift of physical life, and above all, thank You for the gift of spiritual life, for breathing Your Spirit on me. May my heart be so conditioned that, as easily as I inhale and exhale the breath of physical life, Im subconsciously inhaling and exhaling Your Spirit. May my husband and children enjoy the gift of having a Spirit-filled wife and mother. Amen.

Dear Father of Good Gifts, thank You for the gift of health, and for a warm, comfortable house that has given many happy hours of cleaning, scrubbing, sorting, and setting everything in order. Thank You also for the effort our children put in, in making sorting an extra joy. Father, I take this time to ask You to do housecleaning in my heart. I invite You to do every corner, shelf, and closet. Convict me as You find something that saddens You and that would be a hindrance in having full fellowship with You. May I be washed clean in Your blood. Amen.