prayer challenge - day 9

Church. Let’s pray today for church. The local church where you worship and serve. Pray for the pastor, that he would “not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ..determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him Crucified. “ that his “message and preaching would not be in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God” I Corinthians 2:2,4

Pray for the Body, the each person would be “equipped for the work of service, to the building up of the Body of Christ” Ephesians 4:12

prayer challenge - day 8

Let’s pray specifically for our children today. If you don’t have any of your own, then you can be like my friend who designates a day every month to pray for each one of her numerous nieces and nephews. Every child gets one day each month to be prayed over by this faithful aunt - wouldn’t you like to be in her family????

Pray these powerful truths over them:

that they would learn to “obey their parents in the Lord, not with external service as those who merely please men but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord” Colossians 3:20

that they would “be strong and courageous” in their ways and their character Deuteronomy 31:6

that they would “be kind and tender-hearted, forgiving one another (and us!) as Christ has forgiven” Ephesians 4:32

that they would “be alert and self-controlled in all they do” regardless of what those around them are doing I Thessalonians 5:6

prayer challenge - day 7

We’ve been praying faithfully for a week! Way to go! Let me hear from you - either email me at chamfam@bellsouth.net or comment on this blog. I want to know how it’s going!!

And it looks like two days of praying inadvertently went out yesterday -oops! Sorry about that - I’ll just trust that we needed to pray for both things yesterday :)

Today, let’s pray for marriages. Your own, those of your children, siblings, parents. Pray for marriages! If you are not married, pray not only for the marriages of your family members, but also for your future. If God’s plan is for you to one day be married, then pray for your future husband. That God would be working in his heart, keeping him pure, getting him ready for the responsibility of marriage. And pray the same for yourself - purity, conformity to the image of Christ, and contentment in the waiting.

Overall, let’s pray that your spouse would ever be captivated by your love. Proverbs 5:18-19

Then, let’s pray more individually, more specifically. For that, let’s go to that familiar passage in Ephesians 5. Read verses 22-33 and mediate on them for a few minutes. In summary, pray out loud verse 33 - “let each individual among you also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband.”

If you’re a wife, ask the Lord to show you what it looks like to respect your husband. Ask Him to remind you to daily give to your husband what feels like the breath of life to him — respect. He needs respect the same way that you need love. And I know, if you’re not getting the love you need, it can be really hard to give him the respect he needs. I know, my sister, I know. And I am praying for YOU! But God can take your willingness to do this hard thing, to be the initiator of obedience, to do a miracle in your marriage. Be that sister, the one to trust God and commit to showing daily respect. I challenge you, on the authority of God’s Word, to step out in obedience in this area of showing daily respect….and just watch God work!

P.S. - remember to write those notes we mentioned yesterday!!! :)

prayer challenge - day 6

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life, in all godliness and dignity. I Timothy 2:1,2

A few days ago, we prayed for our nation. We will continue that today. This passage exhorts us to pray for all people, especially those in authority over us. I hope we do that faithfully - this verse explains our own personal motivation in praying that our leaders act wisely: so that our lives may be peaceful!!

So today, as we pray for those in authority, let me ask you this….do you know your leaders’ names? We probably know the President and the Governor, but what about Senators? US Congressional Representatives? State legislators? City council, mayor, county commissioners? If some of those names escape you :), I challenge you to find them out. Instead of praying for nameless people, find out their names so you can pray for them personally. It makes a big difference.

One other thing I’d love for us all to do - write a note to, let’s say three, officials and let them know you are praying for them. Talk about a huge encouragement!!! And it will bless you as well!

prayer challenge - day 5

Lord, there are a lot of things to love in this world.Lots of good things. And, of course,lot of not good things. My prayer today, for myself, my husband, and my children, is that we would love Your Word. That we would find “Your Word more precious than gold, than much pure gold, and sweeter than honey, than honey out of the comb” Psalm 19:10

Cultivate that love in us, Lord Grant that we would taste it, so that we can love it, and see that You are good (Psalm 34:8)