Prayer For Truck Drivers
Father,
I thank you so much for Your everlasting love for me! Guide my friend, John, as he takes us to the convention this weekend. The journey isn't too long, but traffic will be a mess and trying to find parking may be a problem. Father, guide his mind, hands and feet to deliver us safely to our destination. I place this journey in Your hands. I love You! Amen
Dear Lord,
You know the road before me. This is a long journey I am about to take. I pray for a safe journey these 700 miles, Lord. I pray that if any problems come my way that Your hand would be with me and guide me through them. I pray for the other drivers on the road with me. Father, I pray for good rest for us all and that cell phones will be put away so no distractions take our eyes off of the road. Lord, You are mighty and I love You! Amen
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this man and the critical job he is doing to help during this crisis. Keep him safe and healthy. Bless him and his wife. We pray that this situation our country faces would soon pass with Your divine help.
In Jesus name, Amen.
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Our gracious heavenly Father, thank You for the many blessings that You bestow upon us throughout the year. As we pause to thank You this Thanksgiving, we ask You to bless those men and women who work to transport the material goods that we often take for granted, America's professional truck drivers.
According to the American Trucking Associations, there are over 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwide logging over 432 billion miles per year. Their trucks delivered 10.7 billion tons of freight in 2007, or 69 percent of total U.S. freight tonnage. There is an old adage that "without trucks, America stops," and based on this, we can certainly understand why!
Professional drivers, after having first become licensed to operate articulated commercial motor vehicles, are in charge of safely and legally navigating the nation's highways and byways with rigs weighing most often up to 40 tons (80,000 pounds) in constantly changing conditions including other traffic, distracted drivers, construction zones, adverse weather, challenging terrain and areas with varying degrees of crime. They can drive hundreds of miles in a day, thousands of miles in a week, and tens of thousands of miles in a year, all the while being aware that any mishaps that take place in their commercial motor vehicles can affect their personal driving records and personal vehicle insurance rates, not to mention their lives or livelihoods.
Truckers work at all hours of the day and night, and can be away from home and family for days, weeks, or months at a time. They have what is known as a "lifestyle occupation" because they live in their workspaces. Their schedules for meals, sleep and caring for personal hygiene vary often. Because by federal law they can work up to 70 hours in an 8-day period, they may not be able to tend to physical fitness goals -- or medical or dental needs -- as often as they would like. Theirs are very closely examined lives, as everything they do that is job-related has to be documented on their logbooks.
Professional drivers must cope with laws in various states that restrict time periods on big rig parking lots (meaning that sometimes drivers can't even receive a full federally-mandated rest period) and some states even restrict truck idling so the drivers can't operate air conditioners when it's hot outside or heaters when it's cold. Imagine anyone else having to live or work under such conditions, including the officials who passed these laws!
The trailers that truck drivers haul include car carriers, flatbeds, refrigerated vans, dry vans, bulk tankers, liquid tankers, compressed gas tankers, drop decks, oversized, specialized, hazardous material units, animal units, log units, containers, and doubles and triples. Drivers are responsible for making sure that their units are in good working condition at all times, even when others leave them in poor condition. Also, millions of law-abiding truck drivers have to bear the brunt of the negative image generated by drivers who think they can somehow cheat the system.
Many drivers are paid by the mile (not by the hour) to haul the following types of products that we use, everything:
from air conditioners to armchairs, from apples to asphalt;
from Bibles to beans, from batteries to baby wipes;
from coffee to construction equipment, from cheese to computers;
from diapers to denture cream, from desks to drums;
from eyeglasses to eggs, from engines to English muffins;
from fabric to filing cabinets, from fertilizer to flour;
from gasoline to ground beef, from gift bags to garage doors;
from hot water heaters to hearing aids; from hoses to horses;
from ice cube makers to iPods, from incubators to ice cream;
from jump ropes to jumper cables, from jewelry to jersey cows;
from knives to knobs, from keys to keyboards;
from ladles to lenses, from locks to lace;
from milk to microphones, from medicine to microwave ovens;
from notebooks to non-flammable gases, from non-stick cooking spray to nasal spray;
from oranges to oxygen, from oatmeal to onions;
from pianos to plumbing supplies, from plates to plate glass windows;
from quartz clocks to quinoa, from quarantine signs to queen sized mattresses;
from ribbons to radios, from rabbit food to rubber bands;
from scissors to stethoscopes, from shampoo to sugar;
from tools to taco shells, from toys to toilets;
from ukuleles to underwear, from umbrellas to USB ports;
from vitamins to violins, from vehicles to vegetables;
from weight lifting equipment to write-on boards, from WD-40 to Wi-Fi equipment;
from xylophones to xanthan gum, from Xboxes to xerography paper;
from yams to yield signs, from yogurt to yo-yos;
from zippers to zoo supplies, from zithers to zoysia grass seed;
and much, much more, some of which almost defies the imagination.
As professional drivers are away from home so much of the time, we recognize that it may be difficult for them to maintain relationships with their families, church families, friends, communities and political leaders. Although some of them may look rough, smell rough and talk rough, they are still souls for whom Christ died whom we must not look upon with partiality or contempt. Although they may be viewed as the "least of these My brethren," each one is going to be spending eternity somewhere. We ask that our eyes and ears may be open to ministering to them in whatever way You lead.
Also, may we never forget the families whom they have to leave at home while being away earning their paychecks to support them.
In a recession, the transportation industry is always the first to get hit. Therefore, it is not surprising that many truckers have to work harder now that the economy is down to earn the same paycheck they were earning before, because people aren't buying as much as they were, and freight tonnage is lower. One source said that during 2008, more than 3,000 trucking companies went belly-up, with more than 137,650 trucks (7 percent of the nation's capacity) parked. Many who were employed as professional drivers are now unemployed and looking for work. We ask that You raise up jobs for them according to Your own divine plan.
Guide those who minister to these drivers, that they would understand the myriad temptations of life on the road and counsel the drivers -- men and women who often have hurting hearts and unique spiritual needs -- to rest on the overcoming power of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every day from now on, whenever we buy things, may we pause to remember that these items do not just magically appear on the stores' shelves. There is a long and often complicated process of bringing these items from the fields, groves or manufacturing plants to the stores -- and most of the process hinges on professional drivers. As our bountiful Provider, You have raised up these men and women -- the white knights of the highway -- as the often-invisible but essential link to the material goods we have around us.
We thank You for professional truck drivers and their many sacrifices in our behalf. We ask You to keep them safe in Your watch care and bring as many as are appointed to eternal life to repentance and the faith that pleases You.
These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Lord, bless this driver that I love
Watch and guide him from up above
Up all night to deliver a load
Keep him safe on that old road
Be his eyes, ears, and hands
Reflexes quick for things unplanned
In a world where troubles abound
Bring him home safe and sound
He's my other half, you see
The one you made just for me
So, Father, hear this prayer that I pray
Please protect him while he's away.
Amen
All powerful and mighty God, we ask for Your blessing and protection upon all truck and delivery drivers as they make their routes. In bad weather keep them safe from accidents; on long, dark nights keep them awake and alert; help them to be aware of their surroundings and of how other people are driving so they can react appropriately. If You're feeling very charitable, Lord, then bless them with roads free of construction. For those who must deliver packages, we pray that the driveways and sidewalks be clear, pets safely secure, and needed signatures signed. For those on long haul trips, help them to eat as healthy as possible, to find the clean trucker stops, and to make good time. May all drivers come safely home to see their loved ones. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dear Lord,
Tonight I travel out on the road once more. Each time I leave my heart stays home with my family. I ask that you protect my family while I am not there. You are our Great Provider. I also ask that you keep me safe through long working hours and driving long distances. Help me get adequate rest at night, so I will be refreshed to travel. Most importantly, keep me close to you at all times. Lord, I am just a person, but please hear this truck drivers prayer.
In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.