“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 This week’s prayer focus: PRAYER!

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 (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.  As we come off of the National Day of Prayer and a prayer emphasis I was privileged to lead, this week we will return to the instructions given to Solomon for God’s people to know how to return to Him when they have strayed.  As you are growing in the practice of prayer, I also encourage you to grow in the practice of journaling your prayers, your requests, your praises, and make note of how you see God working in each.  Pray each day for the individuals of the church congregation you attend as well as for the body of believers that meet together.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

Please spend time praying each day focused around the various elements of faith that God calls us to — and has put within us.  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 your church, its staff and leadership, and for all of the preaching and teaching that takes place.  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the work of Impact Prayer Ministry.

Monday: Pursue.  Spend time with God considering, even writing out, what it would look like for you to pursue God wholeheartedly.  Pray that your whole heart would be involved in seeking God.  “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)

Tuesday: Repent.  As you pray, listen for God to reveal not just actions but even thoughts for which you need to turn to Him in repentance.  Pray that you would turn to God for the strength and courage to change the things that need changed in your life.   “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.”  Acts 8:22 (NIV)

Wednesday: Act.  Spend the necessary time listening to God so that your prayers result in God-led action.  Pray that you would see and respond to the opportunities that God gives you.  “If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”  James 2:16 (NIV)

Thursday: Yield.  Empty yourself daily of your will so that the focus of your prayers would be fully yielded to God.  Pray that God’s will would not only be done, but that it is your priority.  “He went away a second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'”  Matthew 26:42 (NIV)

Friday: Encourage.  Pray that you would be filled with, and share, encouragement as you cry out to God as a way of life.  Pray for wisdom in using the stories of your struggles to encourage others.  “You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.”  Psalm 10:17 (NIV)

Saturday:  Rejoice!  Recognize, and rejoice, in the greatness of God being found by all who would seek Him.  Pray for a heart that constantly rejoices as you live in the presence of God.  “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.”  Psalm 105:3 (NIV)