“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 This week’s prayer focus: Belonging!

“You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.  So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.“
1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 (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.  This week we will focus our prayer emphasis on the subject of belonging.  Most of us have times in our life when we struggle with feelings of not fitting in or knowing where we belong.  God has a lot to say about where we belong as His children.  This week, pray that your sense of belonging would be restored and refreshed.  Pray that God would use you to help others know that they too belong.   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 each day praying about, and writing down, how God would have you live out that day’s aspect of prayer.    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: Belonging to Jesus Christ.  Pray that you would recognize the value you have as one who has been called to belong to Jesus.  Pray that the people around you would know you as one who belongs to Christ.  “And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”  Romans 1:6 (NIV)

Tuesday: Belonging to One Another.  Pray that you would live as a valuable part of the Body of Christ as you belong to one another.  Pray that the people around you see the value you place on others who are part of the Body.  “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”  Romans 12:5

Wednesday: Belonging to the Lord.  Pray that your life would be lived for the Lord in all that you do.  Pray that the people around you would know you as one who belongs to the Lord no mater what.  “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”  Romans 14:8 (NIV)

Thursday: Belonging to the Day.  Pray that your actions would express to others that you belong to the day because you have put aside the deeds of darkness.  Pray that the people around you  would know you as one who is self-controlled.  “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”  1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NIV)

Friday: Belonging to God.  Pray that you would declare the praises of God as one who has been chosen to belong to Him.  Pray that the people around you would hear from you how belonging to God has transformed your life.  “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)

Saturday:  Belonging to the Truth.  Pray that your heart would be at rest as you belong to the truth.  Pray that the people around you would know rest through the truth.  “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.”  1 John 3:19 (NIV)