National Day of Prayer – Hope Prayer Guide Thursday, May 6, 2021
Theme: “Lord Pour Out Your Love, Life and Liberty”
Theme Scripture: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17
“As followers of Jesus Christ, we must come together in obedient unity and love that spreads God’s gospel and glory across the earth. We must share this message of love and life, so that our neighbors, co-workers classmates – so that all of the world would come to repentance, that NONE may perish and know the LIBERTY, the freedom from the stain and shame of sin. Everyone can have freedom ring in their hearts, liberty that pronounces you, “NOT GUILTY” from the One true judge.” Kathryn Branzell, President, National Day of Prayer Task Force
Spiritual Freedom: freedom from sin and condemnation (Romans 8:1); from the burden of trying to please God and the guilt from our failure to do so
• Pray to seek God's face, NOT just his hand • Pray with your heart fixed on God's glory, NOT just for personal satisfaction. • Pray from the treasury of God's word, NOT from a list of your own ideas. • Pray according to the Spirit's instruction, NOT only from human reason (from Transforming Prayer, Daniel Henderson p157)
Our Prayer Posture: To demonstrate humility and repentance before the sovereign Creator of the universe. God responds when we diligently and wholeheartedly seek Him (2 Chronicles 7:14).
He is worthy, I am needy. He is my all-sufficient, holy, sovereign Father. I am his humble, weak and dependent child. When these two realities meet, prayer transpires. (from Transforming Prayer, Daniel Henderson)
Prayer of Preparation (Private Time 6:30 – 8am) Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 7:14; Micah 6:8
Heavenly Father, Almighty God, silence all voices within my mind but Your own. Help me to seek and be able to follow Your will. May my prayers be joined with those of my sisters and brothers of Hope, that together we may glorify Your name and enjoy Your fellowship forever. Speak, Lord, Your servants are listening expectantly. In Jesus' name, Amen.
(For those fasting food, drink water or clear juices)
Following the ACTS Model of Prayer … Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication
ADORATION (Private Time 9-10am)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 95:1-7; Isaiah 6:3
Prayer:
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! All honor and praise and glory and majesty and wisdom and power are due Your name, O Lord, now and forevermore. Amen."
Personal Prayers of Adoration
(For those fasting food, drink water or clear juices)
CONFESSION (Private Time 11am – Noon) Scripture Reading: 1 John 1:8-9; Psalm 51; Daniel 9:1-19; Colossians 3:12-13; Hebrews 4:12
Prayer:
O God of mercy, You sent Your only Son to save us from the pain of guilt and sting of death. We carry the burden of our wrongs; the things we should not have done, and the things we have failed to do. Take this burden from us, O Lord. Cleanse our hearts from sin and restore to us the joy of Your salvation; through Jesus who suffered for us. Amen.
Personal prayers of confession and any known sin. Resolve to address any personal conflicts with others. In the genuine Presence of God, all sin is exposed. This is a harsh reality, but if you are not feeling convicted in some area of your life that needs confession and repentance, it is likely you are not in the Presence of God.
(For those fasting food, drink water or clear juices)
THANKSGIVING (Privately or in the Hope Sanctuary 4-5pm) Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:6-7; Colossians 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Prayer:
Thank You, gracious God, for causing light to come from darkness, for creating all things through Your Word, for giving us a home on earth, and for the joy of living,
Thank You, for speaking through the Law and the Prophets and for revealing Yourself through Your Son Jesus Christ. Thank You for Christ's loving sacrifice, the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, for the apostles and their teachings and for the church universal.
Thank You for Your steadfast love and faithfulness and our sure hope for the future.
May our lives, our wills, and our deeds be a continual thanks offering to You, O Lord, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Personal Prayers of Thanksgiving
SUPPLICATION (Privately or in the Hope Sanctuary 5-6pm) Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11; Philippians 2:3-4
Prayer:
Almighty God, in this world we are under great pressure. We are weak and weary. Strengthen our faith so that by the power of Your Holy Spirit we may overcome temptation and persevere through trials; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Personal Prayers of Supplication
(For those fasting food, drink water or clear juices)
Prayers for Unity in Our Church Body (Privately, Online or in the Hope Atrium (6-7pm)
Scripture: Matthew 18:18-20: Ephesians 4:1-3; Ephesians 4:13 (Two Readers)
• Purity and holiness in the church, growth in Christlikeness for the congregation (Phil 1:9-11). Pastor Gene Heacock
• Church Leadership—wisdom in shepherding the congregation (I Peter 5:1-9). Pastor Shea Fitzgibbons
• Church body to be a light to the community (Matt 5:16; 1 Peter 2:9-12) Pastor Gene Heacock
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts.” 2 Cor. 3:2-3
• Glory of the Lord to be manifested through His Church (Eph 3:20-21). Pastor Shea Fitzgibbons
Closing Unison Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we seek Your Spirit to help us in our weakness and to enable us to pray as we ought. May we be instruments of Your will and channels of Your love. We pray for Hope and its ministry, that we may be faithful to Christ now and in the future. We seek a vision of what You would have us be and do. Hear our prayers, for we pray with confidence in Jesus' name. Amen.
Break fast for those fasting.