great commission

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Lifestyle of Prayer: Go!

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“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 This week’s prayer focus:  Go!

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20(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 some places or times that God tells us to Go!  As children of God, He has called us to be active in sharing the good news of Jesus everywhere we go.  Sometimes we lose sight of where all “everywhere” might mean so this week’s prayer focus should remind us that everywhere means everywhere.  Pray that you would courageously take the message of salvation everywhere you go.  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: Go to the Street.  Pray that you would see all people as valuable.  Pray that you would take the message of Jesus to where the people are who still need to hear it.  “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.”  Matthew 22:9 (NIV)

Tuesday: Go to your Family.  Pray that you would not neglect to talk to your family about all that Jesus has done for you.  Pray others would know of God’s mercy upon your life.  “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’”  Mark 5:19 (NIV)

Wednesday: Go and show Mercy.  Pray that your understanding of God’s mercy would compel you to be merciful.  Pray that you would be willing to extend mercy to the people around you.  “The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”  Luke 10:37 (NIV)

Thursday: Go and Leave Sin.  Pray that you make a deliberate decision to remove yourself from the places of sin in your life.  Pray that God’s forgiveness would always be cause to leave sin behind.  “‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”  John 8:11 (NIV)

Friday: Go and Bear Fruit.  Pray that your life would bear much lasting fruit as you follow the call of Jesus to go.  Pray that God’s will for you to bear fruit is evident in what you ask for.  “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit — fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”  John 15:16 (NIV)

Saturday:  Go Find the Missing.   Pray that you would notice people who are missing, and then actively search for them.  Pray that you would have the heart of Jesus in regard to people who are missing.  “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?” Matthew 18:12 (NIV)

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Lifestyle of Prayer: The Great Commission!

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“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 

 This week’s prayer focus: The Great Commission!

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to one hope when you were called — one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” 
Ephesians 4:1-6 (NIV)

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'”
Matthew 28:18-20

A Lifestyle of Prayer should be just that — a lifestyle, not simply an event.  View prayer as your first priority, not as the last resort.  It is my prayer that these weeks of “topical” prayer guides have been training and equipping you in the practice of prayer. 

This week’s prayer focus is on the work we are called to do — the great commission found in Matthew 28.  As we begin the week celebrating 15 years as a congregation at Deer Run, it will be good to spend time focused on praying about, and then doing, the mission we were called here to accomplish.   As you pray, listen for what God would have you to do.  

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 work God has called you to through the great commission.  With that focus in mind, pray for yourself, your family, your friends, neighbors, and all the “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: Authority.  Pray that God’s authority would be taken seriously by all believers — especially in regards to fulfilling His commission.  “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'”  Matthew 28:18

Tuesday: As you Go.  Pray that God would help you to see the opportunities in your daily life to proclaim a living faith in Jesus.  “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.'”  Matthew 10:7

Wednesday: Make Disciples.  Pray that everything about you is surrendered to Jesus and that you would not “cheapen” the cost of discipleship.  “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”  Luke 14:33

Thursday: Immerse into Christ.  Pray that you would recognize, and help others recognize, the importance of dying with Christ in order to be raised with Christ.  “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”  Romans 6:3

Friday: Teach Faithfully.  Pray that your teaching remains impartial and true to the Word of God.  “‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.'”  Matthew 22:16

Saturday:  Constant Presence.  Pray that you would recognize the constant presence of God and never replace Him with a temporary god.  “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'”  Hebrews 13:5