“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 This week’s prayer focus: Fruit of the Spirit!

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

As we continue to grow in A Lifestyle of Prayer, it is important to remember prayer should be a lifestyle, not an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  Our category of prayer emphasis for the next two weeks will be the fruit of the Spirit.  In addition to  a day’s focus on each of the nine parts of the fruit of the Spirit, we will also spend a day focused on praying about the three hindrances to living by the Spirit that are listed at the end of the passage.  Remember, it is “The Fruit” of the Spirit — it is not a buffet where you pick and choose — you ought to have each of these elements present and growing in your life as a result of God’s Spirit living in you!    Continue to use the prayer guides/lists from the past weeks.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)

Please spend time praying each day for that element of the fruit of the Spirit to be growing in your life.  With that focus in mind, pray for yourself, your family, your friends, neighbors, and all the other “one anothers” we’ve been praying for over the past weeks.  Thank you!

Sunday: Pray for Tom Lemler and the work God is doing through Impact Prayer Ministry.

Monday: Love.  Read 1 Corinthians 13.  Pray that you would fully accept and experience the love of God.  Pray that the people you see today would experience God’s love from Him and through you.  Pray that God’s Spirit would produce in you an accurate reflection of His love.

Tuesday: Joy.  Pray that God would fill your heart and mind with a deep, abiding joy that can only come from His Spirit.  Pray that your joy would be evident to others today regardless of your circumstances.  Pray for those that you know who are struggling to find joy in their life.

Wednesday: Peace.  Pray that God’s Spirit would fill you with a peace that passes all understanding.  Pray that God’s peace in you would help others find peace with God.  Pray specifically today for people you know who have lost all sense of peace in their life.

Thursday: Patience.  Pray that God’s Spirit would help you faithfully endure no matter how long it takes.  Pray that godly patience would help you take a breath and see things more as God sees them.  Pray and act with the understanding that God’s patience, or long-suffering, is because He wants no one to perish.

Friday: Kindness.  Pray that God’s Spirit would help you  act with kindness even when you don’t think people deserve it.  Pray that your acts of godly kindness would help people see the value they have in God’s eyes.  Pray especially for those you know who seem to feel no kindness extended toward them — and then go be kind!

Saturday:  Goodness.  Pray that God’s Spirit would help you to do good to all people.  Pray that the goodness God is growing in you would help others see Him.  Pray for those who need something good in their life — then ask God to involve you in making it happen!