PRAYERS
Lord, I lift up my pastor to You. Thank You for his servant’s heart. Keep him from losing heart when ministry gets tough. Help him prove faithful with the things you have entrusted to him. Teach him Your ways so that he knows You and finds favor with You as He leads us. Keep him open and honest before You and help him to represent the truth plainly. (2 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Corinthians 4:1-3; Exodus 33:13)
Father I pray for the lost members of our church. Let the gospel be presented to them not only through the sermon but also with power, the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. Teach us to make the most of every opportunity to share Your salvation. Help us to be the fragrance of Christ to them. We stand against the enemy and his attempts to keep them blinded to Your truth. (1 Thessalonians 1:5; Colossians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 2:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4)
Father I pray for our Women’s Ministry. Encourage our older women to train the younger in family issues. Teach our women to be virtuous—women with gentle and quiet spirits who put their hope in You. Let this ministry produce women who feel Your passion for them and who choose to spend time at Your feet. Train them to contend for the gospel side by side with the men. (Titus 2:4, 5; Proverbs 31:10; 1 Peter 3:4, 5; Psalms. 45:11; Luke 10:38-42; Philippians 4:3)
Lord also our men’s Ministry to You. Use this ministry to build our men in their faith. Teach them to be in right relationship to You and each other, to love their wives sacrificially and to instruct their children with patience. Encourage them to hold each other accountable as they carry each other’s burdens. May they speak the truth in love to each other even when it's hard. (Jude 1:20; Titus 2:2; 1 Timothy 5:1; Ephesians 5:25, 6:4; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:15; Proverbs 27:6)
Lord, I lift up the prayer focus in my church. Make us into a house of prayer. We desire to be clear-minded and self-controlled so that we can pray first, always, continually and thankfully. May everyone recognize that this is Your desire for all and not just a few. Use us to stand in the gap for others. Let there be prayer ministry among us that is powerful and effective. (Mark. 11:17; 1 Peter. 4:7; 1 Timothy. 2:1; Ephesians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians. 5:17; Phil. 4:6; Psalms. 32:6; Ezekiel. 22:30; James. 5:16)
Lord, I lift up the spiritual temperature of my church. Revive us! Refine us so that we burn hot for You. Give us singleness of heart and action so that we always fear You and follow Your precepts. Pour out a spirit of Josiah on us so that we turn to You heart, soul and strength. Open our minds to understand Your Word so that our hearts burn within us. (Psalms. 85:6; Revelation. 3:14-18; Jeremiah 32:39; Psalms. 111:10; 2 Kings. 23:25; Luke. 24:45, 32)
I lift up our church finances. May we sow generously into our church without reluctance or compulsion. Make all grace abound so we have all we need for every good work You’ve assigned us. Make us rich in ways that result in generosity on our part so You will be praised. Keep reminding us of your promise to throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out blessing on all who bring the whole tithe into Your house. (2 Corinthians. 9:6-11; Malachi 3:10)
Father add to our number daily through new converts. Birth spiritual children through us. Let our actions win people over without words. Use us as Your agents to rescue people from darkness and bring them into Your Son’s kingdom. We long to be worthy ambassadors in this ministry You have entrusted to us: that of proclaiming Your message of reconciliation to a lost world. (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Peter 3:1-2; Colossians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Lord thank you for creating the body as one unit made up of many parts. Help us understand the value of each part as You have arranged them. We confess that we’ve minimized other parts. Forgive us, for we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body. Help us to work at being one: concerned about one another—suffering with and rejoicing with other congregations as appropriate. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)
Lord, I lift up our need for protection. Protect and deliver us from the evil one. Help us be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves as we deal with the wolves around us. Show us how to test every spirit to see if they are from You. Help us recognize the enemy’s disguises and schemes so that he won’t outwit us. (John 17:15; Matthew 6:13, 10:14; 1John 4:1 2 Corinthians 11:14, 2:11)
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