Grandmothers
Grandmother’s Prayer for January 13th
A short, Scripture-shaped grandmothers prayer for an ordinary moment of Christian faith.
The prayer
A prayer to pray now
Father, I have my own ships that never sailed. The mission trip I planned and could not take. The Bible study I led for a few years that quietly ended. The book of letters I meant to write for the grandchildren, but never finished. None of them made it out of the harbor. I used to hold each one up to You as proof of something. Now I am old enough to see that broken plans are not always punishment, and finished plans are not always reward. A good king in the Bible had his ships break before they ever left the shore. Let me sit beside my wrecked little fleet today without making up a story about why. Maybe You did not want the gold. Maybe the gold would have undone something quiet You were doing in me. Either way, You are not ashamed of what never got off the ground. You are on the throne. You have not asked me for a report. Amen.
How to pray it
- Read it slowly. Move through this prayer one line at a time, out loud if you can, letting each phrase land before the next.
- Make it personal. Pause where a line meets your day and name the person, fear, or hope it touches before God.
- Carry it with you. Keep one sentence with you — on your phone or in your pocket — and return to it when the day gets loud.
Verses to pray
Pray these slowly, one line at a time. Scripture quoted from a public-domain translation.
Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they didn’t go, for the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber.
1 Kings 22:48
Questions about this prayer
When should I pray grandmother’s prayer for january 13th?
Pray it whenever the words fit your moment — at the start of the day, in a hard stretch, or when you simply want to turn toward God.
Which Bible verses anchor this prayer?
This prayer is anchored in 1 Kings 22:48. The "Verses to pray" section above quotes them in full.
Can I save or share this prayer?
Yes. Use the Copy prayer button to copy the words, or open the Chosen Portion app to keep a daily prayer, devotional, and Scripture with you.