Beginning this week in ABIDE, we will be using 40 Days of Prayer to guide us as we pray. We will use one prayer each week from 40 Days of Prayer over the next 40 weeks. Our ABIDE prayers will not be the exact prayers in 40 Days of Prayer but the focus and Scripture will follow 40 Days of Prayer.
The following is the link to “40 Days of Prayer” if you would like access to it: https://empoweredhomes.org/resource/40-days-of-prayer/
FREE TO PRAY – Part 6
Opening Prayer
Let’s begin ABIDE by taking a moment to quiet our hearts and minds before God. Simply take a deep breath and exhale slowly. You may want to pray a “breath prayer” as you inhale and exhale, such as, “God, you are my refuge.”
Note: If you are leading a small group through ABIDE, pray the first prayer below over those you are leading. If you are praying ABIDE alone, use the second prayer.
Small Group Prayer: Lord, we give our hearts and lives to you. We surrender all that is within us to you. We love you and we need you. Spirit, fill us and lead us as we pray. We consecrate this time of prayer to you. Remove any distractions and help us focus on you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Personal Prayer: Lord, I give my heart to you. I surrender every area of my life to you. I choose to trust you with my whole heart and with everything in my life. You are my good, good Father who loves me. Thank you for being faithful, all-knowing and all-powerful. Remove any distractions from me and help me focus on you. Holy Spirit, fill me and help me discern your voice as I pray. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayers of Praise & Thanksgiving
Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately. When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. (Psalm 32:6-7)
Our Father is our protector. As God’s sons and daughters, our Father surrounds us with joyful shouts of deliverance. Let’s thank our Father and praise Him for specific ways He has protected us and delivered us.
Prayer: Father, we/I thank you and praise you for protecting me from ____________________ (fill in the blank with what the Spirit brings to mind). Thank you for delivering me from __________________________ (fill in the blank with what the Spirit brings to mind). I/we praise you for being my protector and my deliverer. In Jesus’ Name.
Prayers for My Heart
The enemy does not want us to experience God’s powerful forgiveness, joy and freedom that He has for us when we confess our sins to God. However, God wants us to “immediately” pray to Him when we sin, when we are in trouble and when we need His help. Our Father does not want us stumbling around in the darkness of sin but desires to rescue us!
Scripture tells us in Psalm 32:1, “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!”
As God’s sons and daughters, we are forgiven and our sins are covered by the precious blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We can’t do anything to earn God’s forgiveness. We also can’t do anything to change our identity in Christ – forgiven sons and daughters. However, we still need to bring our hearts to God and ask His forgiveness when we sin so that we can experience God’s forgiveness and joy that He desires to give us. Let’s take a few moments and bring our hearts to God and ask our Father to show us any sin that we need to confess so that we can receive His forgiveness and joy.
Note: If you are in a small group, pray silently to your Father.
Prayer: Ask God to reveal any sins that I need to confess to you. As God shows you sin, confess the sins to God and ask Him to forgive you and help you receive His forgiveness. Ask God to heal your heart of the pain the sin caused and to lead you to freedom. Close this portion of prayer by thanking Jesus for taking your sin at the Cross so that you are completely forgiven.
Prayer for Others’ Hearts
Who do you know that is lost and has never received forgiveness from Jesus? As the Spirit brings people to mind, pray for them. Ask God to open their eyes, soften their hearts and rescue them from the enemy.
Prayer: God, I/we pray for _____________________________. Open his/her eyes to see the truth of the Gospel. Soften his/her heart and draw her/him to you. Rescue him/her from the enemy and give him/her a desire to know you. In Jesus’ Name.
Closing Prayer
Father, I want to be a man/woman who prays to you immediately. When trouble comes, when temptation comes, when the enemy attacks me, give me discernment to quickly recognize the lies and pray to you immediately. Teach me to make you my hiding place and believe that you are shouting songs of deliverance all around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
