Praying When You Get the Wind Knocked Out of You

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

When I was in my junior high years we lived in the small town of Sherrill, NY, on a street with nine guys within a year of each other in age. We had a lot of fun and got into some innocent trouble together. A great time in life!

I recall one night hanging out in the Swan boys’ backyard, trying to think of something fun to do. They had a two-tiered yard with a small hedge between the two levels of ground. We got the idea of running at the hedges, jumping over them, and landing on the ground beyond—a drop of about three feet. From the point of leaping over the hedge to the bottom of the drop off was about five feet. We had fun doing this a number of times. But then the inevitable happened.

One time when I ran toward the hedge (probably getting a little tired and sloppy), I did not jump quite high enough. My foot caught the hedge. Rather than falling feet first, I landed with a thud directly on my chest and stomach. The wind got knocked out of me and I could not breathe. I still remember that awful feeling of lying there trying to gasp for air—any air. I thought I was going to die.

Of course, I eventually caught my breath. All was well until another day of shenanigans.

Catch a Breath and Pray

I have recently found myself praying with the wind knocked out of me. You know those times. It’s when things are not going well and you’re attacked on every side. Every little thing goes wrong, and you feel like you can’t catch a break (or a breath).

How do you pray and walk in faith during those seasons? How can you pray in a way that allows you to catch your breath, get up, and move forward?

Some people would advocate praying the Psalms during this time. Nothing wrong with that remedy. But for me, in this situation I go to a passage from one of Paul’s letters:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Phil. 4:4–8).

Just as I had to force myself to try to breathe when I got the wind knocked out of me, I force myself in these challenging times to rejoice. I think of the good things I have, the things that are going well—and I begin to praise Jesus for those things. It is amazing how this simple practice can fhttps://prayershop.org/the-power-of-personal-prayer/ill your spiritual lungs with air again. Try it. You’ll breathe again!

–Jonathan Graf is the president of Church Prayer Leaders Network and the author of The Power of Personal Prayer.

Prayer with No Intermission

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

It bothered me for years. Right in the middle of Paul’s very practical list of admonitions is this simple, three-word command. Our tendency is to gloss over this very direct phrase, but these words form life's most important door.

Most look at this command and walk away, feeling it is unattainable. But a perfect God cannot demand of us something that we are unable to do, by His grace.

Unceasing prayer! We talk about prayer, know we should pray, encourage others to pray, but don't pray. We fail to understand that the Word of God and prayer are God’s primary means of communion with Him.  Prayer is opening the door to Christ, letting Him into our needs. It is being with Him. It is humility, for real prayer is admitting our failures and weakness. It is faith, because it is acknowledging a Source beyond ourselves.

Apparently, God thinks we need to pray with no intermission.

Father, sometimes it’s hard to remember that You have commanded me to pray without ceasing. I confess to being overwhelmed by what You are asking. Forgive me for the busyness of my life that keeps me from turning to You for all things. Help me to have greater faith to trust You and to take You at Your word that when I pray, I am entering into Your presence. Show me how to pray even in the midst of my busy life as well as during the quiet moments…and all of the time in between.

---Adapted from Prayer with No Intermission by Bill Elliff. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God for being perfectly just in all his works.

  • Thank him for loving righteousness and justice (Ps. 33:5).

  • Confess any ungodly bias you harbor toward any people.

  • Commit yourself to viewing others with a loving, Christlike attitude.

  • Ask God to help you value justice more highly in all relationships of life.

  • Pray that the members of your family will treat each other with mutual love and respect.

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

The Cure for Anxiety

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

It happens regularly nowadays. A beep goes off in a room full of people. In response to the beep, someone gets up, leaves the room, and makes a phone call. Something needed immediate attention, and the phone call took care of it.

Life is full of things that need immediate attention. Problems, frustrations, and distresses can produce anxiety and rob us of peace. God doesn’t want this to happen, so he has provided a way that we can get in touch with him immediately when anxiety attacks.

Anxiety is God’s beeper system alerting us that it’s time to talk to God about a situation that worries us. God invites us to come to him in prayer when anxiety threatens, and he promises that he will restore peace in our lives.

We are welcome to come to God with any request, large or small. Nothing is too great for God’s power; nothing is too small for him to care about. If it is a concern to you, it is a concern to God.

We’re encouraged to come “with thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving arises from remembering who God is and what he does for us.

  • Remember that God is love and that nothing can separate us from his love (1 John 4:16; Romans 8:38-39).

  • Remember that God is mighty and that his strong right arm is our defense (Psalm 60:5).

  • Remember that God’s goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life (Psalm 23:6), and you will always be thankful (Colossians 2:7).

The result of prayer is peace—“the peace of God, which transcends all understanding”—a peace that is beyond the ability of humans to contrive or produce.

God not only works out for good the situations we place in his hands (Romans 8:28); he also works in us to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Is God beeping you through some concern in your heart or life? Get in touch with him immediately. Don’t delay! He’ll be glad to have you come. He’s invited you. He has a wonderful peace to give you.

Pray

Praise God—the hearer of prayer, the peace giver, the One who guards your heart and mind in Jesus Christ.

  • Ask God to forgive you for any times you may have handled anxiety improperly.

  • Thank God for the peace he gives in the midst of troubling situations.

  • Ask God to give you peace and to guard your heart and mind.

–Dr. Alvin VanderGriend is the author of numerous books on prayer, including Love to Pray from which this article is adapted.

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Update from Dave & Blanca Gifford - March 5, 2024

Greetings from Mexico City! Blanca and I want to thank you for your support and prayers for our ministry here. 

We left February 15 for Honduras. We had a good time at our regional retreat. It was great to see the missionaries from the Mexico-Caribbean region. Then we stayed in Honduras to visit Blanca's family. It had been 19 years since we had seen many of them.

I came home February 26, enjoyed a nice restful birthday on the 27th, then dove into the pile of administrative work that had built up. Blanca returned today (March 5), and now I am preparing for preaching and for my conference on the book of Titus for a COMPA regional camp March 23-26 in Santiago, Nuevo León. I hope to also add more Spanish materials to giffmex.org/b/ soon, now that the heavy admin season is done, and allergies appear to be subsiding.

Thank you all again, and blessings in Christ,

David Gifford

Mexico team leader, Mexico City

Resonate Global Mission
Engaging People. Embracing Christ.
A Ministry of the Christian Reformed Church
resonateglobalmission.org

The Mystery of Prayer

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

A mystery! There’s no other way to describe prayer. Think of it! If you have come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you have the privilege of communicating with the Divine. You can talk to God. And, if you listen, you can hear Him speak too.

Simply put, prayer is communication with God. Some have defined it as “being with God.” I can talk to God any time of the day or night. Anywhere—whether in my favorite chair, walking the dog, driving the car, taking a shower, mowing the lawn, or sitting by a quiet stream in the mountains. Al VanderGriend calls prayer the “talking part of the most important love relationship in my life.”

Somehow, for some reason, almighty God has not only decided that He wants to be in relationship with us and to communicate with us, but He also has provided the method to do it. Prayer. A. B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, said it well a century ago: “The mystery of prayer! There is nothing like it in the natural universe . . . marvelous bond of prayer that can span the gulf between the Creator and the creature, the infinite God and the humblest and most illiterate child.”

 While we cannot fully explain it, the fact remains: Prayer is an awesome privilege! If you are starting out on your faith journey, do everything you can to grow in prayer. It will bring adventure, mystery, and a sense of the presence of God into your life. Prayer will prove to be the key to a vibrant relationship with God.

Father, how I long to grow in my understanding and practice of this mystery called prayer. Forgive me for continually forgetting that You are actively engaged in hearing and answering because You uniquely designed me to connect with You. May I be continually aware of Your presence moment by moment so that as You prompt my heart to seek You for what is on Your heart, I will be obedient to respond. May Your life be alive in me!

--Adapted from The Power of Personal Prayer (Learning to Pray with Faith and Purpose) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God, the ultimate owner of all, who gives and takes away the privilege of managing those resources (Daniel 4).

  • Thank God for specific resources he has put under your care.

  • Confess any attempts to own (rather than manage) “your” money.

  • Commit yourself to being a faithful steward who puts God’s kingdom and righteousness first (Mt. 6:33).

  • Ask him to teach you the secret of being content in any and every situation (Phil. 4:12).

  • Pray that God will give you, your family, and your friends the daily provisions you need (Mt. 6:11). Ask also that you all will excel in the grace of giving (2 Cor. 8:7).

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Praying Friends and Family to Jesus

Below is an article found and shared by our Prayer Team.

Praying Friends and Family to Jesus

One of the most important assignments believers have is to pray family and friends to Jesus Christ. Jesus interceded for future converts when he said to the Father, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their (disciples) message” (John 17:20). Paul interceded for the salvation of fellow Jews with heart-felt prayer: “Brothers and sisters, my hearts desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved” (Romans 10:1, TNIV). In a letter to Timothy Paul urged that, “requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.” Such praying said Paul “pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” The New Testament picture is certainly clear. Prayer precedes conversion.

To pray effectively for unconverted persons we need to see them as God sees them. The Bible makes it plain that God has a heart for unsaved persons. He does not want anyone to perish, but wants “everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). He is willing to grant them “repentance leading . . . to a knowledge of the truth . . . and escape from the trap of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:25-26). He sent his Son “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). And his Son, who came “to save the world” (John 3:17), commissioned others “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:18). Our Father God, like the father in Jesus story of the prodigal son, yearns for and watches for his prodigal sons and daughters to come home. He wants to save! He is able to save! He moves in the lives of people when we pray.

Satan, on the other hand, does everything in his power to keep unsaved persons in his grip. Jesus exposed Satan as the “strong man” who tries to keep his possessions “safe” by being “fully armed” as “he guards his own house” (Luke 11:21). This same evil one seeks to hinder their salvation by blinding their eyes “so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4), and snatches away the seed of the gospel message sown in their hearts (Matthew 13:19). Those who reject the gospel remain in “the trap of the devil…taken captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:26).

Scripture gives us important insights on what to pray for those who don’t know Christ.

  • Pray that the Father will draw unsaved persons to himself. Jesus said, “No man can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44). The unsaved persons for whom you pray will not go to Christ out of their own volition. They can’t. But the Father who can draw them delights to do so in response to our asking.

  • Pray that they will come to repentance. The Lord wants unsaved persons to come to repentance and to be saved (2 Peter 3:9). And, he wants us to pray for that. God will welcome their repentance so that he can purge out what hinders their salvation and give them new life.

  • Pray that they will hear and understand the gospel. They have to hear. Paul was making this point when he asked, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:14). And they have to understand. Jesus warned that Satan would snatch the seed of the gospel away from those who don’t understand (Matthew 13:19).

  • Pray that their minds will be opened. Satan tries to blind the mind of unbelievers, “so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). God wants to open their minds so they will see the “light.” Opening human minds is God’s business. But moving God’s Spirit to do so is prayer business.

  • Pray that they will be freed from Satan’s bondage. The devil is a defeated enemy. He is the “strong man” who is bound by Jesus (Luke 11:21). He is the “power” disarmed by Jesus (Colossians 2:14). The devil can deal with any force that we humans can bring against him, but he cannot deal with the hands of almighty God moved through our prayers. Ask God to thwart Satan’s plans by un-binding and un-blinding the persons for whom you pray so that “they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:26).

Scripture also gives some clues on how to pray for those who don’t know Christ.

  • Pray with a compassionate concern that reflects the Father’s heart. Intercession is not of matter of dispassionately presenting our thoughts and words to God. God not only hears our prayers, he weighs them—weighs the burden in our hearts.

  • Pray with faith. Believe that the Lord is willing. He “wants all people to be saved” and is pleased with the prayers that make this happen (1Timothy 2:4, TNIV). Believe that he is able: “With God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

  • Pray with boldness. In Jesus story of the midnight visitor the host, who pleads with a neighbor for bread to serve his friend, knocks persistently and boldly. Jesus commends his boldness and says, “because of his boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:5-8). Pray boldly for persons who do not know Jesus. God will be pleased.

  • Be willing to invest time, plenty of time. Intercession is work and all work takes time. Effective intercessors are always on watch for the Lord (see Isaiah 62:6-7).

  • Finally, pray continuously. Never give up! God’s time in not our timing. He wants “all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). That includes unsaved family, friends, and neighbors for whom you are praying.

–Alvin VanderGriend from Praying God’s Heart (PrayerShop Publishing).

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Article Shared by the Prayer Team

How can I learn to pray out loud so I can pray with others?

God can hear our prayers anytime, anywhere, and at any volume! He is able to hear us even when we think our prayers to Him rather than voice them. Yet, so many of us struggle and would like to be able to verbalize prayers in a group setting.

Here are a few tips on how to stretch yourself a bit and grow in this area:

  1. One of the best ways to grow in praying out loud, is to practice listening to yourself reading prayers from Scripture. You could start with the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Hearing your own voice as you pray out loud is an important step.

  2. Read Psalm 145 out loud back to the Lord and then say, “Lord, You are___ (fill in the blank with some of the attributes you find in this Psalm). Looking for ways to praise God in His word is a powerful way to express your love for Him out loud. The more you know about Him and His goodness and love, the more you will want to express what’s on your heart to Him.

  3. After using Scripture to help you pray out loud for a while, try to voice your own prayers based on those you have been praying. Here is just one way: try looking at pictures of some of your family members and tell God what you want to pray for each of them. For example, “Father, my daughter Emily is really struggling to make friends in her new school this year. Would you bring her some godly young women to get to know?” Or, “Lord, my husband has such a stressful job. Please help him to feel Your presence and to be filled with peace instead of anxiety.”

  4. When you are ready to try praying in a group, first recognize that you are talking only to God, and not to the other people around you. Flowery or “super-spiritual” language is not required. Nor is adding extra information in your prayer for the benefit of others in the room. God knows the details. Talk to Him as you would talk to a good friend about the person or situation you are concerned about. Don’t worry about how others view your prayer; it is between you and God alone.

  5. Spend time with others who are in love with Jesus and listen to them pray. Ask them how they learned to pray out loud and see if they can give you some good ideas as well!

As with anything new you undertake, the more you practice praying out loud, the more confident and comfortable you will become.

–Kim Butts is the co-founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries.

"Keep Your Focus on God" - shared by our Prayer Team

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1).

As we pray, we need to keep our focus on God. Picture him. Remind yourself of his character traits. Think of him as he was on the earth. What kind of a man was he? How did he deal with people?

Recently, I struggled with a tough relationship issue. Fear was at my doorstep. Could I trust God to meet this need, really? I decided I needed to understand more of what kind of a man Jesus was in order to trust him in this relational struggle. I began an in-depth study of the gospel of Matthew. I carefully studied how, as a man, Jesus ministered to people. I was reminded of his compassion when he cared for the hungry crowd and fed the 5,000; his tenderheartedness as he touched and healed the leper; and his love for the poor as he taught the Beatitudes. Reading each day about his life gave me confidence that he was, and is, someone I can fully trust.

As I prayed about this over the next few weeks, fear concerning this particular relationship was replaced by peace and confidence that God was in control. In every situation for prayer, whether great or small, we will be faced with the choice either to acknowledge the existence and control of God or to allow ourselves to be in control.

Imagine a place without his presence. It would be a pretty miserable place. When we pray we need to remind ourselves of his existence. When we’re aware that the Lord is with us, we act differently. Our thoughts are different. Our concerns are different. I don’t know about you, but when I am aware of the fact that God is present, I’m not only more careful of how I act, but I’m not afraid. I’m at peace. This has to be the way it is when we pray. It’s easy to get caught up in mindless, mundane praying. When we pray, are we convinced that we are in the presence of the risen Christ? Do we see his hand at work in our daily lives?

As we practice choosing to keep our thoughts, our emotions, and our focus on the existence and presence of God, we will have victory in our prayer lives. What an awesome God we serve! Don’t let the enemy or the world steal this joy from you!

Father God, I acknowledge Your patient and loving presence in my life today! Give me the ability to be continually aware of the peace that passes all understanding and the full knowledge that with You I can be victorious in all things. Help me to stand against the attempts of the enemy to steal my joy in the midst of the abundant life You have blessed me with. Keep me focused upon all that You are and attentive to Your hand at work.

--Adapted from Ultimate Connection: Eight Principles that will Transform Your Prayer Life by Barbara Ho.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God as the fair judge and ruler who never lets wealth, appearance, or earthly power influence his decisions.

  • Give thanks for God’s constant concern for those in positions of weakness and poverty (Jas. 1:27).

  • Confess those times when your support of the poor has been in word only and not in action (1:22-25).

  • Commit yourself to seeing people as God sees them, not as our society sees them.

  • Ask God to open your eyes to those who are “poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith” (Jas. 2:5).

  • Pray for specific individuals and families in your church who may be having a hard time financially. Ask God what you can do to help (Gal. 6:9-10).

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

"Praying for Missionaries" - shared from our Prayer Team

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
 
What do we mean when we ask God to bless the missionaries? Jesus did not pray that God would rescue the disciples from the hardships of the world. He asked the father to “keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15). After Saul’s Damascus Road experience, Christ said He would show Paul “how many things he must suffer” for Jesus’ name (Acts 9:16). God’s call upon the life of a missionary (or any believer for that matter) does not remove the reality of pain, suffering, sickness, and persecution. This theme of serving Christ through persecution and suffering is both a biblical and historical reality.
 
How many of us have heard the testimonies and requests of persecuted house church leaders in China. They plead with us not to pray for the suffering and persecution to end, but rather for God to be glorified through the persecution. With persecution comes kingdom growth. It has always been so. Tertullian said the blood of the Christians is holy seed.1 Christ said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Mt. 16:24).
 
So, perhaps we should pray less for the “success,” happiness, and comfort of the missionaries and more for their endurance and character as cross-cultural disciplers. In their book, Called to Reach: Equipping Cross-cultural Disciplers, Yount and Barnett identify eight characteristics of effective missionaries. When we pray for the missionaries (expatriates and locals), perhaps we should pray that they would:
 
1. Depend on the Holy Spirit in all they do (spiritual character).
2. Live according to the teachings of the Bible (biblical character).
3. Be good thinkers and teachers across cultural barriers (rational character).
4. Be willing to suffer with those they witness to (compassionate character).
5. Endure as they suffer for the sake of the gospel (impassioned character).
6. Build lasting, witnessing relationships (relational character).
7. Stay focused on God’s mission, not their own (maturational character).
 
Lord God, as I lift up those who have answered Your call to the mission field, I ask that You would place in them Your godly character and that each one would live according to Your word. May they have clarity of mind, a willingness to suffer with others and for Your sake! Help them to develop lasting relationships with those they serve, and to keep their focus upon Your holy face.

--Adapted from Giving Ourselves to Prayer: An Acts 6:4 Primer for Ministry, Chapter 66(Strategic Prayer for God’s Mission and Missionaries) by Mike Barnett. This resource is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God, whose “every word . . . is flawless.”

  • Thank God for being “a shield to those who take refuge in him” (Prov. 30:5).

  • Confess times of not believing or listening to his Word.

  • Commit yourself to hearing God speak to you today.

  • Ask him to truly be your refuge.

  • Pray for God’s flawless Word to be clearly and practically preached throughout the world. Ask God’s Spirit to open hearts so that his kingdom and righteousness may grow.

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

"Life Shaping" - shared from our Prayer Team

“Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you” (1 Thessalonians 3:10-11).

Have you ever noticed that with some believers you just know that they are growing in their faith, but with others, you do not see signs that their walk with God is going anywhere? What makes the difference?

Certainly some do not have a strong desire to grow. They have made some commitment to Christ, but it does not go deep enough to radically shape the way they live. But many believers simply have not had any real encouragement to grow. No one has ever come alongside them to mentor or disciple them. I bet most believers who are active in their faith have at points in their lives had people encouraging them and challenging them in their walk with Jesus. Someone modeled what a vibrant faith looks like for them.

Paul did that for his converts. People up and down Asia Minor who were in the churches planted by Paul grew because of Paul’s personal interest in them. Paul prayed regularly for them. And he prayed that God might grant him a way to touch their lives personally again.

What about you? Are you actively praying for ways to mentor a fellow believer? No matter where you are in your faith’s journey, no matter what is lacking in your knowledge of Jesus Christ, someone could use your encouragement. Someone is not as far along as you! Why not begin to pray for that person? Then look for ways to encourage, sharpen, and challenge him or her in the faith. Become a mentor like Paul.

Father, I lift up ____________________to You right now. I know he (or she) has a heart for You, but lacks a drive or desire to go deeper. I pray that You would give him a greater hunger and passion to know You. Draw him to Yourself, O Lord. Show me ways that I might be an encouragement to him in his walk with You. I am willing, if You would open the door, for me to mentor ____________________.  Just show me the action I should take. Amen.

--Adapted from Praying like Paul (Learning to Pray the Kingdom for Those You Love) by Jonathan Graf. This resource is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise “God, from whom all blessings flow!”

  • Thank him for making his blessings available to you in Christ Jesus.

  • Confess that you are spiritually poor in yourself.

  • Commit yourself to gratitude to God for replacing your poverty with all the treasures of “the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3).

  • Ask for a renewed appreciation for this tremendous, gracious exchange.

  • Pray for those caught in addictions to drugs, sex, self-reliance, etc., to admit that they are powerless to overcome these evils by themselves.

  • Ask God to use you this week to point at least one person to him and his resources.

  • Prayer Pointer: “Prayer becomes a battleground where we wrestle with what it means to live God’s life in the world.” —Maxie Dunnam

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

"How to Pray for Your City" from Love2Pray.com

How to Pray for Your City

In Jeremiah 29:7, the prophet challenged people to pray for the city you live in, because if it prospers, you will prosper, too. Praying for God’s blessing on our communities is a powerful topic we all should consider praying for regularly.

Here are 7 prayer points with Scriptures that you can use as you pray for your city.

  1. Pray for Unbelievers to Be Saved. Pray that people’s hearts will be opened to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Savior. Pray that every person in the world will be able to hear the gospel and the Word of God in their native language (Matt. 9:37–38, 24:14; Rom. 10:1; 2 Peter 3:9; Acts 26:18).

  2. Pray for a National Spiritual Awakening. Pray that Jesus will revive the Church and awaken our nation to His greatness and supremacy. Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on America, forgive our sin, and heal our land. Pray that millions of Americans will be convicted by the Holy Spirit, repent of their sins, and turn to God with all their hearts (2 Chron. 7:14; Dan. 9:18–19; Ps. 85:6; Hab. 3:2; Acts 2:37–41).

  3. Pray for Unity between Pastors and Churches. Pray that denominational, theological, and ethnic walls will come down so that pastors will love each other, pray together, and serve each other (John 17:20–23; Ps. 133:1; Eph. 4:3–6).

  4. Pray for Families. Pray that Jesus will heal, restore, and strengthen every marriage and family. Pray that husbands will love their wives like Christ loves the Church and that wives will respect and submit to their husbands. Pray that the hearts of parents will be turned toward their children to love them and raise them in a God-honoring way. Pray that children will respect and obey their parents (Gen. 2:24; Josh. 24:15; Ps. 127:3–5; Mal. 4:6; Eph. 5:22-33, 6:1–4).

  5. Pray for Racial Reconciliation. Pray that God will heal our nation of racism and that God will use the Church to stand against racial conflict, violence, and prejudice. The Church must lead the way in racial reconciliation by modeling love and respect for every person regardless of the color of their skin or their ethnic background (Rom. 10:12–13, Gal. 3:28, Acts 10:28, 34–35, John 7:24, 1 John 2:9, James 2:9, Rev. 7:9).

  6. Pray for Life to Be Valued and Protected through All Stages of Life, Beginning at Conception. Pray for God to break the culture of death in America and restore a culture of life. Pray for legalized abortion to come to an end (Ps. 139:13–16; Jer. 1:5; Prov. 24:11; Deut. 21:8–9).

  7. Pray for Local and National Government Leaders. Pray that God will give them wisdom to make wise decisions and to govern with integrity, justice, and mercy (1 Tim. 2:1–2; Rom. 13:1; 1 Peter 2:17; Titus 3:1–2; Micah 6:8).

    If you want to expand your prayers for your community, I recommend getting a copy of the 40-day prayer guide Praying God’s Word Over Your City by Trey and Mary Anne Kent

–These prayer points were developed by AmericaPrays and appear in the book City of Prayer by Trey Kent and Kie Bowman.

"Teach Me the Way of Humility"

OUR PRAYER TEAM WANTED TO SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH EVERYONE FROM HARVEST PRAYER MINISTRIES.

Teach Me the Way of Humility

Before you begin, like the disciples in Luke 11:1, simply ask, “Lord, teach me to pray.”
 
Father, I come before You asking that You empower me by Your Spirit that the humility of Christ might be evident in my relationships with others. May I do nothing out of selfishness but truly consider others better than myself and look out for the interests of those You have placed in my life. Father this is so against my nature!
 
Forgive me Lord—for I confess that more often than not I am more concerned with my own needs, and getting my own way. May selfishness be put to death in me that I might truly serve others in love.
 
Forgive me, Father, for I confess that often my involvement in the needs of others is based on my own comfort or if it’s convenient for me. How selfish I am Lord! Teach me what it means to love sacrificially I pray—to love like Jesus, to serve like Jesus! Teach me this way.
 
May I extend grace and mercy to others as You, Father, have extended grace and mercy to me. Destroy pride in my life in all of its ugly forms: the need to have my own way, to be heard, to be right, to be noticed and appreciated, excusing sin in my life . . . (pause and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you). Help me to be keenly aware of the ways that I exalt myself, and may I instead exalt Christ.
 
Your Word promises that You will guide the humble in what is right—I want to be guided by You! I choose this day to submit to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit, to not resist His work in my life, and to humble myself under Your mighty hand that You might lift me up in due time as You see fi t. May the refining fi re of the Holy Spirit have full reign in my life this day that I might be a useable vessel for the purposes of Your Kingdom. And may I be an extension of Your love and mercy to those who are burdened with the cares and brokenness of this world and are in desperate need of the Savior. I ask these things in His Mighty Name. Amen.
 
Philippians 2:2-4; Galatians 5:13; Galatians 6:2; Daniel 4:37; Psalm 25:9; 1 Peter 5:6; Luke 10:25-37
--Adapted from Pray the Word: 31 Prayers that Touch the Heart of God by Tiece King. This resource is available at prayershop.org.   

Prayer Points

  • Praise your covenant God for his abiding faithfulness (Deut. 7:9).

  • Give thanks that even “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful” (2 Tim. 2:13).

  • Confess any unfaithfulness you’ve allowed into your relationships with God and others.

  • Commit yourself to bearing the fruit of faithfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

  • Ask God to help you be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.

  • Pray that God’s covenant love would extend through your generation and on to generations yet to come.

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

"Love is An Amazing Force"

An article that our Prayer Team would like to share with everyone.

Love Is an Amazing Force

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).
 
Love is an amazing force!  God is love!  Paul was praying for love so that the Philippians would grow in their discernment of what was best (God’s will and purposes) and that they would live pure and blameless lives.  How can an increase of love bring about all of that – a deeper recognition of God’s purposes and a great desire and ability to live a life pleasing to Him?  What would an increase of love in everyone do in your church?  What would a deeper level of love do in your marriage and family?
 
Praying for love for yourself and others will have a profound effect on you or those you pray for – on how you view life, on how you handle circumstances, and on how you pray for others.
 
Father God, I thank You for Your great love for us.  Thank You for the love that sent You to this earth to suffer and die to pay the penalty for our sins.  Lord, I want to experience a deeper level of love in my own life – sacrificial love.  Would you give me a greater understanding of what love is?  Help me to pray with love when I pray for others.  Give me a greater love for You, so my life would reflect the fruits of righteousness and bring glory to You.

--Adapted from Praying Like Paul (Learning to Pray the Kingdom for Those You Love) by Jonathan Graf. This book is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God as one who is perfect in power and judgment but also perfect in mercy and kindness.

  • Give thanks for God’s mercy to you (Eph. 2:4-5).

  • Confess your inability to show mercy as completely and graciously as your Father does.

  • Commit yourself to living with a greater awareness of God’s mercy and kindness in your life (Eph. 1:7-8).

  • Ask God to extend this grace to others who have irritated or hurt you.

  • Ask God to make his church worldwide a shining example of people who extend mercy and kindness even to their enemies (Mt. 5:44-45).

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

"What Should I Do When I Don't Feel Like Praying?"

Below is an article from Harvest Prayer Ministries that our prayer team would like to share with everyone.

There are days, seasons, or events in all of our lives that sometimes seem to paralyze our hearts and leave no words available to us for prayer. When this happens, the first thing to do is remember that God is still there. He is with you in whatever you are walking through. He saw what brought the grief, or the anger, or the frustration. He is there in the depression, the addiction, the pain of rejection, the times of uncertainty. Your first step is to trust that He is right where Matthew 28:20 states He said He would always be – with us! He is with you – now and always!

Next, simply breathe in His presence. Take the next breath…and the next…and the next. Adversity or dark times can suck the air from your being and it’s so important to breathe God in and breathe out the issues or circumstances that may be causing your inability to pray. Think about the One who gave you life, who gave you Eternal Life, and who is Himself Living and Active. He has not abandoned you. His presence surrounds you. Soak in the awareness of this reality!

Turn your thoughts to Him. Take your thoughts and your eyes off of the difficulty, the dryness, the sadness, the anger, or whatever is keeping you bound up and put your eyes and thoughts onto Jesus – the One who can lift you out of the darkness or transport you from the desert. Worship is the best way to do this. Turn on your favorite worship music – even if you don’t feel like it. Surrounding yourself with the tangible life-giving words that feed your soul is crucial if you are to be able to express your heart in prayer. Sometimes the words themselves can give voice to what you are unable to say to God in the moment. Allow God to transform you by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2) and the healing of your heart…bit by bit.

Sometimes all you can voice is silence, so in the silence…listen. Perhaps He does have something to speak to you if you will allow Him the opportunity. How sad for us when we don’t listen to God until the moments when we are unable to speak to Him. Learning to listen well should always be a vital part of our prayer lives. Prayer is two-way communication within this love relationship with our Father. It could be that you hear nothing…but then you begin to experience His peace, comfort, strength, and a knowing that He is there with you.

If you want to express something to God, let it out – it might just be a scream, a rant, or a groan. Romans 8:26-27 in the New Living Translation of the Bible says, “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” This is an absolutely astonishing gift! It means that when you don’t have a clue what or how to pray, the Holy Spirit comes alongside of your heart and aligns it with the Father’s heart. He expresses your inward thoughts, or lack of thought. He gives voice to your prayer when you have no voice of your own. He aligns your anguish, depression, anger, situation, weariness, etc. with the perfect will of God even as we struggle to find words to communicate with Him about it.

One other thing to consider when you “don’t feel like praying” is that you may be involved in sinful thought or behavior that is eating away at you, and making you feel guilty. There is an enemy that wants to condemn us; however, we also have the Holy Spirit, who will convict us so that we can turn from our sin and walk again in righteousness. Sinfulness can keep God from listening to you. Take time to examine your heart, thoughts and motives to be sure that if what is needed is repentance and asking the Father for forgiveness, you take care of this right away. Psalm 51 is a powerful prayer of repentance to use and when you are unable, or don’t feel like praying, King David’s words will give you your voice!

As a summary, remember these things when you don’t feel like praying:

1. God is still there! Trust Him!
2. Breathe in a fresh awareness of His presence!
3. Turn your thoughts off of your issue and onto Jesus, the One who can deal with your issue. Play worship music and join in! Focusing on Jesus is a good antidote to situations that keep us from wanting to pray, or knowing what to say in prayer.
4. Silence/Listening – sometimes it is best to simply get quiet and listen for the voice of God. There is healing in stillness and wisdom in listening. Remember – even if you don’t sense that you hear anything from God, He is there.
5. Remember that the Holy Spirit is there to give voice to your prayers in alignment with the will of the Father when you are unable.
6. Consider that what might be causing your inability to pray or your lack of desire for prayer might be sinfulness in your life. Use Psalm 51 as your prayer so that God can reveal the hidden things, and so that you can take the time to repent and confess. Your relationship will be fully restored and a prayer of thankfulness will likely be the result.

"Fill Up What is Lacking"

Our Prayer Team wanted to share this very relevant article with everyone from Harvest Prayer Ministries. Connection (Devotions for Everyday Life) © 2023 is a free devotional published daily by Harvest Prayer Ministries. Subscribe here.

Fill Up What Is Lacking

Father, Your Word promises that You will be my sure foundation, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge. Forgive me Lord, for I know that I often look in other places for strength and stability and miss Your blessing in my life. Forgive me for the times that I turn to the wisdom of the world, instead of turning to You. I am so quick to take matters into my own hands and do what is right in my own eyes.

Teach me to pause, to seek Your face, wisdom, and counsel. You have said in Your Word that if I lack wisdom I should ask, and so I ask, Father, give me Your wisdom, I pray. Guard my mind today against worldly philosophies. May I be rooted firmly in Christ!

In the situations that I face at work, home, or school, may I know Your mind and be wise in all I do. Keep me from error, and I ask for Your wisdom especially in regard to . . . (Pray through your schedule and concerns.)

May Your wisdom be evident through me as I engage those in my life with whom I have relationships. I declare my dependence upon You alone, the source of all knowledge and wisdom, and I ask that You give me wisdom from heaven that is: pure (Reveal the hidden motives of my heart Father!); peace loving (May my words build others up and promote unity, I pray.); considerate and submissive (May my thoughts be of the needs of others—teach me to serve!); full of mercy and good fruit (May I be a dispenser of Your great grace.); impartial and sincere (May my actions flow out of my love for You—help me to love like You love.)

Strengthen me today. Remind me, I pray, to live out what Your Word says—that I might be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock, that regardless of the storms that come against me, I might not be moved. In the name of Jesus, who is the Word. Amen.

Isaiah 33:6; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Proverbs 3:7; Colossians 1:9; Ephesians 1:17; James 1:5; Colossians 2:8-9; James 3:17; Matthew 7:24-25
 
--Adapted from Pray the Word: 31 Prayers that Touch the Heart of God by Tiece King. This resource is available at prayershop.org.

Prayer Points

  • Praise God for his everlasting love (Jer. 31:3), which has no end.

  • Thank God for demonstrating his love for you by sending his Son to die in your place (Rom. 5:8).

  • Confess any lack of love you have experienced toward God or other believers.

  • Commit yourself to bearing the fruit of love by the power of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22).

  • Ask God to enable you daily to “put on love” (Col. 3:14).

  • As you gather with other believers for worship this week, pray that “being rooted and established in love . . . [you may] grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:17-18). Let this thought flood your mind in worship.

Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org.

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