A Good Prayer For The Future

As we grow in maturity, we learn to live in the present and consider our future. When we were kids, out of a child’s imagination and without regard for reality we dreamed of what we wanted to become. However, when we were about to go to college, that was the moment we seriously considered what courses to take and what career path we would like to follow. The same goes for any adult who maturely prepares for the future.

Father in heaven, give me the prudence I need to prepare well for my future and not just live in the present. Help me to always walk in wisdom. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Why Should You Pray About the Future?

Before we get into what we can pray for the future, we must know why we should pray for it. We should pray for our future because it is uncertain. That is a reality that any mature individual can grasp; in fact, even the Bible attests to this. In James 4:13-15 and (Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.), it is written that we are not to boast about tomorrow because we do not know what tomorrow may bring.

Have you ever had a plan for tomorrow, next week, or next month? Perhaps an outing with some friends? Or projected progress at work? And then your plans somehow don’t come to pass. Maybe a typhoon came, and because of that, you couldn’t go out with your friends. Or some things may have happened in your company that caused the delay of the projected progress. The future is always uncertain.

However, just because we are unsure of what tomorrow brings does not mean we shouldn’t prepare for it. By all means, we are to make plans, prepare, and be prudent. However, our security lies not in our plans but in God, Who is faithful and unchanging. Circumstances in life may suddenly change, but God does not, as written in Numbers 23:19 and (Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.).

We know that our faithful God works all things according to the counsel of His will. God’s providence is always at work in every single detail of our lives and has been working all things around us, as written in (Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:). That is why we can have peace whatever tomorrow may bring—God has already gone before us as He orders things from eternity past. Our anchor is not the uncertain future but our unchanging God, Who works all things for our good, as written in Romans 8:28.

Even if tomorrow is a mystery, we don’t find it worrying but beautiful because we know that God is always at work and orders things. Therefore, what we can pray in response to these truths is a prayer of trust and surrender to God regarding our uncertain future. Now, that does not mean you don’t pray your requests regarding the future. You still do, but in the end, you trust God’s wisdom and providence regarding your future, knowing that He is Your shepherd, Who is always with you and leads you, as written in Psalm 23.

How Can You Pray About the Future?

As mentioned above, you pray about the future by praying to God about the requests and concerns you have but, in the end, trusting in God and surrendering the future. You do this first by thinking, What are my concerns about the future? Do I hope to be able to be working in a certain industry at a certain time? Is it all about being able to save a certain amount for something I want? Regardless of what you want, present those prayers to God as written in Philippians 4:6-7. If you have plans, this is when you can lift them to God.

As you end your prayer, you acknowledge your trust in God’s wisdom and providence no matter how your future turns out. That part requires reminding yourself and confessing the truth that God’s wisdom is infinite, that His divine providence is always there working all things according to the counsel of His will, and that your heavenly Father only works that which is good for you and will conform you to the image of Christ. Those truths give us peace whether what we planned happens or something else is substituted.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I will be able to finish my degree within two years, be able to take the board exam right away, and work at a particular company where I hope to gain experience. Help me be excellent in my studies. However, even if I don’t know what will happen years from now, I know that wherever I end up is not an accident, that You know me infinitely better, and that Your providence is always at work for my good. You are my shepherd Who always leads me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In Romans 8:28-35, the apostle Paul writes that everything works together for the good of those who love God. Paul subsequently writes about what can separate us from the love of God. No dire circumstances can separate us from God’s love because God, in His sovereignty, works all things for our good. What was meant for evil by others or the enemy, God uses for our good (Genesis 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.). No matter what the future holds, we are secured in Christ.