“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

This week’s prayer focus: Wait!

“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.  He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”
1 Corinthians 1:7-9 (NIV)

Our prayer focus this week is about an aspect of our Christian life that many people would rather not participate in — waiting!  Throughout scripture God calls His people to wait and to trust Him as they do so.  And before you dismiss that idea as being impossible, remember it is God who has given you every gift necessary to be able to wait with strength for the return of Christ.  As  you pray this week, ask God to help you use the gift of His Spirit to help you to wait when necessary.  Pray that you would learn a greater trust of God as you wait for His return.  Pray that your representation of Jesus would gain effectiveness as you wait on Him to work in and through you.  Pray that your practice of waiting would not keep you from doing when God calls you to act.   Pray for a unity of spirit among believers in general and among your church family in particular.  

“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 about the waiting that God has both called you to and equipped you for.

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:  Wait in Expectation.  Pray with the expectation that God will respond as you lay your requests before Him.  Pray that you would continue to take your requests to God as you wait.  “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”  Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

Tuesday:  Wait with Strength.  Pray for the strength required to wait.  Pray that God’s Spirit would fill you with courage as you wait upon Him.  “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”  Psalm 27:14 (NIV)

Wednesday:  Wait with Hope.  Pray that God’s help and protection in your life would fill you with hope as you wait.  Pray that the people around you would come to place their hope in God to be their help and shield.  “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.”  Psalm 33:20 (NIV)

Thursday:  Wait for God’s Deliverance.  Pray that you would learn to wait on the deliverance that God promises.  Pray that you would reject the temptation to take matters into your own hands when you are wronged.  “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’  Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.”  Proverbs 20:22 (NIV)

Friday:  Wait for God’s Blessing.  Pray that you would understand and experience the compassion of God as a great blessing in your life.  Pray that you would be blessed as you wait for God to make all things right.  “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.  For the LORD is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him!”  Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

Saturday:  Wait for God’s Mercy.  Pray that you would remain in Christ as you wait for the fulfillment of His mercy in your life.  Pray that you would share God’s love with others as you wait for Christ to carry you into life eternal.  “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”  Jude 1:21 (NIV)

Bonus:  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the publishing ministry of Impact Prayer Ministry.  Pray that I would continue to listen to God for direction and that He would give me the time and words to finish the writing assignments He has me working on.