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By Harvest Prayer Staff Yes! When we pray, God works! The Bible says, "The prayer of a righteous (person) is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). All of the power in prayer is God’s power, but God has chosen to have His power directed to persons and places through our prayers. When believers in Jacksonville, Florida, took the Five Blessings prayer challenge, a cohabiting couple got married, a divorced couple got remarried, drug dealers left the neighborhood, and five households began attending church!
WHAT CAN PRAYER DO FOR YOUR CITY?
What would your city be like if every neighbor and neighborhood were prayed for daily? It would be a city in transformation with many people coming to Christ! That’s what God wants. His heart’s desire is for all people to be saved and for all of us to "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness" (I Timothy 2:1-2). WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
God’s plan to transform personal lives and whole cities calls for prayer – believers praying for their neighbors and then being available to them. You can make a difference by simply praying… five blessings, for
five neighbors, for
five minutes a day,
five days a week, for
five weeks. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
A neighbor is any person who is nearby – a family member, friend, a person or family on your street, fellow worker, classmate, or playmate. In Luke 10:25-37, Jesus describes a neighbor as someone you meet along life’s road who needs your help. Check out the resource "Five Blessings Brochure." WHY SHOULD I BLESS MY NEIGHBORS?
First, your neighbors matter to God. They are precious sons and daughters whom He loves. God grieves over those who are apart from Him and wants them to return "home." Prayer will move them toward the Father, and heaven will rejoice when they come home (Luke 15:7, 11-24). Second, God commands that "requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone." "Everyone" includes your neighbors whom God wants to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:1,4). Third, as you bless others, you too will be blessed! WHAT BLESSINGS SHOULD I PRAY?
Think of the word BLESS to remember five important ways to pray for your neighbors: Body – health, protection, strength
Labor – work, income, security
Emotional – joy, peace, hope
Social – love, marriage, family,friends
Spiritual – salvation, faith, grace Here are some specific, Scriptural prayers you can pray: Body (Physical). - Pray that the Father who sends "every good and perfect gift . . . from above" (James 1:17) will meet their needs.
- Pray that the Father in heaven, who "causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous," will bless them (Matthew 5:45).
- Pray that for all their needs they may look to God, who is prepared to "give them their food at the proper time" (Psalm 145:15).
- Pray that God will meet their needs "according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).
- Pray that God, who numbers the hairs of our head (Luke 12:7), will keep them from harm.
Labor (work) - Pray that they may live quiet lives, mind their own business, and work with their hands so that they may win the respect of others and not be dependent on anyone (I Thessalonians 4:11-12).
- Pray that they may keep their lives "free from the love of money and be content with what (they) have" (Hebrews 13:5).
- Pray that they may have employment and adequate compensation from it. "He who tends a fig tree will eat its fruit" (Proverbs 27:18).
- Pray for diligence in work. "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth" (Proverbs 10:4).
- Pray that they will make good use of the opportunities God has given them and not sleep "during harvest" (Proverbs 10:5).
Emotional (inner life) - Pray that they may have the Holy Spirit and His fruit. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
- Pray that they will take their cares, hurts, and disappointments to the Lord. "Cast your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (I Peter 5:7).
- Pray that they may have "the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight" (I Peter 3:4).
- Pray for those who are down or depressed, that they may have peace of heart and mind and may put their hope in God (Psalm 42:5). Isaiah said, "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever" (Isaiah 32:17). Pray that they may be righteous and may experience the fruits of peace, quietness, and confidence.
Social (relational) - Give thanks for your neighbors. Pray that God will help them see the qualities of, and give thanks for, the people they relate to (Philippians 1:3).
- Pray that they may have good friends who will stick by them at all times and family members who will stand by them in adversity (Proverbs 17:17).
- Pray that they will "bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances they may have against one another" (Colossians 3:13).
- Pray for love, devotion, and sexual purity in marriages. "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure" (Heb. 13:4).
- Ask God to give them good friendships. "Pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" (Ecclesiastes 4:10).
Spiritual - Pray that they will "receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Christ" (Acts 26:18).
- Pray that they will call on the name of the Lord and be saved (Acts 2:21).
- Pray that they may confess Jesus as Lord, believe God raised him from the dead, and be saved (Romans 10:9).
- Pray that the kindness of God will lead them to repentance (Romans 2:4).
- Pray that they may have faith to believe that God exists "and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
SHOULD I PRAY ALONE OR WITH OTHERS?
You can pray alone, but why not band together with one or more believers – your spouse, your family, believing neighbors, or fellow employees – and become a Lighthouse of Prayer? A Lighthouse of Prayer is a cluster of two or more believers banded together to pray for, care about, and share the blessings of Christ with those who live or work nearby. For more information on Lighthouse materials, go to the resource section of www.harvestprayer.com. CAN I DO MORE THAN PRAY?
Yes! Make yourself available to God, and He will lead you into ministries of caring and sharing. You’ll have a threefold impact. By praying, you’ll release God’s grace into people’s lives. By caring, you’ll build bridges of love to them. By sharing the gospel, you’ll help people come to know Jesus Christ and be saved. WILL MY PRAYERS REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Yes! When we pray, God works! The Bible says, "The prayer of a righteous (person) is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). All of the power in prayer is God’s power, but God has chosen to have His power directed to persons and places through our prayers. Things will happen as you pray that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t prayed. In Michigan, for example, Lighthouse of Prayer members reported that in the neighborhoods they prayed for, people got out of drugs, unemployed people got jobs, a father stopped drinking, two persons were miraculously healed, a person was delivered from an evil spirit, a Bible study began, and five persons came to know Christ. After a Mississippi church formed Lighthouses of Prayer, the pastor reported, "When we began, almost immediately we saw people begin to come to church who hadn’t been in church for years. We see new faces almost every week." HOW SHOULD I PRAY?
Always pray with a clean heart. (James 5:16). Be like Christ and pray with compassion (Matt. 9:36). Pray with persistence (Acts 12:5; James 5:17). |
May 2007 
