“A Lifestyle of Prayer”

 This week’s prayer focus: Work!

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
 Colossians 3:23-24 (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 pray about Work!  Each day our prayer time will focus on an aspect of our work and/or God’s work in and through us.  As you pray this week, consider the work you do, as well as the ability that God gives you to do that work.  Pray that you would recognize the value of the work God has called you to and that you would value the work that others do.  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 praying each day focused around the words of Jesus spoken from the cross.  With that focus in mind, pray for yourself, your family, your friends, neighbors, and all the other “one anothers” we’ve been praying for over the past weeks.    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: Required Work.  Pray that you would not lose sight of God’s requirement of belief in Jesus.  Pray that the people around you would understand the importance of believing in Jesus.  “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’  Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.'”  John 6:28-29

Tuesday: Helpful Work.  Pray that you would see the value of helping the weak.  Pray that the people around you would see by your example the great blessing of giving.  “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”  Acts 20:35 (NIV)

Wednesday: Tested Work.  Pray that you would pay close attention to what your life is being built with.  Pray that the people around you would come to know work that stands up to the testing of God.  “His work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.  1 Corinthians 3:13 (NIV) 

Thursday: Effective Work.  Pray that you would not give up on effective work.  Pray that the people around you would come to know Jesus because of the effective work you are doing.  “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”  1 Corinthians 16:8-9 (NIV)

Friday: Powerful Work.  Pray for the humility to allow God’s power to work in you.  Pray that the people around you today would recognize the powerful work of God as they see His work in you.  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)

Saturday:  Good Work.  Pray that you would be a student of God’s Word so that you are prepared for the good work He desires for you to do.  Pray that the people around you see God’s Word at work in you.  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)