Tag Archives: Christianity

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 13

““Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.”

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets… to be honored by others.”

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray… to be seen by others.””

Matthew 6:1-3

Father, motives matter to You, so I ask that You would purify my motives. If there is anything in me that needs to be seen, heard, or honored by others, I ask that You set it on fire, Lord. I pray that anything in me that is striving for the approval and the attention of humans would become crucified with Christ. I want to live, give, and pray from pure motives, from a heart that seeks to please You first.

Father would You expose the motives of my heart in my relationships, Shine a light in the deep places that hide the reason I serve, and even the reason I pray for others. In my marriage, in my ministry, in my workplace, I lay my heart before You and ask that You would “search me o’ God and know my heart”, see if there is any offensive way in me.

And I pray for all who are Your Church, Lord. I pray for purified motives in our worship, our preaching, our giving, and our serving. In all that You have called us to, may we be found without hypocrisy, Lord. Search us o’ God, know the heart of Your Church, and purify anything that offends You.

In the Name of Jesus, amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 12

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed Him.”

Matthew 4:18-20

Jesus, I pray to be a fully abandoned follower, willing to abandon my current pursuits, my current way of life, to leave all I know in order to obey Your call to “come, follow Me”.

And I pray it for Your Church. May we hear Your voice call out to us to follow You into what You’re doing in the earth right now, and I pray we will be willing to drop our programs, drop our goals and plans, let it all go for You. May we drop our nets that have caught followers of ministries, followers of performances, followers of popularity. Call us again, Jesus. Call out to Your Church to drop everything and follow You, so that You can make us fishers of people for You, not us.

Make us an abandoned people, God, abandoned to obedience, abandoned to our first love, abandoned to Your Spirit. Abandon us to the Gospel, Lord, and fill us with power and a burning desire to see the lost enter into Your Kingdom, to see those You are pursuing step into eternal life.

Call us again, Jesus, bid us to follow You and be transformed again. Call us to drop everything that would keep us rooted in place, so that we can be free to truly be Your disciples.

In Your Name I pray. Amen

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 11

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.”

Romans 8:14-15

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Galatians 5:24-25

God I pray that we will, now more than ever, follow the leading of Your Spirit. I pray that the spirit that is leading the culture around us will not lead our thoughts, our opinions, our actions, or our words. I pray that Your people will know and follow the Holy Spirit in increasing measures.

I pray we will not fear what the world fears. I pray that You will release Your people from slavery to fear, allowing them to walk and live confidently as the children of God, led by the Spirit of God. Teach us afresh Lord, what it looks like to be crucified with You, to die to our own flesh in order to live by Your Spirit. Holy Spirit of God, I pray that we will keep in step with You, not ahead of You, not making our own way, but following Your lead in all things.

We belong to You, Father, and You call us Your children. I pray that our hearts will receive the sonship and daughtership that You have given to us, I pray that every wound that keeps us distant from the Father heart of our God will be healed in the Name of Jesus, and that we will walk in new life and new freedom as the children of the Most High God.

Thank You Lord, for taking us as Your own, bringing us into Your family, and giving us Your Holy Spirit as our advocate, our comforter, our teacher, and the One who will continue to remind us of Jesus, His Word and His ways. I ask for a fresh baptism in Your Spirit, a fresh out-pouring, fresh power, and a fresh revelation for Your Church. Come, Holy Spirit, and rest on us, bring forth new life in us.

In the Name of Jesus, amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 10

“I am sending you to them to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’”

Acts 26:18

Father, I pray for those in my life who do not know You, especially to the ones I cannot reach, and I pray that You will send Your people to them. I pray that the power of the Gospel will tear away the veil that covers the eyes of their understanding and compel them to turn, be forgiven and become sanctified by faith in You.

Jesus I’m so thankful that You are a pursuer of the lost, that You don’t wait for us to stumble upon You, but You seek us out. So I pray with confidence, asking You to go where they are, find them, and save them.(Luke 19:10)

I pray that into the harvest fields You will send Your people, that the few laborers will become many and that we would speak Your Gospel with boldness and courage. (Matthew 9:37-38, Ephesians 6:19-20)

Father, I ask that You would draw my friends and loved ones who do not know You to Jesus, so that they can be reconciled to You by His blood. (John 6:44, 2 Corinthians 5:18)

I pray for a revival for circumcised hearts, unveiled minds, and an outpouring of repentance, that the lost would begin to flood Your Kingdom with the power of Your Holy Spirit within them. (Deuteronomy 30:6; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 2:38)

I pray that by Your Spirit, the lost will come to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent, and so find eternal life. (John 17:3)

In the mighty Name of Jesus. Amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 9

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

1 Peter 1:14-15

“They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.”

Malachi 3:17-18

Lord God, I pray for holiness to spread through Your people. I pray for a spirit of obedience to rise up within us that will say no to our former passions, our former way of living and speaking and thinking, and say yes to Your ways that are all together different. Father, may Your Church walk in holiness as never before, drawing a holy line in the sand which we will refuse to cross. I pray You will come against every unholy relationship among us, break up our friendship with the world, and call us once again to “come out from among them”.

Your have distinguished Your people from all other people of the earth. We are covered in the blood of Christ, set free from sin, given hearts of flesh in place of hearts of stone, rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of Your Son. We are different, because we belong to You. I pray the distinction will become unblurred, Lord. I pray that Your Church will take up the call to be “other than”, instead of “similar to”. I pray that we will love the lost and speak truth to the lost, but that we will not lose our distinction from them.

Holy Spirit of God, we are the Lord’s treasured possession. Make us holy. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 8

“God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

Numbers 23:19

“Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations;”

Psalm 119:89-90

Father, I know that You are faithful. Faithful to Your Word, faithful to me. Faithful to my family and my marriage. Faithful to Your Church. Thank You God, for such steadfastness, such faithfulness! Your track record is proven and perfect. While man may go back on his word a million times, You never will, not once. While our love is failing and unfaithful, Your love for us never fails. You are faithful to love us to the end.

You are not like us Lord, and our only hope is that we will become like You. I pray that what is true of You, will be true of me and true of Your Church. By the working of Your Spirit in us may we become faithful servants to You and to those around us. I pray we will learn to faithfully steward the gifts and the talents, and the gospel that You have given to us. I pray we will be a people marked by faithfulness.

I pray that in Your faithfulness You will restore our families. Repair what we have broken, heal us and free us from the bondages that continue to harm us. I pray for my children, my grandchildren, and the generations that will come, that by Your Spirit, they will be faithful and passionate followers of Christ. I thank You Father, that Your faithfulness endures through the generations and that, should You tarry, my great-great grandchildren and their children will know Your faithfulness as I have known it!

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Forty Days of Praying the Word of God: Day 7

Praying for the Prodigals

Praying for a prodigal, especially one that you love, is gut-wrenching work. In my season of such work, God continually challenged me to believe Him to do what looked impossible to me. It took time, tears, and a refusal to back down from believing God, but He did what I was believing Him to do. I am forever grateful. Wherever they have wandered, dear one, we can believe that Jesus will find them and bring them back. Do not give up!

Lord I pray for those in the Church who have wandered from the faith, for all who have left their Father’s house in search of a life they can live on their own terms. May they come to their senses quickly, Lord. I pray they will tire of a life away from You, and will choose to come home, to find You waiting for them with open arms. (Luke 15:11-32)

Your word tells us that bad company corrupts good character, so I ask that You would sever their bonds with bad company. I pray that in Your jealousy for those who belong to You, that Your Spirit would disrupt every relationship that hinders their return to You. I pray You would thwart the corruption of the character of those who belong to You. (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Father, in the story of the lost son it says “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.”, so I ask for a famine to come to the prodigals of the Church. I pray for a severe famine of peace that will drive them to return to the only true place of peace, in the presence of the Prince of Peace. I pray for a famine of enjoyment in the far country. I pray that what used to be exciting would now give them no pleasure. I pray that after they have spent themselves on a life of rebellion, they will find themselves in great need of the safety of home. Bring them a great famine, Lord.(Luke 15:11-17)

I pray that You would awaken a desire for You that far exceeds any other desire. May they find themselves unable to not think of You, unable to forget about You. I pray that every sinful longing and desire would fall short of satisfying their heart, and that a pure longing for You would begin to penetrate their heart and mind. (Psalm 73:25)

I pray they would be ransomed unharmed from the battle against them, that the damage the enemy desires to inflict would be swiftly and completely healed by Your power. (Psalm 55:18)

Wake them up, God! I pray they will lay aside the darkness they have embraced, and bravely and boldly put on the armor of light. Take hold of them and rescue them, draw them out of what is drowning them. Contend with the one who is contending with them. I declare that nothing can thwart Your plans and purposes for them, and that every purpose you have for them will be fulfilled, in the Name of Jesus. (Romans 13:11-12; 2 Samuel 22:17-18; Psalm 35:1; Isaiah 49:25b; Psalm 138:8)

A word of encouragement…

Our God is a pursuing God. He came looking for Adam and Eve in the garden, He found Hagar, He came for His people in Egypt, He pursued Jonah into the belly of a whale, and in a picture of Himself, He sent Hosea to bring back his adulterous wife.

You can pray with confidence for God to pursue your loved one, knowing that there is no place they can go from His Spirit, and that no matter how dark is the place they have run to, that darkness is as light to God.

“I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.” Psalm 31:7-8

Declare it and pray it over the prodigals! Believe God!