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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

This week in prayer, we come to God with our own hopes, needs, re-quests and praises. Prayer is an act of talking to God about anything and everything.

Consider the range of emotions in the Psalms:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (Ps. 103:1)

“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Ps. 40:1)

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1)

“I love you, O Lord, my strength… my rock and my fortress… my God in whom I take refuge.” (Ps. 18:1-2)

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God. Simply and as honestly as you can, speak with God about your life. What’s on your mind? What’s going on in your heart? How is your soul?

If you prefer journaling, write out your conversation with God.

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Needs. Today’s prayer invites us to pray about our needs. Sometimes we hear the message that we should not have needs, that needs are a sign of weakness; and that in all things, we “need” to be self-sufficient. This would be considering our needs through the lens of strength & weak-ness. Another way to consider needs is through the lens of relationships. At the most basic level, every child born in the world has needs. These needs are met by a Mother or Father in the context of a relationship of love.

God knows we have needs. Scripture acknowledges this and offers us a way forward.

Consider Philippians 4:6.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication (asking) with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God.”

Prayer Guidance

Share with God about your needs. What are you worried about? What are your hopes? Where do you need healing?

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Gratitude. As kids, we were taught to thank people who gave us gifts at Christmas time. We would thank people verbally and also write thank you notes. It was an act that drew our attention to the giver of the gift.

God puts good in our lives. It can be easy to miss. If we miss the bless-ings in our lives, how much more might we miss the giver?

Consider James 1:17.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God today about the good things in your life. What are you thankful for? What brings you joy? Where have you experi-enced laughter? Who has blessed you and encouraged you? Who is someone who served your or invested in your life? What material possessions are your grateful for?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Plan & Presence. Prayer is about both talking to God and listening. In listening to God, transformation takes place. Listening in prayer causes us to notice God’s plans as we become quiet. We begin to see glimpses of how God is working in our own lives and begin to align ourselves with God’s plans. Sometimes, it feels like God is far off. But I wonder if some-times, we fill our lives with so many other things, it is ourselves who have wandered off from God. Drawing close again to God in prayer makes it easier to hear.

Consider Jeremiah 29:11-13.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wel-fare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Prayer Guidance

Speak with God about his presence in your life and his plans for you. Where is God at work in you? If God were to have his way in your life, what would he transform? What are your and God’s plans for your future?

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Assurance. All of us carry around things from our past that we regret and wish we had not done. Sometimes we say things we wish we would not have said, or not said things we wish we had. The good news of Christ is that it is not our past failings that defines us, but rather our pres-ent and future relationship with Christ.

Consider Colossians 3:3-4.

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Also see I John 1:9.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God today about your past, your previous choices, ac-tions and relationships. If there is anything there that is holding you back from living in freedom now (like regret or un-forgiveness), then offer that up to God in prayer. Ask for God’s forgiveness and assur-ance. God is love and power together. He carries an unconditional love for you, with the power to forgive and release you from the past.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Richard Foster is an American, Christian author who has written and ed-ited several books dealing with prayer. The following prayer comes from his book Prayers from the Heart.

I am, O God, a jumbled mass of motives.One moment I am adoring you, and the next I am shaking my fist at you.I vacillate between mounting hope, and deepening despair.I am full of faith, and full of doubt.I want the best for others, and am jealous when they get it.Even so, God, I will not run from your presence. Nor will I pretend to be what I am not. Thank you for accepting me with all my contradictions.Amen.

Prayer Guidance

Let your prayer and conversation with God be about anything that is honestly and truly you, even if it seems marked by contradiction.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Preparing for Worship. Saturday is usually a day of chores and activi-ties after a busy week of work or school. Saturday prayers can also be prayers of preparation. Tomorrow we gather with other Christians to worship God. It is the event in our week where we affirm the reality of the glory of God and the unity we share with other followers of Jesus.

Consider this prayer of Jesus for his disciples.

John 17:22-23a.

“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one…”

Prayer Guidance

Spend time today talking with God about preparing for worship. As you go through your day, know that you are hour by hour, getting closer to Sunday morning.

Ask God to prepare your heart for Sunday. You can ask God to meet you and speak to you through the worship songs, the mes-sage or through the Scripture passages. You could also ask God, to bring someone to mind today, who you could encourage and bless when you see them on Sunday morning.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7Week #1— Praying for Ourselves

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Today we shift the focus of our prayers. We move from praying for our-selves and will be spending this week praying for others.

Prayer Guidance

Think about the people you saw today (or will see today) at church. Who are the people and the relationships that God has placed in your life? Bring them to mind and see their faces. You may want to write their names below.

Talk with God today about the people in your life. Has someone blessed you or encouraged you? Give thanks for them. Is someone you know facing a challenging time? Pray for them.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Needs. Just as we have needs, the people around us also have needs. Intercessory prayer is our prayer on behalf of someone else. Jesus Christ prays for his followers. The Bible says Jesus intercedes for us. When we pray for others, we follow in the way of Jesus.

Consider Romans 8:34.

“Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

Prayer Guidance

In your prayer today, write down the names and the prayer requests you have for others.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Gratitude. We can give thanks for the people in our lives. Who are the people in your past who have invested themselves in you? Take a mo-ment to remember them. Who are the people who have encouraged you in the past? Give thanks to God.

Consider your life presently. Who are the people who love you, who stand by you through good times and bad, or who are in your circle of friends or family? Today is the day to give thanks to God for the relation-ships in your life and the people who are gifts to you.

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God about the people in your past who invested in you and loved you.

Next, spend time thanking God for the people who add to the rich-ness of your life today.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Plan and Presence—Loved Ones. God has a plan for your life and also for the lives of the people you know and love. Today we focus on those we love in prayer.

Consider Lamentations 3:22-23.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Prayer Guidance

Spend time today talking with God about people who are dear to you. Pray about God’s plan for their lives and for their future. How may God be at work in their faith journey? What hopes do you think God has for them?

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Plan and Presence—Difficult People. Just like we have people we dearly love in our lives, we all have difficult people in our lives. Today we talk with God about those people in our lives who are more difficult to love.

Consider Lamentations 3:22-23. (Yes, this is the same passage from yesterday. As it describes God’s love for people we love, it also de-scribes God’s love for those who are difficult).

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Prayer Guidance

Spend time today talking with God about people who are difficult for you. Pray about God’s plan for their lives and for their future. How may God be at work in their faith journey? What hopes do you think God has for them?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Leaders. Last Friday, we saw a prayer by American Pastor Richard Fos-ter. Here is another prayer from his book, Prayers from the Heart. This is Foster’s prayer for spiritual leaders.

Prayer Guidance

As you read this prayer, talk with God about your spiritual leaders and intercede for them.

I pray, dear God, for our spiritual leaders.Increase in them the charism of faith that they might preach the Word of God with boldness. Increase in them the charism of wisdom that they might guide us into the Way. Increase in them the charism of pas-tor that they might always lead us with compassion and strength.

I plead, gracious Father, for our spiritual leaders. Protect them from the attacks of the evil One.Protect them from the distractions that render their work ineffective.Protect them from the criticism of well-meaning people.All these things I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13Week #2 — Praying for Others

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Preparing for Worship. Tomorrow is our day of worship together. Pre-pare your body, mind and soul to gather with others. Some suggestions to prepare for worship: go to bed a bit earlier and get a good nights rest, plan to wake up 30 minutes earlier to avoid being rushed, pray for others you anticipate seeing.

Consider Hebrews 10:24.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day draw-ing near.”

Prayer Guidance

Spend time today talking with God about preparing for worship. In considering others, pray to God and intercede for the worship lead-er, the speaker and for all who will be joining together for Sunday.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14Week #2 — Praying for Others

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This week in prayer, we talk with God about the Church. The Church is the people in our GrX community. The Church is also the community of all the other Christians throughout the world, who are worshiping in their own places. Over the next several days, we will be praying for both our local church and also for other churches. All of us together are the church because we are united in Jesus Christ.

Consider Colossians 1:18-19.

“And he [Jesus] is the head of the body, the church. He is the be-ginning, the first born from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God today about the church, which is his body, his idea and his creation. Simply allow your conversation with God to un-fold.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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Needs. The church is the body of Christ, made up of regular people like you and me. Today is an opportunity to reflect on our church and come to God with our collective needs. From the beginning, followers of Jesus gathered together to pray.

Consider Acts 1:13-14.

“… Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas…. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God about the needs you see in our community. What are the needs, hopes and longings of your church?

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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Gratitude. Today’s focus draws our attention to being thankful for how God is at work in the church. People are making time and finding cour-age to reach out to serve others in God’s love. God is challenging people to grow in their faith and character, practicing love, patience, grace and forgiveness.

Consider Paul’s words to the church in Colossians 1:3-4.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God about the goodness you see in our church. Where do you see God? What are you thankful for in our community? Which people, initiatives or programs are you grateful for?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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The Church through Time. God has been gathering followers of Jesus together from the very beginning, when Jesus first called his disciples to follow him. In the book of Acts, we see the formation of the early church. It reminds us that there have been many churches and communities of Christians who have come before us.

Consider Acts 11:26.

“…. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God about other churches you have been a part of in the past. Some of these may have been good experiences. Some may have been very hard. You may find yourself praying between both thanksgiving for communities who loved you and mercy for com-munities that were difficult.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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The Church and Location. As followers of Jesus, we share a relation-ship with all of the other churches around us, both locally and in the world. In the Bible, we see churches in the cities of Philippi, Ephesus and Galatia. In the Bay Area, we are also surrounded by many churches in different cities.

Consider Paul’s words in Philippians 1:1 & 3.

“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi…. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.”

Prayer Guidance

Write out the names of the other churches around us. You may also want to list other churches you know in other parts of the world. Talk with God about them and say a prayer of blessing for them. Pray for their people, their leaders and their ministries if you know them. Give thanks for the gift of other Christians and churches.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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Each Friday, we share a written prayer. The following is attributed to Francis of Assisi.

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace;where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon;where is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;where there is darkness, light;where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master,grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console;to be understood as to understand;to be loved as to love;for it is in giving that we receive,it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Prayer Guidance

As you pray these words, see yourself in the context of your church. If a particular phrase or word catches your attention, medi-tate on this and talk to God about what it means for you.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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The weekend! And we turn towards our final week of prayer. How is it go-ing? What have you discovered about God and yourself?

To prepare for worship on Sunday, take some time to talk with God to-day.

Consider this simple prayer from Julian of Norwich (Julian lived in the 14th Century and is one of the earliest Christian, female writers. Her book is entitled Revelations of Divine Love).

God, of your goodness give me yourself, for you are enough for me. And only in you do I have everything.Amen.

Prayer Guidance

Reflect on this simple prayer in your conversation with God. How does this prayer challenge you? How does it give you peace?

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21Week #3 — Praying for the Church

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This week, our theme is to pray for the world. Clearly, it can feel over-whelming to pray about all of the things going on. Rather than trying to pray about many different things, look to focus your prayers this week on something specific.

You may decided to choose a particular country. You may want to fo-cus on a particular issue. You may be drawn to a specific population or people group.

Some possibilities are:People suffering from ebola, human trafficking or homelessness.Public education and praying for teachers, administrators and schools.Syria, Thailand, Kenya, US.

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God about the things you are seeing in the news and in the world.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Needs. This week in our prayer for the world, I encourage you to focus on one particular issue, cause, country or people (see Sunday, February 22 for more info.) Even in praying for one issue, it can feel overwhelming. We can bring even this to God in our prayers.

Consider Psalm 61:1.

“Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;From the end of the earth I call to youWhen my heart is faint.”

Prayer Guidance

Bring up the needs that you see in your conversation with God. It may be a very long list. It may feel insurmountable. Pray for God to bring his mercy and provision to the situation.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Compassion. The following prayer comes from Mother Teresa of Calcut-ta. Surrounded by great poverty, Mother Teresa faithfully responded out of compassion for the people God placed before her.

Make us worthy, Lord, To serve others throughout the world Who live and die In poverty and hunger,

Give them, through our hands, this day their daily bread, And by our understanding love, Give peace and joy.

Prayer Guidance

Taking these words as a model, how would you pray and talk with God about your issue or cause?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Gratitude. It may feel difficult to think about gratitude or thanksgiving in the face of a major issue in the world. However, in many places where there is struggle, despair and darkness, there are also signs of hope.

Consider John 1:5.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Prayer Guidance

Talk with God and also do some exploring today. Search out if there are individuals or organizations that are working to bring hope to the country, cause or people you are praying about. Pray for these people and for God’s hope in the midst of struggle.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Plan and Presence. One of the struggles about praying for a large issue is that if feels impossible to solve. Jesus did not solve all of the suffering of his day, but rather, as the Son of God, entered into the suffering of the whole world. Sometimes Jesus is called the suffering servant. In situa-tions of great need, sometimes it is simply the presence of another that brings hope and comfort.

Consider John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

And Isaiah 53:4-5.

“Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows … he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities… and with his wounds we are healed.”

Prayer Guidance

Pray and talk with God about his presence in the world. Where is God present in the world? Where is God in the issue or cause you are praying about?

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Prayer in Community. In our times of prayer, there is the possibility that we can pray with others. Praying together brings a greater sense that we are connected and united in God. Like carrying a heavy weight, it is usu-ally easier to carry it with others than alone.

Consider Matthew 18:20 where Jesus says,

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Prayer Guidance

Consider praying with one or two other people about your issue or cause. Meet together in person or pray together over the phone. If you cannot get together, ask someone to pray with you about your issue at a particular time of the day. When that time comes, you will not be physically in the same place, but you will be praying together at the same time.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27Week #4 — Praying for the World

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Although today is our final day of “Let’s Talk,” conversation with God is an ongoing way to deepen our relationship.

Consider Paul’s encouragement in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstanc-es; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Prayer Guidance

As you talk with God today, go back through your journal. When did you feel close to God or most connected?

Spend part of this time praying for yourself, for others, for the church and for the world. Talk to God out of the needs you see and also the thanks-giving you can offer.

What might you do next to continue your conversations with God?

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28Week #4 — Praying for the World