10 Things To Pray for Your Church



Introduction:  From the past weeks, we have been looking at Paul's overwhelming prayers for the church of Ephesus.  There were two reasons that drove Paul to pray for the church.  He wrote, "This is why, since I heard about your faith the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers."  (Eph. 1:15).  Here are the two things that is Paul's prayer focus: 
  1. faith in the Lord Jesus (salvation of people)
  2. your love for all the saints (growth of the church)
Last Wednesday, we focused on evangelistic praying.  Today, we focus on Discipleship Praying and we ask the questions, what are the things that I can pray for the church.  Below are ten scriptures that dictates what you and I can pray for the church.  

At the end of this session, we will go to small groups and actually pray.  Here are the 10 things to pray for the church:  

 
1.  Pray that the church stays true to God’s message – and we proclaim it whether or not it’s convenient.
Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.
– 2 Timothy 4:2
Lord Jesus, compel us as a church to proclaim Your truth and preach Your message. It won’t always be easy, and it may not be convenient. But Jesus, Your words are life to us. Use Your Word to rebuke us, correct us and encourage us — and let us follow you as we hold each other accountable. Only You can give us great patience and the words to teach. We fully depend on You! Amen.
 
2.  Pray that the church would be deeply committed to seeking God in prayer.
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.
– Colossians 4:2
Jesus, twice You cleared the Temple in righteous anger, because Your house was to be a house of prayer. Help us not to take that lightly. Lord, direct us to our knees, and seal our commitment and desire to be devoted to communing with You in prayer. Let our church be known as a house of prayer. Keep us awake, alert. Fill our hearts with joy no matter the circumstances as we come to You as a church body in prayer. Amen.
 
3.  Pray that the church will boldly share Jesus — the ONLY way and ONLY hope!
There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people, and we must be saved by it.
– Acts 4:12
Savior, fill us with Your Spirit to boldly proclaim there is salvation in no one else but You! Through our church, shout Your name, lift up Your name for all to hear and all to see. Jesus, Your name is above all names. Only You can save! Keep us committed to sharing Your salvation and Your beautiful, wonderful, life-changing, eternity-altering name. Compel us to boldly speak Your name! Because of Your Name, and in Your Name we pray, Amen.
 
4.  Pray that the church will worship, adore and praise God, in spirit and in truth.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
– John 4:24
Lord, forgive us for worshiping what is not You. Direct our hearts to understand the fullness of Your character, Your heart, and Your truth. Open us up to fully live out our adoration of You, as a church family. Help us to honor You with our lives, and within the life and ministry of the church. Teach us how to worship You in spirit and in truth. You are holy, You are righteous, and You are absolutely worthy. Amen.
 
5.  Pray for the church leaders to follow Christ, and serve humbly. Pray for protection of their witness and example.
Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but freely, according to God’s will; not for the money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
– 1 Peter 5:2-3
God Almighty, we lift up our church leaders to You. We pray for our pastors and ministers, elders and deacons, teachers and ministry leaders. Instill shepherd hearts in them. Inspire them to dig deep into Your Word and root their lives in You alone. Protect their families and time with their families. We pray for humility as they lead, pouring out Your grace and generosity in them and through them. Preserve their witness – lead them as they walk with You, and give them the capacity to showcase Your love, mercy and forgiveness. Provide accountability as they lead us, and compel us to be faithful to stand in the gap for them. We praise You for the leaders You have raised up in this church! Amen.
 
6.  Pray for the church’s dedication and perseverance to press believers onto maturity in discipleship.
We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me.
– Colossians 1:28-29
Jesus, we confess as a church that we want to know You more. We commit to prioritize discipleship, to actively participate in the study of God’s Word, personally and corporately. God, come alongside us, and mold and make us to become more like Jesus. May our leaders labor and strive to present this body mature in Christ. Help us to grow! Give us a passion and zeal for the Bible and prayer — feed us, strengthen us and move us when necessary so that we are men and women of faith, full of grace and truth. Amen.
 
7.  Pray for more servants to join Jesus in His Kingdom work.
Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
– Matthew 9:37-38
Savior, open our eyes to the harvest before us. Lead us as a church to go out in the fields and get to work. We pray that you raise up men, women and children to make disciples here and around the world. Show this church how to be involved in Your Kingdom work, and motivate us to get to it. You are our Lord — and we will follow You! May your Holy Spirit give us the power to preach the Gospel to all creation, to make disciples of all nations, to care for the widows and orphans, to be Your hands and feet. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
 
8.  Pray that church leaders prepare and equip believers for service.
And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.
– Ephesians 4:11-12
Lord God, encourage our church leaders – and reinforce their calling and commitment to serve You. Give them the wisdom, knowledge, fortitude and zeal to train and equip the believers to be the church. Pour into them, and guide them as they pour into us. Lord, You are the master builder, and we pray that You supernaturally gift our leaders to build up the body of Christ. Amen.
 
9.  Pray that the church clings to its first love.
But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place–unless you repent.
– Revelation 2:4-5
Jesus, we can only love because You first loved us. You gave Yourself for us. We are YOUR body. We are nothing without You. Do not allow us as a church to take You or Your message of redemption for granted. Deepen our love. Show us how to love. We proclaim as a church that we love You!! You are our God! We want no one but You! Show us where we have failed. Bring us to repentance. Forgive us! You are our first, and only love, dear Jesus. 
 
10.   Pray that the church will trust Jesus to grow the church, in His way and in His power.
And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.
– Matthew 16:18
Jesus, build us, strengthen us, grow our faith. This is YOUR church. You created us. We are Yours. Use this church as YOU will, not as we will. Do what only You can do. We claim this promise: the forces of Hell will not overcome Your church. We stand in faith, covered in Your armor and armed with Your Word. You are our source of life and strength. We find sure footing, security and victory in the all-powerful, supreme King of Kings and Lord of Lords — Our Savior Jesus Christ! It’s in Your almighty name we pray, Amen.
 
Now go to your small groups and pick a few of these to pray for your church.  
If there is still time, as we come back together as a big group, let's go around and ask which of these points stand out for you?  What is your take-away from these 10 point lessons?  After which, we will close in prayer by any of you who will volunteer.   

 
*This post is adapted and expanded from http://neuething.org/10-scriptures-to-pray-for-the-church/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Dispersed To Exile

Image
God allows 'life pauses' where moments that we are stopped dead on our tracks while he accomplishes His will.  It's not a comfortable place, but yet necessary.    There are many examples of this in the Bible, but it is one that we do not enjoy.  One key reason for this moment is God's expression of "tough love" (Prov. 3:11-12, Hebrews 12:4-11).    The Divided Kingdom of Israel and Judah sinned against God and they went to the place of no return (Isaiah 28-33; 2 Kings 17:16-20).  As a result, the Divided Kingdoms were shattered.   The Northern Kingdom Israel was dispersed by the Assyrian in 722 B.C. and the Southern Kingdom Judah was exiled by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.    In the midst of Israel's and Judah's life pause, God encourages three things:    Come back to God and renew your relationships with him.   Endure and thrive in the time of your exile. Look forward to the hope that is in Jesus.   DIDISCUSSI...
Read more

From Disoriented to United to Divided

Image
Lessons from the Old Testament Survey Class.   Today's lesson is about learning to understand that God has better plans for our lives.  That sometimes, our plans, no matter how good they are, are no better than God's plan.   Isaiah 55:8-9 says,  Let's consider three eras in our study today.  ERA # 1:  Disoriented People This was during the days of judges when God raised deliverers or judges in order to save His people.  The problem is that they kept on disobeying God and God was teaching them a lesson to trust Him.   The cycle of sin and repentance were lessonsyou will find in the book of Judges.   Another problem is that God's people were never content.  They wanted a king like the rest of the world.   This leads us to the next Era.   ERA # 2:  United Kingdom God granted Israel's request for a King despite His warning.  There were three kings that ruled one after the other and their live...
Read more

The Exile Returns

Image
God is always true to His promises.  He keeps His covenant to His people.   From Abrahams time until the Kingdom, they are a reflection of God's unfailing commitment to fulfilling His plan.    The exile is a momentary pause, and today, we examine the return of God's people back to the promised land.  In Ezra 1:2, it shared that King Cyrus allowed God's children to return to Jerusalem.   Finally, God's people's prayers are answered and the Jews experience a second chance as they return back to Jerusalem.  What would be your first bidding if you were in their shoes?  Unfortunately, it is easy to prioritize God and reciprocate.   Let's examine three responses of God's people.   I.  They renewed their Worship to Yahweh God's children return with Zerubabbel and reminding them that they need to ret return urn to God as they return to Jerusalem.  In your own reading, what was  II.  They restored their Wor...
Read more