An Evening Prayer for the People I Can't Fix

Father, there are people on my heart tonight
whose troubles I cannot fix.

You know I have tried.
I've given advice, and some of it was even good.
I've made the calls and lent a hand.
I've lain awake working out what they should do.

But I am not their savior, Lord. You are.
I can love them, but I can't live their lives for them.
I can't make their choices or heal their hurts,
or bring them home before they are ready.

So I bring them to You, one by one, by name.
You love them more than I do.
You see what I can't see.
You can reach places in them I will never reach.

Carry them the way a shepherd carries a lamb,
close to Your heart.
And let me leave them there tonight and sleep.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this at night when you are lying awake working out what someone you love ought to do. Say their names aloud as you reach the middle of the prayer, one at a time, and then put the worry down.

A Verse to Hold On To

"He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart." — Isaiah 40:11 (BSB)