…if My people who are called by My name
will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their
land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
I feel so blessed to live in a country
where there is a National Day of Prayer – and it is today! Prayer is so
important for advancing God’s kingdom, and the verse above says, so is repentance.
I don’t consider myself a very good prayer warrior but I am working on it. And
I fully believe in the power of a repentant heart, turned toward God, seeking
His will and favor through prayer.
When we align our prayers to Scripture, we
can rest in the fact that we are praying God’s will and He desires for it to be
done. The circumstances of our nation look bleak but I believe that God still
desires healing to come on our land. Even if we do not see positive results in our government or social systems, victory is taking place in the hearts of individuals - starting with you and I.
Today, many churches are gathering together
to pray for our nation. I am encouraged to know that my church has joined with
32 other local churches to pray 24 hours a day for seven days leading up to
today. People signed up for one hour time slots to keep intercession moving
from person to person, church to church, keeping our nation and community
bathed in Scripture and requests to God.
Tonight several churches will meet for a
special prayer service including community members who will pray over
various facets of our society. I will not be able to attend the service, but I
am overjoyed that such an event is taking place.
If you too have a heart for praying for our
nation, I’ve listed below a very abbreviated version of the prayer points our
church uses when we do 24 hours of prayer. As you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to
guide you. He may reveal certain people to pray for by name, or circumstances that
are specific to your community that need prayer covering. Understand that prayer is communication with God about His will and it is also a weapon against our enemy, Satan. You will see prayer points associated with "resisting the enemy". As followers of Christ, we can boldly take a stand against the devil's schemes with God's grace and power in our lives.
Before you start, please take the time to
prepare your heart and be open to the repentant changes that must take place.
Allow God begin the healing process in you, then trust Him to work through your
prayers to bring healing to others.
PERSONAL PRAYER PREPARATION
I thank God for:
•
His redeeming grace to cleanse and sanctify my life for His service
Repent for:
•
Lack of diligence, attentiveness, & excellence
•
Being a poor Christian example to others
Declare:
•
God's power and wisdom is available to help prosper the work of my hands
•My career and ministry choices will glorify & please God and
help others
Pray:
•
To have wisdom & vision to make good & righteous decisions
•
For wisdom and boldness to share your faith
Resist the enemy:
•
Resist dishonesty and abuse of
privileges
•
Resist complaining, back‐biting and dishonor of those in authority
*****************
CHURCH
Thank God
for:
•
Knitting the Church together as He sees fit
•
Devoted Church leadership and their families
•
Local church congregations & ministries, whether large or small, young &
old, and of all nationalities, and missionaries around the world
Repent for:
•
Disunity in the Body
•
Not taking God's Word seriously
•
The Church not using the power & authority it has been given
Declare:
•
That Jesus Christ is Lord of His Church
•
The Church shall delight in God and God will delight in the worship
of His people.
•
The resources of this world will flow into God's Temple and will be used for
His purposes
Pray:
•
For Church leadership to have wisdom in preparing Christians for every good
service
• That God’s people would receive emotional and spiritual healing
and walk in wisdom, power & character
•
For brothers and sisters who are being tortured and persecuted for their faith
Resist the
enemy:
•
Resist the enemy's attempt to bring oppression and depression upon the people
of God
•
Resist apathy, hopelessness, doubt and unbelief
•
Resist the reasoning of man
*****************
FAMILY
Thank God
for:
•
His beautiful plan & provision in the institutions of marriage & family
•
His restorative power, wisdom & grace to fix what has been broken
Repent for:
•
Not treating our family members with honor
•
Abuse, Abortion, Divorce, Sexual Immorality
•
Money and things and careers becoming more important than family
Declare:
•
Jesus Christ is Lord over the family
•
God's power & grace is well able to fix what has become broken
•
As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord
Pray:
•
That God would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of
the children to the fathers
•
That Government legislation would be pro‐life & pro‐family
•
That love, peace, honor, forgiveness, nurturing & protection would be the
environment of our homes
Resist the
enemy:
•
Resist the temptation to be unfaithful
•
Resist anger, rage, malice, discord
•
Resist the temptation to treat family members worse than others
*****************
GOVERNMENT
Thank God for:
•
Establishing law, order, safety, peace and assistance through government
•
Christians and righteous leaders He has already placed in positions of
leadership & authority
Repent for:
•
Complaining about government & not praying for our government
•
Departing from our righteous heritage and not teaching it to our children
•
Not voting and participating in our governmental process as we have opportunity
Declare:
•
That righteousness establishes a government & people but sin is the
downfall of government & people
Pray:
•
For Divine wisdom to be given to our leaders to make wise & righteous
decisions
•
That law enforcement, firefighters, first responders and public servants would
have Divine protection & guidance to maintain law
Resist the enemy:
• Resist the foolishness & wickedness of "political correctness"
• Resist the enemy's schemes to bring compromise into the public & private lives of our leaders
*****************
BUSINESS
Thank God for:
•
His provision and His plans & purposes for the work of our hands
•
His Divine Wisdom & Strength to help
Repent for:
•
Complaining about work – not recognizing your work or job is a gift from God
•
Leaving God out of our business life
•
Lack of diligence, attentiveness, & excellence in our work
Declare:
•
God's Power and Wisdom is available to help prosper the work of our hands
•
Christians will be salt and light in the workplace
Pray:
•
For those who are unemployed and desperate for work and steady income
•
That business leaders will have wisdom & vision to make good &
righteous choices
•
For Christians to have favor in the workplace
•
For creative ideas from management and workers to improve product, working
conditions & relationships
Resist the enemy:
•
Resist dishonesty and abuse in the workplace
•
Resist the spirit of greed and the temptation to make money more important than
people
*****************
EDUCATION
Thank God
for:
•
Him being the Ultimate Teacher & the Truth
•
His calling, anointing, and appointing people to teach and mentor others
Repent for:
•
Parents not being more involved in their children's education
•
Impropriety in relationships: Teacher/Student & Student/Student
•
Ungodly curriculum
Declare:
•
Children are a blessing of the Lord
•
God's Truth shall prevail over the deceptions of the enemy
Pray:
•
That educational systems and teachers would protect the innocence of children
and respect the values of parents
•
That teachers and administrators recognize their responsibility to be good role
models on and off campus
•
That students would enjoy learning and would be equipped for a productive life
•
That students would continue to have the right to express their Christian faith
Resist the
enemy:
•
Resist the enemy's work to try to destroy our children through unbiblical
teachings and philosophies
•
Resist the spirit of lust and immorality from infiltrating our schools
*****************
HEALTHCARE
Thank God
for:
•
His provision for good health in our bodies
•
His working through the Health Care Professionals
•
His provision through His Spirit, Word, & Power to bring healing
•
His providing natural resources for our health & His wisdom to take
advantage of this provision
Repent for:
•
The many children that have been aborted in this state
•
The lack of trust in God in the area of health and parental responsibility
•
Spirit of greed in the fraudulent activity that is associated in this field
Declare:
•
That our Healthcare System will value life at all stages (from the unborn to
the elderly)
•
That Healthcare Professionals will maintain a high level of integrity &
represent Christ in their daily practice
Pray:
• For uninsured patients facing huge medical bills
•
That there would be an increase in the development of cures for diseases
•
That people would choose to live a wise and healthy life style according to
God’s word
•
That the Women’s Resource Center and other pregnancy resource centers will have
favor, protection & greater support from local Church Congregations to
operate and save the lives of babies
Resist the enemy:
•
Resist the spirit of greed and the temptation to make money more important than
the life & health of people
•
Resist the spirit of death that seeks to keep abortion legal in our state
*****************
ARTS/MEDIA
Thank God
for:
•
Christian television and radio stations & programs, publications, and other
resource centers
•
Christians in Hollywood & other media outlets who are having an impact on
secular programming
•
Raising up higher standards in the media industry
Repent for:
•
Allowing secular media to take over our homes, time, thoughts, and families
•
Watching & purchasing unwholesome or blatantly immoral material
•
A lack of prayer in regards to those who influence what gets produced, created,
written & broadcast
Declare:
•
That God intends our media outlets to be used for His purposes and for the
benefit of the people
•
That there will be an expansion and financial support for more Christian Media
Outlets
Pray:
•
That those who are involved in media would have wisdom, maturity, conviction
and peace
•
That news agencies would report the facts without bias
•
That there will be an increase in Christian media outlets with high
journalistic standards
Resist the enemy:
•
Resist the enemy's use of the media to manipulate or influence our decisions
and lifestyles
•
Resist the anti‐Christ Spirit in media outlets to seduce people away from the
work and principles of God
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