Seven days of prayers for a New Year - 2016 At Intown we value the power of God s grace that meets us in times of prayer. The Prayer Team has organized this guide of prayers for the first week of 2016, so the whole congregation can be engaged in prayer, service, and relationship with one another. Day One Prayers of thanksgiving for life, health and grace As we begin a new year it is a natural time to give thanks to God for our life, both physically and spiritually. God has chosen us to lavish upon us his love, grace and blessing. In the opening paragraphs of Paul s letter to the church in Ephesus, he writes: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God s possession to the praise of his glory. Praise God for your health mentioning the challenges you may have experienced in the past or present. Thank him for choosing to adopt you into his eternal family and praise him for the riches of his grace.
1 Talk to him about anything that comes to mind concern your physical or spiritual health. Ask him to guide you as you offer thanksgiving. Day Two Prayers of praise for beauty, creation and redemption For most of us, it only takes a few minutes of looking out side or looking around our neighborhood to find beauty that we can enjoy, appreciate and praise our Creator for. And to realize that we live in a broken world that is being redeemed and reclaimed by the same Creator who made it originally gives us comfort, hope and expectancy for the future. We can use the words of Psalm 96 to guide our prayer today. As you pray through these ancient words of praise, feel free to pause and reflect on what your own heart is saying to your Heavenly Creator and God. Let your heart, soul and body rejoice and be happy that the Creator knows you and you are fulfilling your purpose by singing to Him. Psalm 96 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, The Lord reigns. The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
2 let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. Day Three Prayers for peace, justice and forgiveness There are many voices calling for peace and justice today. This has always been the case, it seems. It can be a very self-centered request. According to the words of Jesus, both require a measure of forgiveness and healing. The prophet Isaiah was continually calling the nation of Israel and the congregation of the Lord to stop doing wrong and to learn to do right. As we pray for peace, justice and forgiveness; may we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit to be taught of the actions and thoughts from which we need to turn away and repent. Acts of peace begin with the smallest relationships we have and move to the larger systems that we are a part of. Lord, give us hearts of peace that we might show mercy and grace to those we are closest to. Give us hearts of justice that we might put ourselves into uncomfortable situations for the weakest among us. And, above all, lead us into forgiveness that we act like you as we encounter your children. Isaiah calls to us: Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. (Is. 1:16-17) Ask the Lord to bring peace and justice in our community. Pray for wisdom in your relationships and roles within our community. Ask the Lord for one thing you can do in 2016 to defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless or plead the case of the widow.
3 Day Four Prayers for the proclamation of the Gospel here and around the world The final words of Jesus recorded for us in the Gospel of Matthew are quite famous in the Church. The words are often called a challenge, a command and a call to action. No doubt, as Jesus was speaking to the eleven who were closest to him on earth, he wanted to help them focus on what was next. And, no doubt Jesus asked them to teach, disciple and baptize, but he also provided bookends to his command with assurance of his authority in heaven and on earth and of his presence with them forever and ever. So, as we pray today for the roles we have of teaching others about Jesus and supporting the growth and expansion of the Church, we know that Jesus will be right with us in our prayers. From the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 28: Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Don t you love the way that Jesus responded to their worship? He was drawn closer to them. Let s worship Jesus as we listen to his words and pray for the Good News to be proclaimed. Pray to the Lord and ask Him for opportunities for His followers to teach and disciple and baptize in His name. Pray for those vocational evangelists, preachers and missionaries you know. Ask the Lord to give them strength for their work. Pray for the members of Intown Community Church that we would have motivation and courage to worship the Lord and to teach, disciple and baptize in His name. Pray for hungry hearts and listening ears of those God is calling to encounter His children as we teach, disciple and baptize.
4 Day Five Prayers for growth of my heart for God At the onset of 2016, what is your deepest desire? Think about that question and write down some candidates for your deepest desire. It is likely that one of those desires has something to do with our theme for today. You want to have a more devoted heart for God. What does that look like for you? As you ask the Lord for one or two things related to your heart for Him, you might want to use this Psalm of David s as a way to remind you what you believe about God and what you have been given through salvation and a healed relationship with Him. Psalm 27 The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour[a] me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, Seek his face!
5 Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Day Six Prayers for vision, direction and energy for Intown Community Church We are beginning 2016 at Intown by refocusing the vision that we believe God has called us to. We are looking at our mission statement: Loving our community to life by pursuing gospel restoration. Our senior pastor, Dr. Jimmy Agan, will be preaching on Sunday January 10 th from Romans 8:31-39; he will be especially looking at loving to life and asking the questions: What kinds of life will our community need in 2016? In what ways do we need to be prepared to love people? As we were reminded in Matthew 28, we have a mission to accomplish, not individually, but as a community of believers. Pray for our continuing understanding and commitment to our mission. Ask the Lord for clarity as we hear our pastor s preaching and as we talk with others about how to love our neighbors to life.
6 Here is the passage in the letter to the Roman congregation that Jimmy will be teaching from: What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more than that, who was raised to life is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ask the Lord for guidance and energy as we implement the vision He has given us. Pray for so many of our community who serve us through hospitality, community groups, children s ministry, student ministry, Bible studies, small groups, diaconal ministries, worship and prayer. Ask the Lord for strength and patience. Day Seven Prayers for family, friends and neighbors The coming year holds many uncertainties for us. As we think about the activities, work and adventures we have planned for just this month, we might be tempted to feel anxious and fearful. So, lets bind our hearts together and bring all of our plans or lack of plans, fears and anxieties, hopes and dreams to Jesus today. Perhaps there is no greater story to read today to remind us of God s faithfulness in our daily roles and our most important relationships than the story of Abraham s senior servant who was given the task of finding a wife for his master s dear son Isaac. This is from Genesis 24 and is a beautiful illustration of how we carry our daily work and callings to the Lord. We have bolded the two examples of a prayer of petition and a prayer of thanksgiving. Abraham was now very old, and the Lord had blessed him in every way. He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for
7 my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac. The servant asked him, What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from? Make sure that you do not take my son back there, Abraham said. The Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father s household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, To your offspring I will give this land he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there. So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter. Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master. He set out for Aram Naharaim and made his way to the town of Nahor. He had the camels kneel down near the well outside the town; it was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water. Then he prayed, Lord, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a young woman, Please let down your jar that I may have a drink, and she says, Drink, and I ll water your camels too let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master. Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin; no man had ever slept with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again. The servant hurried to meet her and said, Please give me a little water from your jar. Drink, my lord, she said, and quickly lowered the jar to her hands and gave him a drink. After she had given him a drink, she said, I ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink. So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. Without saying a word, the man watched her closely to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful. When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels. Then he
8 asked, Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room in your father s house for us to spend the night? She answered him, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son that Milkah bore to Nahor. And she added, We have plenty of straw and fodder, as well as room for you to spend the night. Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord, saying, Praise be to the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the journey to the house of my master s relatives. Pray for yourself and all of the concerns of your heart. Ask the Lord for blessing on behalf of your family and friends. Pray for blessings on your neighbors and acquaintances. Pray that things might go well with them and that they will see the Lord as the giver of life and goodness. Worship the Lord with praise and thanksgiving for His faithfulness to all generations and for now and today.