WHAT TO PRAY:

BUILDING A CULTURE OF DAILY PRAYER

Pray everyone has a strong & growing desire to pray

 Philippians 2:13 (NLT) - God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

 Psalms 27:7-8 NLT - My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Pray everyone develops the discipline to pray first each morning

Isaiah 50:4 (NLT) - The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT) - Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Pray everyone has a teachable heart & they learn to pray the daily prayer pattern that Jesus Himself gave us

Luke 11:1 (NKJV) - Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray...”   2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven...”

BUILDING A CULTURE OF FASTING WEEKLY

Pray everyone will respond to the call to fast and decide to fast a meal every Thursday

Joel 2:15-16 (NLT) - Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!  Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting. Gather all the people—the elders, the children, and even the babies.

Jonah 3:5 (GNT) - So they decided that everyone should fast, and all the people, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth to show that they had repented.

2 Chronicles 20:3 (NKJV) - "And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

Pray that we would see the supernatural answers that only come when we add fasting to our prayers!

Matthew 17:21 - "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

Ezra 8:23 (NIV) - So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.

Daniel 9:3, 10:12 (BSB) - So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting… Then he said “…your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.”

Pray we would all experience the incredible benefits of fasting: Power, Direction, and a Renewed Heart for God.

Power – Luke 4:14 NKJV - Then Jesus returned (from fasting) in the power of the Spirit…

Direction – Ezra 8:21 NKJV - Then I proclaimed a fast…that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.

Renewed heart for God – Joel 2:12 (NKJV) - Now, therefore,' says the Lord, 'Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting

BUILDING A CULTURE OF READING THE BIBLE DAILY

Pray everyone agrees to follow a daily Bible reading plan that completes the bible in a year.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT) - He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV) - "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night."

John 15:7-8 (NKJV) - If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

Pray everyone increases in hunger for reading the Bible

1 Peter 2:2 (NKJV) - "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby."

Psalm 119:20 (NLT) - I am always overwhelmed with a desire for your regulations.

Psalm 19:9-11 (NLT) - The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

Pray that everyone has a greater respect and honor for the Bible

Nehemiah 8:3,5-6 (NIV) - So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law… Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet…all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) - "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) - All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.