Thursday, November 19
Reading:
Ephesians 1, Proverbs 24, Jeremiah 52, Judges 1-2
(Sorry! we missed this section of the OT earlier this week! If you already caught the mistake, continue onto Judges 6-8 today!)
Prayer:
We are in the midst of Three Weeks of Prayer together as a church. We are calling on you to join together as a church family for three weeks of prayer based on the example in Daniel. The challenge is to pray 3 times a day for 3 weeks for 3 different areas (our country, our church, and our family & friends). Each day for the three weeks we will provide you with three things to pray for our country and three things to pray for our church. You will decide the things to focus on in prayer for your family and friends. Join us!
Our Country:
- Pray for patience and wisdom for our local officials as they navigate uncertainty in our country; that God would pour out his spirit into their decision-making process.
- Pray for members of our armed forces currently serving while there is a change of administration in the country. Pray that they would carry God’s faithfulness and justice in all that they do and that God would protect them.
- Jeremiah 29:4-7: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Our Church:
- Pray that the many individuals in our church would pursue unity in the Spirit. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are all being built up into a dwelling place for God’s spirit – not many dwelling places, but one singular dwelling place called the church. Pray that we would put aside any differences to unite under the banner of a crucified and risen King Jesus.
- Pray that, if there is anyone harboring ill-will, anger, or bitterness toward each other, they would pursue reconciliation and restoration of relationship. Pray that we would see one another as new creations in Christ and that we would forgive as Christ has forgiven us.
- 2 Corinthians 5:16-21: “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Our Family and Friends:
- As God leads you for your family, your friends, neighbors, small group members, and co-workers.