Prayer Guide

December 3, 2024

Prayer—What’s in it for me?

Today I urge you to invest precious, valuable time in PRAYING FOR OTHERS.

Hopefully I have not lost you yet!

But some people might have moved on to something else now. Why? Well, to them, there seems to be nothing in praying for others that can meet the pressing needs of their own lives!

However, this is an area in which God’s economy is different than ours. God has so ordained our lives that it is as we are PRAYING FOR OTHERS that HE MEETS OUR NEEDS!

Some of you are under a lot of stress: health needs, a family or job crisis, and the general issues of life. To take time to pour out your heart to God for others—well, you need a little more than my word to know what that does. Let me share two awesome verses.

First, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7). God, through Jeremiah the prophet, told His people, who were in exile—hundreds of miles from home, prisoners in a foreign land, under the discipline of God—“It is as you pray for the welfare of the people around you that you will experience My richest blessings!”

Someone may say, “But that word was to a whole nation. It’s just me that is under all this pressure (and in all honesty, pain). I am living with regret, remorse, and loneliness, and I am miserably misunderstood by those around me.” You are not the first to experience these woeful times. A man by the name of Job comes to mind.

We know the story, the pain, and the well-meaning-but-lousy counsel that Job received from his “friends.” It was in the midst of that mess that we see this word of light from the book of Job: “The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold” (Job 42:10). It was when Job prayed (in his pain) for his self-righteous advisors that God restored his fortunes twofold!

Today, step out in faith. Trust the light of God’s Word. Invest time in prayer for others. While I can’t tell you what the stock market will do today, this week, or this year, I can tell you that praying for others pays a rich return!

Bill Street

Pray we will live in the reality of the “Reason for the Season”

It is so easy to get caught up in the hectic pace of the holidays: parties to attend, presents to buy, and people to remember (I won’t even mention the busy church calendars!). Pray Christians will make time to reflect on and live in light of Jesus’ birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and return. In other words, pray that we will focus on the eternal, not the temporal.

• Pray we will truly worship. “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).
• Pray we will unashamedly share the Good News. “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’” (Luke 2:10–11).
• Pray we will live holy lives in light of the price Jesus paid. “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29–32).

Pray Singing Christmas Tree will be anointed by God

• Pray that those who need to be saved will hear the Gospel and repent, believe, and receive Jesus.
• Pray that those who need encouragement will receive a touch from God.
• Pray that those who need hope will be filled.
• Pray that those who need strength will receive it.
• Most of all, pray these words of Jesus: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:32)

Pray God will bring healing to our land

“See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand” (Deuteronomy 32:39). God and God alone is our ultimate refuge and hope.

• Pray we, as Christians and as a nation, will do our part (repenting, humbling ourselves, and praying) in living out God’s will so we might experience healing. “And My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
• Pray God will supernaturally protect and heal His people. “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).
• Pray that people’s “Red Sea” crises (moments when God’s people are trapped with seemingly no way out) will not be wasted but be turned into testimonies of praise.

Pray for political leaders

We have been commanded to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2).

• Pray those who are saved will lead with righteous values and will share the Gospel of Christ with other political leaders.
• Pray the pressures of leading will cause lost politicians and judges to call on Jesus to be saved.

Pray for Memphis

Rather than simply reading the words of Bro. Steve’s “Prayer for Memphis,” please take time to verbally pray for our city, using this prayer as a guide:

Heavenly Father, thank You for Memphis. Thank You for strategically locating our city in the middle of this nation so we can be a catalyst for revival and spiritual awakening. Please pour out Your Spirit on Memphis, Shelby County, the Mid-South, and beyond. Help every Christian and every Bible-believing, Jesus-loving, Gospel-preaching church to love God, love people, share Jesus, and make disciples. Demolish every demonic stronghold of pride, violence, racism, poverty, crime, sexual immorality, drug abuse, sickness, religious formalism, fanaticism, legalism, liberalism, and traditionalism. Replace those with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, blessing, mercy, grace, hope, healing, liberty, and freedom. Destroy the stronghold of religion in Memphis that has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. Give us churches that believe in the Bible and preach salvation only in Jesus Christ. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in Memphis on Earth as it is in Heaven. Bring pastors, lay leaders, and congregations together as we pray for this city. Bless our governmental leaders, schools, and economy. Please send good jobs to Memphis. Keep casinos, strip clubs, and occult activity out of Memphis. Do a work of revival in Memphis that can only be explained by Your presence and power, and do it all for Your glory. Call Your people to fervent, united, visible, extraordinary prayer. May the latter glory of Your Kingdom in Memphis be greater than the former, and please grant Memphis Your peace. Do exceedingly and abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think. In Jesus’ name, amen!