40 Days of Prayer for the Community

       

   

             

 

…united as one

 Our prayer is that a community of believers would come together as ONE during this 40 day focused and united prayer effort for our community. Each day we will all focus on one aspect of our neighborhoods and/or the people around us. In addition to praying during this time individually, as a small group, or entire church, we ask that you consider organizing prayer walks across our community. If you make plans to do a walk please email us or send us a message on our Facebook page so that we can share our united efforts with others. We pray that this united effort would spark a revolution of love and unity in the local church. If you have any questions or would like for us to come visit with your small group or church about how we can unite together in loving others please email me, Travis (thefullextent@gmail.com) or my assistant, Christine (cajakubik@gmail.com). As we come together during this next 40 days may everything we do and everything we say give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This prayer guide is intended to be just that, a guide. Our hope is that as you pray individually and in groups over each of the 40 topics that God would begin to speak to your heart and show you His calling for your life in reaching those right here where we live. If, during this time, you feel called to serve a specific aspect of the needs in our community please contact us so that we can discuss ways we can be of assistance.    Travis White 903.780.3477  

                               

           

Day 1 Pray for unity within the local church. Pray today that our hearts would be open to the work of the Holy Spirit in healing divisions within our church bodies, between churches, and across denominational lines. Pray that the spirit of God’s words in Ephesians 4:1-6 would permeate the hearts of believers across our community. Day 2 Pray for families. Pray today for strength, love, and peace among families across our community. Pray that families in need would find the resources through the local church to find healing for brokenness, peace in the midst of chaos, and support to lead them to build on the foundation of the truth and love of Jesus Christ. Day 3 Pray for our local government/community leaders. Pray today for those who serve in elected office, that they may lead with courage and wisdom, reflecting the heart of God. Day 4 Pray for educators. Pray today for wisdom and understanding, for patience and guidance, and for knowledge and strength. Ask God for ways that you can encourage the educators you know. Ask for creative ways to serve them. Day 5 Pray for students. Pray today for their minds and hearts. Pray for encouragement when studies are difficult and that they would grasp the truth taught to them. Pray for their relationships and friendships. Pray against bullying and peer pressure. Pray for those who feel alone to be comforted by the presence of God. Day 6 Pray for the elderly. Pray for our senior citizens; especially those with age related, and other, disabilities that limit their abilities to care for themselves as they once did. Pray for opportunities to share the love of Jesus with them by helping them meet basic needs, ensuring every elderly resident in our community has safe housing, maximized mobility, and access to needed services.

Day 7 Pray for our medical community. Begin today by thanking God for all those who work in the medical community. Pray today for better communication between staff members and patients and their families. Ask God for increased resources for non-funded patients. Pray for more knowledge and more miracles. Day 8 Pray for our helping agencies and organizations. Pray for the many agencies and nonprofits that answer the call daily to serve those individuals and families in our community with the greatest needs. Pray that the needed tools would be available and pray for unity and collaboration so that resources are maximized and there is little “reinventing the wheel”. Day 9 Pray for our policemen and women. Pray today for courage, protection and perseverance. Pray for their families and loved ones who courageously support them. Pray for wisdom when they must make quick decisions, strength when they are weary, and compassion in all their work. Pray for opportunities for the community to show our appreciation to the men and women that keep us all safe. Day 10 Pray for our firemen. Pray for the men and women who give themselves daily to ensure our lives and property are kept safe from fire and other disasters. Pray for the family members of those serving our community. Pray for ways we can show our appreciation for the jobs they do. Day 11 Pray for our emergency workers. Pray for the men and women who serve our community in the emergency services fields. Pray for patience, wisdom, and courage as they make split second decisions that save the lives of thousands every year. Pray for opportunities to show them how much they mean to us. Day 12 Pray for the homeless. Today thank God that you have a home, a place of refuge, where you can relax and unwind. Pray for those who have no home, for those who have no refuge. Pray that God would be so real to them in their desperation. Pray for the mercy and loving kindness of the Father to be shown the local church. Ask God to fill us with compassion instead of judgment.

Day 13 Pray for at-risk youth. Pray specifically today for youth living in situations that put them at a greater risk of suffering physical, emotional, or social pains. Pray for their families to be strengthened and for these children to find hope in the love of those around them. Lift up ministries and organizations that bring resources to the needs of these children. Pray that God would lift up mentors, especially men, who would come alongside the boys and girls that could benefit from a loving, Christ-centered connection with an adult. Day 14 Pray for our disabled and special needs residents. Pray today for those special people in our midst living with physical and/or mental challenges. Pray that our community, and specifically our church community, would seek out opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. May those organizations and individuals that provide care to the special needs population within our community find strength, courage, and wisdom to stay the course in loving and serving these amazing people. Day 15 Pray for race relations in our community. Pray today that people will seek God and ask Him to reveal Himself to them to heal them from the inside out. Be open and ask God to give you His heart and eyes for people and the area around you. Ask that generational lies and hurts would be broken, and for peace and healing to take place. Day 16 Pray for single parents. Pray today for peace, for strength, for refreshment and for healing in brokenness. Pray for stable homes built on Christ. Pray that parents in need would find a haven in the community of believers around them and that the body of Christ would surround them and be aware of any resources they can provide. Day 17 Pray for our pastors and church leaders. Pray today for pastors and leaders to be refreshed in vision, faith, and love for the people they serve. Pray for ways to encourage our pastors and their families. Pray for unity for our area pastors that the fires of unity would burn in their hearts to realize we, as Christians, are all a part of “the” church even though we congregate in different places. May we pray that our pastors would seek out opportunities in 2011 to extend the hands of love and unity to each other.

Day 18 Pray for our widows. Pray today that God’s word would be fresh and alive. Pray that wounds of broken and grieving hearts would find the comfort the Father promises to those that mourn. Pray for sensitivity to those you know who are widowed. Ask the Lord for words of comfort and encouragement. Day 19 Pray for our foster children and foster parents/workers. Pray today for a fresh revelation of family. Consider those who are without families, and pray that they would find the love and comfort of a family and a home. Pray for grace and strength for foster workers. Pray that God would rise up qualified foster parents from our local church, that we would respond to the heart of God for these children. Day 20 Pray for literacy in our community. Pray today for a movement in Tyler that increases literacy and the Gospel. Pray for connection with children that are illiterate and for acceptance from parents who have illiterate children. Pray healthy long-term partnerships between our local body and leadership at the different schools in our area; that God would give us favor to bring programs into the local schools. Day 21 Pray for social justice issues- particularly the trafficking and exploitation of children. Pray today for understanding and a desire to become educated about this issue. Pray we would respond to the heart of God and be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. Pray against fear, and that instead we would be bold advocates for these children. Pray for God’s justice to reign and be encouraged that there is hope! Day 22 Pray for abused and neglected children Pray today that the presence and love of Father God would be so real and intimate to these hurting children. Pray that their view of God would not be distorted. Ask the Lord to open our eyes to children hurting around us, and for the boldness to speak up for them. Pray for protection, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Day 23 Pray for everyone affected by state and education budget cuts. Pray today for everyone directly affected by the mounting budget cuts in our state and educational system. Pray that our faith would be strengthened in God over a political system or economy. Be in prayer for the special opportunities these cuts provide to the local church in being able to fill the gap in practical ways, especially in our schools. Day 24 Pray for our economy and debt struggles for families. Pray today for individuals and families hit the hardest during our recent economic downswing. Pray for more opportunities for the local church to step up and meet families at the point of some of their greatest needs. Pray that we would provide more long term support such as Financial Peace University, job skills help, and networking through the church, rather than just a handout. Pray that our trust in God would be strengthened, that we would be assured that He will supply all our needs. Day 25 Pray for home health care workers. Pray today for the special people of all the area home health agencies that provide much needed love and care to the elderly, homebound, and disabled in our community. Pray for strength to endure the challenges and for peace and compassion in the times of chaos. Day 26 Pray for jobs and job training opportunities for our community. Pray today for the individuals and families who have been affected by joblessness. Pray for wisdom and growth in the agencies and organizations that seek to alleviate unemployment through job skills training and job search assistance. Pray that the local church would seek out opportunities to minister to families during these trying times. Day 27 Pray for strength and faith in the midst of hopelessness for many in our community. Pray today that God would open our eyes to see beyond just our circumstances and gain Heavenly perspective. Pray that we would keep our eyes on Him, and that in the light of Him joy would be restored. Pray that in our despair He would increase and we would be strengthened.

Day 28 Pray for those affected by mental illness and their caretakers. Pray today for the individuals in our community affected by mental illness. Pray that opportunities for Christ-centered care and treatment would continue to grow. Pray that stigmas in our community, and specifically, the local church would be erased and that pastors, caregivers, and community leaders would become better educated to the plight of those suffering debilitating mental illnesses that limit their ability to be strong and effective family members and citizens of our community. Day 29 Pray for those struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses-and their loved ones. Pray today for strength to persist even in the face of challenges that may seem insurmountable. Pray for courage to continue in life even as they face the reality of death. Pray for healing, for peace, for comfort. Pray that God’s arms will feel so strong and real to them as He is holding them and carrying them through. Day 30 Pray for nursing home/assisted living residents and staff. Pray today for all our nursing home and assisted living caregivers. Pray for peace and compassion as they care for our aging residents. Pray for nursing home residents, especially those who rarely get visits from family and friends. Pray for one of the dreams of Mission Tyler that every nursing home in our area would be adopted by at least one church that would start providing proactive love and care to these special people. Day 31 Pray for those incarcerated. Pray for all of the men, women, and teens who are incarcerated across our community. Pray that we could look beyond judgment and assumptions and seek ways to better share the love of Christ with them. Day 32 Pray for those in your own circle of influence across our community- family, friends, church members, coworkers. Pray today for those people in your own circle of influence. Pray that God would begin to speak to your hearts on how you can collectively begin to impact others in your community. Pray that every believer in 2011 would seek to have at least one person that they are discipling and one person that they are being discipled by. Pray that mentoring relationships would become the cornerstone of your small group or congregation.

Day 33 Pray for the business owners across our community. Pray today for our business owners. Pray that their success would help in the success of our community as well as our individual families. Pray that business increases would create jobs and strengthen our ability to be an example to other communities. Day 34 Pray for low-income families. Pray today for those families in our area struggling to make ends meet, keep the family fed, and a roof over their head. Pray for the ministries of Mission Tyler that seek to connect the resources of our community and the local church to those needs so that we can share the love of Jesus with others by simply meeting them at the point of their needs. Day 35 Pray for truth. Pray today for the Holy Spirit, the promised Spirit of Truth, would continue to reveal the splendor of truth to all people and to lead us into deeper mysteries of our faith. Pray that God would free all people from falsehoods that lead to evil, free them from false and harmful ideas which make a “god” our of their own choices. Ask God to immerse in His truth so that we would be effective witnesses of that truth in our own families, among our friends, and to the entire world. Day 36 Pray for peace in the midst of chaos. Pray today that we would release our “right” to understand and that as we do we would come to know the peace that passes understanding. Pray that we would be confident in knowing God holds all things together, that He never sleeps, He is always moving and always working even when we don’t see it. Rejoice today that God is in control and we can rest in Him. Day 37 Pray Thanksgiving for the blessings God bestows on His people. Lift up and glorify the name of Jesus Christ. Praise God for his blessings in our lives through the good times and the bad. Thank God for his faithfulness and His steadfast love. Day 38 Pray for those still veiled to the truth.

Pray that everyone would come to personally know the love and grace offered in believing in Jesus Christ. Pray that doors would be open for the church to live and speak the gospel in the lives of people across the community by connecting to them where they live, work, and go to school.

Day 39 Pray for fellow believers.

Pray that believers across our community would have boldness, courage, transparency and the willingness to mentor and be mentored. Pray that every Timothy would have a Paul, and every Paul would have a Timothy. Day 40 Pray for a revolution.

Let us join together in prayer in calling out to God for a movement of love and unity in the local church never seen before. Pray that the church would become passionately aware of the need to connect and relate to the unreached, the marginalized, the less-thans, and those different from us as we seek to share Christ with others through our actions and our words. Let us come together as we serve together; sharing resources, talents and gifts across the community as “the” church motivated by one goal: sharing the life-changing message of love and grace with everyone we meet.

Our country has never been in greater need for reformation since it began. We, the church, can no longer stand idly by allowing ourselves to be separated by denominationalism, fear, and the demands of man-made religion. We must unite as “the” church together with one calling: to love people with the love of Christ by meeting them at the point of their needs; not waiting for them to come to us. We must love unconditionally together; we must relate equally realizing we all fall short of heaven without the grace of Jesus Christ; and we must put aside petty differences, judgments, and criticisms that are raising up a generation of unbelievers that are losing faith in the church. We KNOW that the truth and love of Jesus Christ changes lives, so let us unite in taking that, and that alone, to a world, a community, in need. OneLoveRevolution Travis White thefullextent@gmail.com 903.780.3477