AUGUST 2017 A WEEK OF PRAYER He said to them, The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves. Mark 11:17 (NLT) 1615 W. Louisiana McKinney Tx, 75070 www.firstmckinney.com 972.542.0041 firstmckinney.com/prayer
Prayer Page 01 Page 02 Prayer He said to them, The Scriptures declare, My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have turned it into a den of thieves. Mark 11:17 (NLT) A WEEK OF PRAYER As we move into the next chapter of leadership at First McKinney, we are inviting every believer in our church to join us in A Week of Prayer from August 6-13. This dedicated time of prayer will be a chance to unite as one and create new patterns of faith for our church as we spend time together praying. There are multiple ways for you to get involved. Traveling or can t make it to First McKinney during the Week of Prayer? No problem, there are several ways you can still participate. For more information about the 7 ways you can get involved visit www.firstmckinney.com/prayer. 7 WAYS TO JOIN US IN PRAYING AUGUST 6-13 1) PRAYER DEVOTIONAL GUIDE To unite us in prayer each day during the week, we have created this 7-Day Prayer Guide to help guide you through different aspects of prayer each day. These devotionals will be available in print and online starting August 6 at firstmckinney.com/prayer. 2) 15-MINUTE PRAYER CONFERENCE CALL Prayer is only a phone call away. Join us for five (5) separate times of prayer through a 15-minute Prayer Conference Call. Anyone is welcome to participate. Simply call 605.475.4021 (Code 757419#) at the times below and you will be guided with others around the world in a short time of prayer. The five Prayer Conference Calls will be: s August 7, 6 am & 6 pm s August 9, 6 am s August 11, 6 am & 6 pm 3) PRAYER ROOM From August 7-12 our Prayer Room will be open for prayer from 7 am - 7 pm. No signup is needed; just join us in the Prayer Room for any 30-60 minute period. The Prayer Room is located just outside the entrance to the ROCK, our Student Center. There will be leaders and staff members present to help facilitate some of the prayer times. 4) 24-HOUR FAST We encourage you to participate in a personal 24-hour fast between August 8-10. The suggested fast is a liquid-only fast of water & juices. If you have never fasted before or are looking for resources as you begin, we have made resources available online to help you at firstmckinney.com/prayer. 5) HOUSE OF PRAYER On Wednesday August 9, we will host House of Prayer at 6:30 pm. This monthly corporate prayer gathering normally happens the First Wednesday of each month and features a time of teaching, scripture reading, corporate prayer and individual prayer times. 6) LIFE GROUP PRAYER LESSON On Sunday, August 13, we are encouraging First McKinney Life Groups to study a synchronized lesson on Prayer during their normal teaching times at 9:15 am and 10:45 am. This will be a great opportunity to create new prayer traditions in your small group. 7) DAY OF PRAYER The culmination of our Week of Prayer will be Sunday, August 13, in both the 9:15 am and 10:45 am worship services. Gather with us for a time of focused prayer. The morning will feature a rich time of both prayer and worship as we celebrate where we have been and look forward to where God is leading us through prayer.
Day 1 August 7 Praise in Prayer Written by Donna Kilgo Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD. Psalm 150:6 (NIV) You are worthy, our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Revelation 4:11 (NIV) Page 03 Webster defines praise as, to express thanks to or love and respect for. Psalm 150:6 declares Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! God is completely self-sufficient and doesn t need our praise. So why should we praise God? Because He deserves it! By our nature, we spontaneously and instinctively praise what we value and love. C. S. Lewis wrote, we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. God is worthy of our praise. Look again at Revelation 4:11, You are worthy our LORD and God, to receive glory and honor and power. To bring glory to God is our purpose in life. The Westminster Shorter Catechism states Man s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. One of the purposes of prayer is that we get to know God. Praise puts the focus on God, not on us. Will you start your prayer today with praise? Psalm 37:4 says Take delight in the Lord. Will you brag on God for what you love and respect about Him? Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Page 04 Day 1 August 7 In your prayer time today and this week, start your prayers by praising God. Brag on God for five (5) of His attributes, promises or mighty deeds/acts as revealed in the Bible. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for our new Lead Pastor Sam Holm and his family, Rebecca, Anna and Ellie. Pray for a smooth transition for he and his family. Pray for guidance and wisdom as he steps in to the pulpit and leads us in the coming days. Pray for strength and protection as the enemy seeks to stop all that God might do here. Pray for his wife and kids as they start a new school and move into a new neighborhood. Finally pray that God would use him to lead the church to change the spiritual landscape of Mckinney and the surrounding communities.
Day 2 August 8 Confession in Prayer Written by Leroy R. Armstrong, Jr. 1 Listen! The LORD s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. 2 It s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. Isaiah 59:1-2 (NLT) 18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the LORD would not have listened. 19 But God did listen! He paid attention to my prayer. 20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me. Psalm 66:18-20 (NLT) But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:9 (NLT) Can you hear me now? We often ask this question of people on the other end of a cell phone conversation. Why? We are verifying that nothing is hindering the person on the other end of the call from hearing us. Did you know there are times when God chooses not to hear our prayers? Isaiah 59:2 says because of our sins, God will turn away and refuse to listen to our prayers. The Psalmist acknowledged this same truth in Psalm 66:18. He praised God for not ignoring his prayer and for listening to his prayer. He praised God for paying attention to his prayer (Psalm 66:19-20). His praise was preceded by personal confession of his sins. When we confess our sins, we humbly agree with God that He is right and we are wrong. When we confess our sins, we name our sins just as God has named them (Galatians 5:19-21). When we confess our sins, God s faithful promise is He will forgive us, cleanse us and hear our prayers. Does God hear you now? Page 05 Page 06 Day 2 August 8 Throughout today and this week, personally confess to God the sins you have committed. Ask Holy Spirit to increase your spiritual sensitivity and help you quickly confess your sins as needed. As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for our Staff. You can find a list of staff at firstmckinney.com/ staff. Pray for each staff member by name. Pray for wisdom as they help lead out in the coming transition. You can pray for their safety and to find time to refuel and pray for their families. Include in your prayers our interim leadership team in Warren Samuels and JD Kennedy. You might even take a moment to send them an email or word of encouragement that you lifted them up in prayer today.
Day 3 August 9 Thanksgiving in Prayer Written by Hal Womack Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Colossians 4:2 (NLT) Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) Positives outweigh negatives. Sunny days are normally better than cloudy. Together beats alone. Thankfulness is a positive. Being thankful has an important place in our conversations with our Lord. Page 07 Page 08 Day 3 August 9 As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for our missionaries. First McKinney directly supports a number of mission partners and missionaries through our Transform Your World Network (TYW). Log onto firstmckinney.com/tyw to learn more about TYW. Take a moment today to pray for those missionaries serving overseas and in our own backyard. Pray that God will open the doors of ministry for them and that He would be glorified among the nations. Pray that through their ministries lives would be changed here and around the world. Today, as you pray, start your conversation with God by thanking Him for your three (3) most important blessings. (1) (2) (3) One of the favorite hymns of all time is based on being thankful. The song writer encourages us to, Count your many blessings name them one by one. For most, that would be a very long prayer, indeed. No one s prayer should be short because we are all blessed. Therefore, as we pray, gratitude should be in our hearts and on our lips. In Philippians 4:4-6 (ESV), the Apostle Paul encouraged us to be positive and thankful as we pray: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Have you taken the Apostle Paul s words into your heart as you pray? Do your positives outweigh your negatives?
Day 4 August 10 Petition in Prayer Praying for Your Needs Written by Charla Milligan Page 09 Page 10 Day 4 August 10 Think of three (3) areas of personal struggle. Write those needs down and begin praying. Be honest with God about how your struggle is affecting you. Then ask God for wisdom and to use your situation to bring glory to His name. 9 This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV) It all started 10 years ago. The pain and fatigue were sometimes unbearable. My joints started swelling and I knew there was a problem. After five years of doctor visits, I finally got a diagnosis - Lupus. I would pray in desperation asking God to heal me, but I always felt guilty afterwards about praying for myself. I thought, Others have it worse and I need to focus on them. Then, I would break down, knowing that I needed God s help to restore my hope and body. My prayers for healing seemed the only way to calm my spirit. (1) (2) (3) Do you ever feel guilty praying for yourself? Scripture actually gives us permission to pray for ourselves. In fact, in Matthew 6:11-13 Jesus teaches us to pray for our own physical and spiritual needs, for forgiveness and deliverance from sin. Do you have health, family or financial concerns? Pray often for your needs. Cry out to God with your pain and your suffering. He knows and He cares. Never forget God loves you so much He gave His son Jesus as a sacrifice so you can enjoy relationship with Him. As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for the leaders in our church. Pray for the leaders that serve on the various leadership committees and teams. If you know anyone who serves on a committee or team, lift up them up by name today. Pray for the Life Group teachers also. Pray that God might use their words to help our church grow deeper as they share biblical insights. Pray for wisdom and strength as they lead out among us.
Day 5 August 11 Intercession in Prayer, Part 1 Praying for the Needs of Others Written by Myron Wilson 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. Romans 8:34 (NIV) As Christ-followers we are encouraged to follow Christ s example in life and in death. Which when translated usually focuses on Christ s conduct while on earth, and ultimately his sacrifice on the cross. However, let s be reminded Christ isn t just chillin-out in heaven! He is even busier than he was while on earth. According to Romans 8:34, one of the things Christ does in heaven is to continually intercede on our behalf to God. Because of his great love, Christ is interceding continually on our behalf. Therefore, the encouragement as we love others is to follow his example and do likewise. Jesus is speaking to God continually for our benefit, thus we too should follow by speaking to God on behalf of others. If we are to be people who truly love and care for others, it is imperative that we intercede in prayer on behalf of those in need. Further, note that Christ intercedes continually---this should again be our model for the practice of intercessory prayer. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 (NASB) Page 11 Page 12 Day 5 August 11 How much of your regular prayer time is devoted to the needs of others? Who are the 2-3 people who can become targets of your continuing intercessory prayer on their behalf? (1) (2) (3) As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for leaders of our community. This includes those in politics and government offices as well as first responders. If you know anyone that serves in leadership in our community, pray for them by name today. Pray that our leaders would make wise decisions and that God would guide them as they seek to make our community better. For the first responders in our community pray for supernatural protection as they seek to protect and serve you and our community.
Day 6 August 12 Intercession in Prayer, Part 2 Praying for the Needs of Others Written by J.D. Kennedy But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly. Matthew 5:44 (ERV) Ask God to bless the people who ask for bad things to happen to you. Pray for the people who are mean to you. Luke 6:28 (ERV) Page 13 Page 14 Day 6 August 12 As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for your neighbors. Pray for their needs and for an opportunity to show the love of God to them. If you know some of the issues they might be facing lift their names and needs up in prayer today. Specifically pray for the people that live in the houses on either side of you and across the street by name if you can. Pray that they might see Jesus through your actions, and then look for an opportunity to share that love. How often have you prayed for those you are experiencing conflict with? Did it change the way you thought about that person? Pray for someone who you are experiencing conflict with: When you pray for healing are you doing it in an arrogant fashion or with a humble request and understanding that God s will must prevail? So always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. Anyone who lives the way God wants can pray, and great things will happen. James 5:16 (ERV) We need to take a broader view of what intercessory prayer is. Dietrich Bonhoeffer has certainly broadened my view of what intercessory prayer means. A Christian community either lives by the intercessory prayers of its members for one another, or the community will be destroyed. I can no longer condemn or hate other Christians for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble they cause me. In intercessory prayer, the face that may have been strange and intolerable to me is transformed into the face of one for whom Christ died, the face of a pardoned sinner. That is a blessed discovery for the Christian who is beginning to offer intercessory prayer for others. As far as we are concerned, there is no dislike, no personal tension, no disunity or strife that cannot be overcome by intercessory prayer. Intercessory prayer is the purifying bath into which the individual and the community must enter every day. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Day 7 August 14 Intercession in Prayer, Part 3 Praying for the Needs of Others Written by Sam Holm Page 15 Page 16 Day 7 August 14 Do you see that McKinney is ripe and ready for harvest? How is that affecting the way you pray? And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Matthew 9:35-38 (ESV) When Jesus tells his disciples to pray for something, we should listen. Notice several things: First, the harvest is plentiful. I have been told that 87% of McKinney does not attend a worship service on Sunday mornings. Our city is ripe to respond to the Good News of Jesus. In the story of the woman at the well in John 4, Jesus tells his disciples: Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Second, the laborers are few. There is a shortage of people who are going and making disciples of all nations. What is the solution? Interestingly, Jesus doesn t first say to his disciples: the workers are few so go to work. He will send out his disciples in the next chapter. However, Jesus first commands his disciples to pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Will you do something with me for the next 30 days? Set a daily alarm on your phone for 9:38 am (from Matthew 9:38). Wherever you are, whoever you are with and whatever you are doing, pause when the alarm goes off and pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Imagine what can happen if all of us earnestly pray this prayer for 30 days! As part of intercessory prayer for our church and community, take a moment today to pray for someone you know that does not have a relationship with Jesus. This could be someone from your targets on Day 5, someone you have been building a friendship with, or someone you just met. Pray for them by name and pray for an avenue to share the Gospel with them. If possible share their name with other believers so they might join you in praying. If you do not have anyone in mind, begin by praying for an opportunity to meet someone that needs Jesus.
Prayer Page 17 Page 18 Prayer First McKinney Prayer Ministry www.firstmckinney.com/prayer What s Next? MAP TO PRAYER ROOM The Prayer Room is located outside of the entrance of the ROCK Student Center. Call the church office to sign up for a prayer time and to recieve an entry code. First McKinney is a church built on the foundation of prayer. We would love to invite you to join us as we pray for our church and our community. There are three ways you can get involved. Prayer Partners 350 Looking for a way to continue your prayer journey? Our online prayer calendar is at www.firstmckinney.com/prayercalendar. You can become a partner by signing up to pray during one hour every week. Each week you will receive a reminder to pray during that hour for our church and our community. Our goal is to have our community transformed through prayers taking place 24/7. House Of Prayer This monthly corporate prayer gathering normally happens the First Wednesday of each month and features a time of teaching, scripture reading, corporate prayer and individual prayer times. It is a great time of renewal and encouragement as you journey in your walk of faith. You can find the upcoming dates and locations for House of Prayer at firstmckinney.com/prayer. Prayer Room The First McKinney Prayer Room is open for prayer each day. The Prayer Room is located just outside the Student Center entrance and you can signup for a time by calling the church office, 972.542.0041. The Prayer Room was recently renovated and redesigned as a quiet reverent space to pray.