“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

This week’s prayer focus:  Speak!

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Matthew 10:27-28  (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 our prayer emphasis will focus on what we speak.  The Bible has much to say about what we speak and how we speak.  As you pray this week, ask God to help you speak the right things in the right way.  Pray that you would always look for, and make the most of, every opportunity to speak words of truth and life.  Pray that the people around you would know of your relationship with Jesus and seek that for themselves as they hear you speak.  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 how you speak and who God would have you speak to.  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:  Speak Plainly.  Pray that your ears would be opened to God’s Word and that your tongue would be set free to speak plainly.  “At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.”  Mark 7:35 (NIV)

Tuesday:  Speak Praise.  Pray that your mouth would be filled with praise of God every time you speak.  Pray that praise of God would continually flow from who you are.   “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.”  Luke 1:64 (NIV)

Wednesday:  Speak Boldly.  Pray that God would enable and empower you to speak boldly on His behalf even in the face of opposition.  Pray that you would not allow anything to keep you from speaking God’s Word with boldness.  “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”  Acts 4:29 (NIV)

Thursday:  Speak Encouragement.  Pray that God’s Word would fill you with words of encouragement for others.  “After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak.’”  Acts 13:15 (NIV)

Friday:  Speak Wisdom.  Pray that you would have the maturity to see through the deceit of the wisdom of this age in order to speak true wisdom.  “We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.”  1 Corinthians 2:6 (NIV)

Saturday:  Speak Truthfully.  Pray that you would actively put off all falsehood so that you would be free to speak truthfully to the people around you.  “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.”  Ephesians 4:25 (NIV)