Grandmothers
Grandmother’s Prayer for July 14th
A short, Scripture-shaped grandmothers prayer for an ordinary moment of Christian faith.
The prayer
A prayer to pray now
Lord Jesus, when I was young, I read in Exodus that if I built an altar of stone, I should not cut it with a tool. Your tool would make it less holy. I did not understand it then. I think I do now. The hand that has to fix up what You have made is the proud hand. Father, that temptation still comes to me. I want to take a simple day and make it look better. I want to take a plain prayer and polish it. I want to take a friendship and shape it into something more impressive. I want to take this old age You have given and dress it up so the younger women at church will think I have it all together. But the rough stone is the right altar. The one I receive as it comes is the one You can use. So let me leave the rough things rough this morning. Let my prayer be the simple one, without the right phrases. Let my talk with a friend be the kind I would have if no one else were listening. Let the day You have laid out be received without my tools. The polish is the pollution. Honesty is the worship. 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.
If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it.
Exodus 20:25
Questions about this prayer
When should I pray grandmother’s prayer for july 14th?
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 Exodus 20:25. 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.