May 4th is the annual National Day of Prayer, where people all over the world make prayer a priority. This consists of people who pray every day, people who don’t usually pray, and even people who may not have a good understanding of God. I think there is something beautiful about people who normally would never do anything together, coming together to pray. That’s what happens when we pray. We join with others we will never meet, we will never do life with, and we will never even cross paths with, but together we can impact the state of the world.
Matthew 18:19-20 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
The enemy wants to separate us by reminding us of our differences, but there is godly power in unity. We all have one God who created us, one God who will communicate with us, and one God who will fight for us.
Sometimes I can get overwhelmed and not even know what to pray for in this world and specifically our country. If you’re not sure what to pray or even how to pray don’t be discouraged.
One way I like to describe prayer to kids is, imagine you had a best friend that you talked to every day, and then one day, they just stopped reaching out. You would miss them and want to hear from them. That’s how God feels about us; he truly loves us and wants to have a prayer conversation.
Below is my prayer for our country and this world; feel free to pray along or create your own prayer to forward.
Dear God,
We pray for your Spirit to be made known.
We pray for your Spirit to pour out in the darkest places.
We pray for your Spirit to spark a light in the heart’s that deny your existence.
We pray for your Spirit to encourage believers and give them the strength to seek truth.
We pray against the need for acceptance.
We pray against the need for validation.
We pray against the need for conforming.
We pray for this country and its leaders.
We pray for the corruption to fall and for your love to be made known.
We pray you put the right people in leadership.
We pray wisdom and discernment over them.
We love you and pray to be more like you every day.
We pray for compassion, love, and peace in our homes.
We recognize the awakening we are praying for starts with us.
We thank you for being the God who never abandons his people.
We thank you for being the God who changes hearts, lives, and outcomes.
We thank you for being the God who made us free from sin and shame.
We thank you for sending your Son to die for us.
We pray for boldness. We pray against fear.
We pray for action. We pray against complacency.
We pray for empathy. We pray against apathy.
We know you are here.
We know you have already done what needs to be done
We know we will be with you again one day.
We know you are the one true God who will heal and restore.
We pray all these things in your name, Amen.