Pray First
We know that prayer is powerful. It draws us close to God and brings results and unity as we seek Him together. We are taking 21 days as we start the year to seek God FIRST with daily topics and verses, promises, and prayers that you can stand on in faith. In 2024 we are starting January 2 join with us
JANUARY 2 | THANKSGIVING
As we start this time of prayer and fasting let’s start with
remembering Who we are praying to and all He has already done. We
are told to enter His gates with thanksgiving and praise. In the Lord’s
prayer He begins with praise and recognizing Who God is. Start
thanking God for what He has done and even listing some of those
blessings. Psalms 100:4 ESV; Psalsm 103:2 ESV; 1 Chronicles 16:8
JANUARY 3 | PRAYING FOR FAMILY MEMBERS
Pray for salvation, forgiveness, healing, and transformation where
needed with family. Pray that our families would be molded into His
image. That there could be healing and forgiveness from the past so
we can become a light that shines with the love of God within our
families. Matt 6:12; 1 Tim 2:3-4; Matt 5:16
JANUARY 4 | HEALING
The Bible says that we serve the Lord God our healer. Jesus showed
us the will of the Father as He went around healing the sick. He then
told us to go and heal the sick. So we thank God that sickness is not
from God and we bind sickness and disease. We command it to leave,
in Jesus name. We speak healing in Jesus name. Matt 9:35, 10:8;
Luke 10:9; James 5:15, Ps 107:19-21.
Physical, emotional, all of the places that we have been injured, hurt,
damaged, and jaded.
JANUARY 5 | GIVE US EYES TO SEE AND HIS HEART FOR THE
LOST
As we begin praying for the lost, ask that God would give us His heart
for them. Here is a fill in the blank with names of prayers from Pastor
Jeanie.
I pray for ________ who needs to know You; That the Lord of the
harvest would send laborers to reach ____ with the gospel that is the
power of God to salvation. Luke 10:2, Rom 1:16. That the light of
Christ would shine on _____ whose mind has been blinded by the god
of this age and would open their hearts to receive the love of God. 2
Cor. 4:4,6 That _____ be filled with a love of the truth and a revelation
of Christ. 2 Thess 2:10, 3:5 Grant ______ repentance so that they may
know the truth, come to their senses, and escape the snare of the
devil who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Tim 2:25,26. You
desire for all, including _____, to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth! Thank You for drawing them to You today.
Thank You, Jesus, for coming that they might have life and have it
more abundantly! 1 Tim. 2:4, John 3:16 & 10:10. Give ________ a heart
to know what Christ did for them, that they may turn to You with their
whole heart and know You as their Father. Jer. 24:7. It is Your will that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him
has eternal life. Thank You for Your great love for _____. John 6:40.
Open their eyes to behold wonderful things from Your Word. Ps
119:18. According to the authority You give us, I lose ______ from the
lies and bondages that have kept them from seeing Christ’s glorious
light and the beauty and joys of a personal relationship with Jesus. I
bind away from them all the distractions that would hinder them
from hearing the Good News of Christ today, and I bind them to the
love of God for them. May they taste and see how good You are and
not be able to escape Your love and mercy. Matt 18:18, Ps. 34:8.
Out of Your glorious riches grant ____ to be strengthened with power
through Your Spirit working in them so that Christ may dwell in their
hearts through faith. I pray that _____ will become rooted and
grounded in love and may have power together with all the saints to
grasp the amazing extent of Your love for them, and be filled up to
all the fullness of God. Eph 3:16-19
JANUARY 6 | FOR THE CHURCH
That God’s church would be marked by His love, presence, and
power. and draw in the lost. That people would come to know Jesus
and be transformed into His image. That we would show His love
and grace to the hurting and broken. God let us be Your hands,
reaching out in love to those in need. 2 Cor 5:20; 2 Cor 3:18; Matt
25:40. Let our Church be a living expression of Christ as the whole
body works together, everyone doing their part built up in love. Eph
4:16. That God would build His church. Matt 16:18. Unity in the
church, as we all submit to Christ as the Head. Ps 133:1; Eph 4:13; 1
Peter 3:8; ps 119:114 Pray that people’s faith would grow strong and
would not fail Luke 22:32. Pray for the persecuted church.
JANUARY 7 | OUR CITY
God called us to be the city on a hill that couldn’t be hidden. Let our
light shine in our city, God. We ask that You do a work here. Jesus
told His disciples to start in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and go to
the ends of the earth. We are to start here. God, we ask You to use
us and have Your way in our city. Matt 5:14; Acts 1:8
JANUARY 8 | FINANCES
God cares about us, and He wants to be involved in our finances.
Prov 3 tells us if we will acknowledge Him in all His ways that He will
direct our paths. Then we are told to honor Him with our finances
and that He will pour out a blessing. God, we submit our finances to
You and ask You to use them and to bless them. We thank You that
You are more than enough. That You said You would supply our
needs according to Your riches. God we ask that You would have
Your way in our finances, the finances of the church, and in the
finances of fellow believers. Prov 3:5-10; Phil 4:19; Deut 28:8 & 11,
Ps 1:3, Ps 34:10
JANUARY 9 | NATIONAL REVIVAL As we pray for God’s will, He
said that He would that everyone be saved. Let us pray for hearts all
across our land to come to Him. Let us pray for believers whose
lives don’t reflect His to be drawn to Him. Let hearts all across our
nation turn to God. God, we ask You to pour out Your spirit on all
flesh. May we encounter You and be filled with Your spirit and
power. May there be a move of God like no other in history as people
begin to come to You and return to You by the millions. May we be
filled with Your Spirit. Fill Your people with boldness to declare You. Confirm Your word with signs and wonders and let hearts be hungry
and turn to You. Send laborers to all these hearts You have prepared.
You said to ask for the Nations so God we ask for the nations; for a
move of Your spirit and a turning of hearts to You. Acts 4:29-31; Acts
2:17; Ps 2:8; Chron 7:14, Zech 10:1
JANUARY 10 | THAT GOD WOULD RAISE UP PEOPLE TO SERVE
And He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are
few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2 “And I heard the voice of the
Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said,
“Here I am! Send me.” Isa 6:8. Pray that God would raise up people to
love, to give, to boldly be salt in our family, church, job, city, country,
and world.
JANUARY 11 | MARRIAGES
Pray for your marriage and for others. Pray that as we have received
God’s forgiveness so we would grant His forgiveness. God, grant us
freedom from the mistakes in the past, and healing from past hurts.
Pray that passion would be reignited and grow more than ever before.
Pray that our homes would become a source of shining light of the
love of God that draws others toward Him. Eph 4:32; Ps 103:12; Matt
5:16; Rom 14:19
JANUARY 12 | YOUTH & EDUCATION
God, we thank You for having great plans for our children and youth.
We ask that You reveal Yourself to them and through them. You said
that You would pour out Your spirit on all flesh and that our sons and
daughters would prophesy. You said that You love them and call them
to You. God, we ask that You would have Your way in our education
system. May revival sweep across the land and through the schools.
May students be filled with Your spirit and power. May Your love and
power be on such display that lives are changed forever. 1 Tim 4:12
Jer 1:5 Eph 2:10; Acts 2:17
JANUARY 13 | NEIGHBORS, COWORKERS, AND CLASSMATES
Sometimes it’s easier to pray for people on the other side of the world
than the people we see everyday. Pray that those who are lost would
come to know Him, and those that know God would be drawn closer
to Him. That those who have been living half hearted would be drawn
into an all-in relationship with God. Pray that we could be a light and
an example to our neighbors, coworkers, and classmates. Matt 5:16;
1 Tim 2:1-4
JANUARY 14 | BROKEN AND HURTING
God has a heart for the broken. He says that as we do to them we
have done to Him. Let’s pray for those in prison, homeless, widows,
orphans, foster care, sex trafficked, addicted, broken hearted, and
poor. Pray for healing and revival in the places of brokeness, in jails, in
schools, in nursing homes….
JANUARY 15 | MEDIA, ARTS, & ENTERTAINMENT
The Media, Arts, and Entertainment are industries of influence. They
are often left to the world to do with what they want. Let us make a
stand in prayer that Godly men and women would come to prominent
and influential roles. That those already in influential roles would turn
their lives over to God. Let it spark a movement and God’s light begin
to shine in every area of our life, in every part of our world. Let Your
power, love and grace be on display. May truth begin to ring out
through the media, may we walk in unity instead of division. May
hatred and divisiveness melt away from every side and let Your
presence mark us and the media.
JANUARY 16 | ISRAEL
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.” Ps
122:6-7; Gen 12:2, Gen 17:7, Jer 33:9
JANUARY 17 | UNITY
Breaking down barriers of race, finances, age, geography. Eph
2:13-16; Gal 3:28; 2 Cor 5:17-18; Rev 7:9 Acts 1:14
JANUARY 18 | PRAY FOR OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD TO WORK
THROUGH US.
Pray that men and women would be bold for Christ, letting His love
shine through them, drawing others toward Him. “And I heard the
voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’
Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isa 6:8 God, in the places that I go,
in the people that I see, use me. Show me who You want me to
reach. Show me who You want me to help, show me how to be Your
hands and feet. 2 Cor 5:20 In Acts 4 they prayed for boldness and
were filled with the Holy Spirit Pray for the Holy Spirit to give us His
gifts to meet the needs of others, and show His love in the
opportunities.
JANUARY 19 | MISSIONARIES
Pray for missionaries, that God would protect and provide for them.
That doors of opportunity would open for them to share the Gospel
with the world. Heb 6:10, 2 Tim 4:17 & 18, Luke 10:2-7; Rom 10:15
We support missionaries at home, such as the Grand Rapids Dream
Center, and abroad in Pakistan, Guatemala, and the Philippines.
As well as the Gomez family who previously pastored here are in Guadalajara
Pray also by name for Evie Ruiz serving in Mexico.
JANUARY 20 | FRESH ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD
God, You promised if we sought You that You would reveal Yourself
to us. Jer 29:13 You promised to give Your Holy Spirit to those who
asked. Luke 11:9-13 God said in the last days He would pour out His
Spirit. Acts 2:17 God, as we seek You we ask that You would open
eyes to see what You have for us in Your word and our lives. Ps
119:18 & 105 God, open our eyes to see You and to know You. Eph
1:17-19; 3:17-19. God let us fall in love with You and Your word.
JANUARY 21 | PRAYING SCRIPTURE
Matt 6:9-13, Col 1:9-12, Phil 1:9-11, Eph 3:16-21 , Luke 22:45 , Ps
119:18, James 1:5 Praying scripture is one of the most powerful
ways that we can pray. When we stand on scriptures as we pray we
can know that we are praying according to God’s will and based on
His promises for us. (1 John 5:14) May these scriptures help you as
you pray today, and may they guide you when our 21 structured days
come to a close.
JANUARY 22 | GOVERNMENT
We are told to pray for kings and rulers and we are told not to speak
evil of them. 1 Tim 2:1-2; Ex 22:28; Acts 23:5. Let us pray for God to
reveal Himself and draw towards Him the men and women in the
leadership of our country. Pray for wisdom, for salvation, for unity.
Pray for God to have His way in and through our leaders. James 1:5,
1 Tim 2:4