Husbands – Love For God

Key Scripture: John 17:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ “And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Mark 12:30 (NKJV)

³⁰ “‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.‘  This is the first commandment.”

General Prayer Focus: Husbands

Specific Prayer Focus: Love For God

Prayer: Father, I thank You for my husband and ask that You would pour out Your blessing on him today. I ask that You would put the love that You have for Your own Son Jesus into his heart, causing him to overflow with love for Jesus. I pray that the same affection, passion, and delight that You have in Jesus would grow within my husband’s heart and that He would feel the emotions of Your heart for Your Son, being impacted and transformed by it. I pray that His love for Jesus would far surpass his love for me as his wife and that he would have a longing and desire for more intimacy with You. I pray that You would give him the ability to love You with all of his heart, all of his soul, all of his mind, and all of his strength – holding nothing back! I pray that You would empower him by Your Holy Spirit to love You wholeheartedly, not allowing any compromise or sin to keep him from giving himself completely to You.

Guilt in Parenting

Key Scripture: Psalm 34:4-5 (NIV)

⁴ I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
       he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
       their faces are never covered with shame.

General Prayer Focus: Family

Specific Prayer Focus: Parents Suffering from Guilt

Prayer: Father, today I pray for parents who struggle with feelings of guilt and shame when they feel like they have failed or made mistakes.  So often we mess up as parents and do things we later regret or simply don’t have the wisdom we need to make the right decisions.  It’s easy for the enemy to assault us with guilt and shame and condemnation, so I pray for these parents, that You would draw them to Yourself with Your tender mercy and lovingkindness.  I pray that You would cause them to come to You with their fears and insecurities and inadequacies and that You would deliver them from the lies of the enemy that would seek to separate them from You.  I pray that they would look into Your face and see the depths of Your love and grace for them in their time of desperate need and that You would remove all shame from their hearts.  I pray that they would be filled with great joy and that You fill them to overflowing with Your love, that that same love would flow to their children.  I pray that they would not be locked down by shame and guilt, but that they would be motivated by Your Holy Spirit to seek to be godly parents and learn from their mistakes and move on.  I pray that You would give them the strength and comfort and encouragement they need, as well as the wisdom in how to change and move forward in the right direction.  Where they feel lost or overwhelmed or discouraged, I pray that You would shine the light of Your face upon them and deliver them from their fears, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen!

Sacred Parenting

Key Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:5-7

⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 

General Prayer Focus: Family

Specific Prayer Focus: Sacred Parenting

Tidbit of Information: “…having kids isn’t about us – it’s about him.  We are called to bear and raise children for the glory of God.” (Sacred Parenting, Gary Thomas, pg. 16)

Prayer: Father, today I pray for parents, that as they seek to love You with all their heart, soul and strength, that You would give them the grace and strength to teach their children to do the same.  I pray that You would write Your Word upon the hearts of parents today and show them how they can impress Your Word upon the hearts of their children.  God, would You show us that parenting is not about us, but it’s about You and about raising our kids for Your glory.  I ask that You would give us wisdom in how to parent, as well as creativity and discernment in how to teach and instruct our children in Your ways.  Father, I pray that You would help parents to be a godly example their children, that our lives and actions would match what we are saying with our words.  Would You empower us to realize the sacred and holy calling that parenthood truly is and give us the grace to be made holy and more like You, Father, in our journey of parenting.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sources/Links: Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas
Impress Your Kids

Unity in Marriage

Key Scripture: Matthew 19:4-6

⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

General Prayer Focus: Marriage

Specific Prayer Focus: Unity

Prayer: Father, I thank You for the gift of marriage and that You created it to be a beautiful picture and representation of the relationship that Your Church will have with her Bridegroom Jesus.  Today, I pray for marriages within the Body of Christ, that You would strengthen them and cause them to have a firm foundation in You.  Father, You designed marriage to be a picture of unity and oneness, something that You joined together, so I pray for greater unity in marriages today.  I pray that husbands and wives would be bound together in love and that nothing would be able to separate them.  I pray that the high divorce rate in Christian homes would be shattered and brought down and that You would strengthen the hearts of men and women to persevere through the trials and remain committed to their marriage vows.  Lord, would You cause love to abound in the marriages in Your Church, that husbands and wives would love each other with the same love that is in Your heart for them.  I pray for an unconditional and passionate love in marriage that cannot be quenched by the attacks of the enemy that would seek to drive them apart.  Lord, would You restore marriage to the way You designed it to be – a joining of a man and woman in perfect unity with each other and with You, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen!

Healing for Women Who’ve Had an Abortion

Key Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NIV)

¹⁴May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

General Prayer Focus: LIFE/Abortion

Specific Prayer Focus: Healing for women who’ve had an abortion in Canada

Tidbit of Information: “As many as 80-90% of women testify that they struggle with depression and anxiety after having an abortion and MOST women say the quality of their lives is NOT enhanced but reduced after their abortion. Every study that we have seen indicates that most women deeply regret their abortion and wish they would have known 1) the stage that their baby was at when they were terminated and 2) what the potential emotional and psychological outcomes for their lives would be.” (Source)

Prayer: Father, today I bring to You in prayer the women in Canada who have had an abortion and I ask that You would pour out the grace of Jesus upon them.  Father, where they feel weak and broken, would Your grace bring healing to their hearts and their bodies.  Father, I ask that You would lavish Your great love upon them, that they might know Your mercy and forgiveness and be set free from depression and self-hatred.  I ask that in their pain that they would turn to You and seek Your face and be washed clean and completely restored by the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for them.  Would You fill them with Your Holy Spirit and would they enter into fellowship with Him, receiving a revelation of Your heart towards them as they walk with the Holy Spirit in communion and friendship.  I ask that You would minister to the void that they may be feeling after losing their baby and bring complete healing to their emotions, bodies, and any psychological effects of having an abortion.  Would You set them free from shame and condemnation and replace it with Your love and a love for the lives of the unborn, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Sources/Links: Bound4Life Canada

Encouragement for Mothers

Key Scripture: Genesis 15:1

 ¹ After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
       “Do not be afraid, Abram.
       I am your shield, 
       your very great reward.”

General Prayer Focus: Family

Specific Prayer Focus: Encouragement for Mothers

Prayer: Father, today I thank You for mothers and for the incredible role they play in our lives.  I thank You that You love mothers and care for them and that You understand their every struggle, need, and desire.  Today I pray that You would give them a revelation that in the midst of the mundane activities of motherhood, that You are their very great reward.  I pray that they would be strengthened and encouraged by the knowledge that every single cup of cold water, every single act of service, every single diaper changed, nose wiped, meal prepared – that they all count towards an eternal reward that far outweighs the present sacrifice.  I pray that You would fill every mother with the reward of Your love and the feeling of Your delight over them as they care for their children – these little ones who are so precious and dear to Your heart.  I ask that You would give them wisdom in how they parent, that You would instruct them by Your Holy Spirit on how to love and guide their children, and that You would equip them with Your gifts and fruit of the Spirit for each challenge they encounter.  And in all of it, may they feel Your smile upon them and know the joy of finding their reward for everything they do, in You.  Amen.

Secure Homes

Key Scripture: Isaiah 32:17-18 (NIV)

 ¹⁷ The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
       the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. 
 ¹⁸ My people will live in peaceful dwelling places,
       in secure homes,
       in undisturbed places of rest.

General Prayer Focus: Family

Specific Prayer Focus: Secure homes

Prayer: Father, today I lift up to You in prayer the many families across the earth who are not currently experiencing peace or security in their homes.  For the families that are broken or where there is abuse or fear, I pray that You would come with Your love and transform these parents and children and bring healing.  Father, I ask that You would draw the hearts of moms and dads and children to You and cause them to desire righteousness so that they may experience the fruit of peace, quietness and confidence in their homes.  I pray that You would come with the power of Your Holy Spirit to heal broken hearts and broken relationships so that they may feel secure and safe when they are at home.  I pray that You would restore families to the way You designed them to be – whole and healthy – and that You would be at the center of families once again.  Where there is strife and discord, would You bring peace and rest.  Where there is pain, would You bring healing.  Where there is separation and divorce, would You bring reconciliation.  Where there is fear, would You bring peace and trust.  Father, let the families of the earth be undisturbed places of rest that are filled with the presence of Your Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

The Spirit of Adoption

Key Scripture: Romans 8:14-17 (NKJV)

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…

General Prayer Focus: Spirit of Adoption

Specific Prayer Focus: Christian families who are adopting

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you have adopted us into your family and that you have called us your children!  In the same incredible way that you have given us the Spirit of adoption to call you “Father”, I ask that today you would give this spirit to many in such a way that they would be moved to adopt children into their own families.  God, I ask that many believers in Jesus would receive a revelation of your love for the abandoned and unwanted children of the world who are in desperate need of loving parents.  I ask that you would cause your church to rise up in answer to the issue of abortion by declaring that she is willing to accept and embrace the babies that others would wish to eradicate. 

Father, I also pray for those Christian families who are both now in the process of adopting a child or who have recently adopted, that you would send supernatural provision their way to pay for all the paperwork, social and legal services, and travel expenses.  Lord, would you move on the hearts of people to give generously to these incredible families who are sacrificially opening their hearts and homes to these children.  For those still in the process, I pray that you would go ahead of them to prepare the way, that any hindrances or barriers to the adoption process would be removed and that you would grant them divine favor with all officials and organizations who need to approve their applications.  I also ask that you would grant these parents and families patience, trust, and deep stores of love – that through the difficulties and challenges of adopting, that their hearts would be kept in the palm of your hand, in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

A Prayer For Your Child

Key Scripture: Psalm 71:5-6, 17 (NIV)

5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.  6 From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.  I will ever praise you… 17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

General Prayer Focus: Families

Specific Prayer Focus: For our children to know the Lord

Prayer:  Father, I thank You for my son/daughter and that he/she is a blessing straight from Your heart!  Lord, I ask that my child would put his/her hope and confidence in You from a very early age.  I ask that even from birth, my child would rely completely on You and trust in You for everything he/she needs and that his/her heart desires.  I ask that my son/daughter would love You with his/her whole heart, praising You and declaring Your marvelous deeds, for from the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise!

Father, I also ask that from my son’s/daughter’s youth, that he/she would be instructed by You.  Lord, may he/she receive revelation directly from Your throne.  Would You give my child dreams and visions, revealing Your love to him/her, that he/she would know Jesus and desire to give his/her heart completely to You.  I ask that from an early age, even like David, Samuel, Josiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and Jesus himself, that my son/daughter would know You and hear Your voice and receive guidance, direction and instruction from You.  Would he/she have encounters with Jesus, angelic visitations and be filled with Your Spirit, in Jesus’ name. Amen!