“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

A Life That Overcomes (Week Two)!

“Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
Psalm 42:5 (NIV)

This week we finish a two week focus on living a life that overcomes.  While the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is often filled with many celebrations, for many it is a time that is not nearly as festive on the inside as what the outside might represent.  While I believe all of these prayer guides can be useful well beyond the week they are written for, this topic of overcoming may be one of the most needed on a continual basis as we pray for ourselves and others in our times of difficulty.  As you pray this week, ask God to help you be more aware of those who struggle.  Pray that you would be better equipped to overcome as you learn from God’s Word.  Pray for a greater confidence in God’s desire and ability to help you overcome even in the midst of life’s difficulties.  Pray that you would be an instrument of God in helping others know that in Christ they can live as one who overcomes.

“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 pray each day for a life in Christ which overcomes the world.

Sunday: Pray for your church staff, the preaching and teaching that takes place, the church leadership, the volunteers that are helping in so many areas, the spiritual and financial health of the congregation, and the work of the missions ministry of the church.  Pray for me (Tom Lemler) and the work of Impact Prayer Ministry.

Monday: Overcoming Abandonment.  Pray that you would overcome in a way that gives you a permanent place of belonging with those who are pure.  Pray that you would live with a confidence in a God who will never abandon you.  “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.”  Revelation 3:5 (NIV)

Tuesday: Overcoming Through Deliberate Praise.  Pray that your hope in God would lead you to praise Him even in the midst of despair.  Pray that your life would be lived in a way that leads others to praise God for the hope He offers.  “Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”  Psalm 43:5 (NIV)

Wednesday: Overcoming Wandering.  Pray that you would find a place of belonging as the temple of God so you would have no need to wander away from Him.  “He who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.”  Revelation 3:12 (NIV)

Thursday: Overcoming Through Time With Jesus.  Pray that your despair would lead you to a closer walk with Jesus.  Pray that God’s Word would burn within you as you examine it during times of despair.  “He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’  They stood still, their faces downcast.  They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’”  Luke 24:17, 32 (NIV)

Friday: Overcoming Weariness.  Pray that you would overcome everything that would keep you from being able to sit and rest at the throne of Jesus.  Pray that you would find the strength through Christ to persevere with confidence when the troubles of life are many.  “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.”  Revelation 3:21 (NIV)

Saturday:  Overcoming Through the Comfort of Others.  Pray that you would experience the comfort of God through the presence of His people.  Pray that your presence would be a comfort to others who feel downcast for whatever reasons.  Pray that you would notice those who need to be comforted by your presence.  “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.”  2 Corinthians 7:6 (NIV)