About the Author

Bonnie Gray is the author of Sweet Like Jasmine, Whispers of Rest, wife, and mom to two boys. An inspirational speaker featured by Relevant Magazine and Christianity Today, she’s guided thousands to detox stress and experience God’s love through soul care, encouragement, and prayer. She loves refreshing your soul at...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Bonnie,
    Thank you for these beautiful prayers. “Help me” and “Hold onto me” really resonate with me and I transfer those to my son right now…..”Help him, Lord.” “Hold onto him.” I pray the the Lord would continue wooing my son back to His heart of love and that the Holy Spirit would move in him to make good and healthy decisions for his life which in a very dark place right now. As he is grown, I can no long make him do the right things, I can pray, and hang onto hope, that the Holy Spirit can and will move in His life. Lord, you are the God of redemption, healing, and ultimately hope. Help my son. Hold onto him with your righteous right hand and do not let him fall. I claim your promises over him right now and I thank you for your steadfast lovingkindness. You are a good, good Father and so I commend your child into your loving care and provision. Give me peace to know that nothing is impossible for you. You are my God and You are able. Don’t let my faith and hope be shaken. In the precious name of your Son Jesus who takes away all of our sin, I pray, Amen. Thank you, Bonnie….
    Blessings,
    Bev xx

    • Bev, and all sisters who have wayward sons and daughters, I am putting your son’s name on my refrigerator prayer list. Keep looking up. XOXO Blessings, Nancy

    • HE has heard your momma’s pray for her son and HE is at work now drawing your son to Him. A beautiful testimony is going to come out of this testing time. Hold on precious sister and begin thanking Him for answered prayer. Standing with you in praying for your son and daughter.
      Blessings,
      Kathy

  2. Bonnie, this is such beautiful imagery (Jesus’ loving hand!), but best of all, it’s based on the solid foundation of Scriptural promises that never fade — even in the blur of holiday preparation!
    Blessings to you!

  3. Wow! Thank you for the I inspiration and encouragement. I have been in a dark place fighting a silent battle. You reminded me that God has a greater plan foe me; but I must have faith and move forward believing He will lead me and provide for me.

  4. Bonnie,
    Thank you for your tender, loving voice and the way you always echo God’s whispers of His thoughts toward His people. I am just finishing “Whispers of rest”. I have savored every word. Ps 143:8 is a verse I told my son growing up. He remembers it, even though professes to be a believer, does not follow Christ. He is in volatile, frightening and challenging situations right now. I pray this verse over his soul frequently, as I have had to stop giving my advice.

  5. Thank you Bonnie. I just finished Whispers of Rest…..I read it one page each day but I am going to read it again. I loved it but often found myself just hurrying through it (check off my list!) instead of meditating on it, praying. I know I need rest! But I’m always trying to cram more in.
    This post was such a boost and reminded me I had planned to re-read…and take time….to go through Whispers of Rest again. And I do love breath prayers and these will be wonderful to remember during holidays.
    I am battling “people pleasing” and anxiety. Always praying for my adult children who are prodigals.
    Bev, I prayed your beautiful prayer for my children too.

    Thank you and God bless you.

  6. Lord, thank you for these beautiful prayers and reminders today on the anniversary of my baptism 7 years ago. You showed me Psalm 107:10-16 back then and You still remind me that even when I rebel against You, all I have to do is turn back to You and cry out to You. You continue to bring me out of darkness and the deepest gloom and break away my chains.
    I will give thanks for Your unfailing love and Your wonderful deeds! I will choose to believe that old things have passed away and all things continue to be made new for You have saved the best for last!
    Praise You Jesus!!

  7. I needed this this morning! I’ve been feeling (after I turned 40 in October) like I’m washed up. Put out to pasture. Whatever amazing things God “was” going to do through me have reached their expiration. I didn’t work hard enough for it, wasn’t proactive enough in pursuing His plan for my life. Even though I technically “know” that is not true, I cannot shake it. What is crazy is that I am so ashamed of feeling this way, that I’ve not shared it with anyone really. A few online friends, but no one that sees me in person regularly. I’ve changed my prayer life to combat this. Every time that I begin “feeling” this way, I don’t let it sit. I say out loud that I don’t receive it as truth, and that the joy of the Lord is my strength. It has made a huge difference in my countenance. Trying to hold onto promises from God that my fickle human heart thinks are past their expiration is hard and painful….especially watching other women (even those who are not believers) receive of these promises that are supposed to be mine, makes me heartsick. Over the years, I’ve let go of so much that I had hoped for and was believing God for in order to “protect” my heart from crushing disappointment (because it is exhausting) that I began to struggle with my own identity. I can feel, in my Spirit, God calling me out of that place and into trusting Him with these things, but I have this fear that overwhelms my heart of being crushed by disappointment again. God knows me better than anyone, and He knows that I am already allowing Him reign over those promises again, allowing Him to breathe His breath of life into those dead places in my heart that I shut down. Jesus help me, and deal tenderly with my fearful heart!!

  8. Thank you for this. It spoke to me. Thanks for allowing God to use you! They are all really good but especially the prayer about darkness from Psalm 139 spoke to me.

  9. God is the giver our each breath! These Breath prayers are promises given by a Faithful Gid, even when I am faithless!

    These are prayers for every day, Bonnie! I will pray them out loud and silently in Faith, because Gid alone knows my heartaches and sadness. And God Alone, is the ONE who holds all of my tears in His Holy Hands, as He holds me & my loved ones that cling to His Promises.

  10. Beautiful and encouraging. Holiday season is rough on so many hearts for so many reasons.
    Social media-with things “Beautiful and filtered” has the capability to challenge us and our already broken hearts to the point of despair. Thank you Bonnie for pointing us to the one who will always be there-and love us forevermore.

  11. Bonnie,

    Prayers 4 & 5 resonate with me. This world craves fame, fortune, & accolades. Be in the spotlight. God says the opposite. Those not in the spotlight, but doing His work quietly in the background are more loved by Him. I am a helper by nature & God’s design. Don’t ask me to lead a group or give speech. You want assistance with that task or job I am there for you. God has made me an encourager also. I love sending texts, emails, or cards in the mail to spur someone on.

    Often times I feel like I’ve wasted the best parts of my life. God has gently sent messages to me that it is never to late to do good for Him, make an impact in this world. I’ve read of hundreds of people who did their best work late in life even in their 80s. I just have to forget the past, those lies I hear, trust & wait for God’s timing.

    Blessings 🙂

  12. Bonnie, thank you for being the vessel to share these timely, beautiful prayers with all of us. I am approaching the winter of my life journey and have been struggling with getting older, looking backward instead of forward, feeling disappointed with many things, especially where my adult children are spiritually. I read these tender echos of love and reassurance with many tears. Thank you. Sending love. Nancy

  13. “Our best days are ahead of us because the great God we follow is ahead of us. Nothing too big is impossible for God. ” I needed this reminder and need to be encouraged during troubling times. Thank you for this post. It was meaningful.

  14. Dear Bonnie,

    You are my favorite spiritual writer. Unexpectedly, I was unable to make it to church this morning, but longed to connect deeply with God as I do when I am with my spiritual family at Mass. Your words brought Jesus to me and this forum has connected me to my spiritual family. Thank you for being the spark of hope that unites us through your loving words inspired by the Holy Spirit. May we all be who are we and share it with the world as God intended.

    Love,

    Angela

  15. Thanks for these wonderful prayers and scriptures Bonnie.
    I love Prayer #2.
    God is so faithful to always show me how much He loves me and lets me know He’s right in the middle of my life!
    I love Psalm 18:35-36 too.
    May you be blessed as you bless others!

  16. Thank you Bonnie for these great prayers, I am participating in Not About Me November, and I wanted to declare December, A Season of Rest, regardless what is going on in the world we have to remain in His love and rest in His grace and peace. I enjoy talking to you, as always.

  17. Thank you, Bonnie, for this rich dollop of encouragement. Prayers 3-5 are especially appropriate for me as I face challenges and uncertainty for the year ahead. I’m going to copy down your breath-prayer suggestions and put them with my prayer cards–daily reminders that my Heavenly Father is loving, attentive, and always at work. P.S. That quote from Elizabeth Elliott is perfect!