- Private prayer – We cannot underestimate the utmost importance of personal, private prayer. Yet it’s the one thing Satan and our flesh fight the most. Pray that men will prioritize their personal, private prayer lives to fellowship with and get to know their heavenly Father. (Jer. 33:3)
- Make time – We do what we truly WANT to do. If we aren’t praying, it’s because we really don’t WANT to; we make time for the things we WANT to do. Pray for men to WANT to pray and spend time with God, seeing its importance and relevance to every area of life. (Ps. 37:4)
- Be deliberate – Personal prayer time must be deliberate and intentional. Pray that men will carve out planned and purposeful time to seek the face of God. (Ps. 91:1)
- Learn to wait – Prayer is more than asking for things from God. Prayer also is waiting and listening. Pray that we as men will learn to sit in God’s presence and marinate in his Word, listening for his still, small voice. (Luke 10:39)
- Go to the throne – Everything we truly need is found at God’s throne in prayer. Pray that men will stop running here and there looking for significance and inner satisfaction and instead spend time before the Lord finding peace that passes all understanding. (Phil. 4:6-8)
- The Lord is your hope – O Lord, everything around me seems to be falling apart, and my attempts to solve these problems are ineffective. My only hope is you, Lord. You have conquered every enemy, obstacle or difficulty I will ever face. And now that I am “in Christ” you have made me more than a conqueror. Therefore, by faith I rely upon you to work through me to overcome my problems. (Rom. 8:37)
- He is near – Lord Jesus, you promised to never leave me or forsake me, and that means I will never be alone again. Furthermore, you are the source and supply of all my needs. Therefore, as a result of my union with Christ, I have everything I need. So I can now be content with what I have because of who I have – you are my life! (Heb. 13:5)
- Christ as life – Father God, my attempts at living life have been abysmal. But thanks to the cross and because of my death, burial and resurrection with Christ, that has all changed! Christ has become my life. And he does all things well. So now I can truly live through him! (Gal. 2:20)
- Meaningful life – Dear Jesus, thank you for coming to us and giving your life for us so that we might have your life in us. Before you came into my life, all I had was physical life – a mere human existence. But now I have your life, divine and abundant. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy a full and meaningful life. Therefore, I trust you completely to live your life through me. As you do the living, I will enjoy the life. (John 10:10b)
- Finding rest – Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Pray for husbands and fathers to turn to Jesus when family responsibilities are overwhelming them. (Matt. 11:28)
- Don’t grow weary – Some men have wives who have wounds from their past. These can sometimes cause them to be quarrelsome. Pray for the husband who lives with a quarrelsome wife, that he not grow weary in doing good and serving her. (Gal. 6:9)
- Be a model – Children need a strong example of consistent obedience to the Lord. Pray for fathers to joyfully and regularly take their families to worship services. (Heb. 10:25).
- Moderation – Men often face temptations to spend more money than they have. Pray that husbands and fathers will demonstrate a biblical perspective on the proper handling of money. (Prov. 22:7)
- Overcoming temptations – Pray for husbands to understand that, in Christ, they have the strength to withstand sexual temptation and honor their marriage beds. (Rom. 6:6-7)
- In God is rest – How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! Our souls yearn, even faint, for your courts, Lord; our hearts and our flesh cry out for you, the living God. (Ps. 84:1-2)
- Seek his presence – Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself where she may have her young, places near your altar, Lord Almighty, our king and our God. (Ps. 84:3)
- Enjoy his presence – Blessed are we who dwell in your house. We are ever praising you. (Ps. 84:4)
- Be blessed – Blessed are we whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (Ps. 84:5)
- Make the difference – As we pass through the Valley of Baka, we make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. (Ps. 84:6)
- The Lord our strength – We go from strength to strength till each of us appears before you, God, in Zion. (Ps. 84:7)
- Pray without ceasing – Hear our prayers, Lord God Almighty; listen to us, God of Jacob. (Ps. 84:8)
- Seek the Lord – Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. (Ps. 84:9)
- Live before him – Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. We would rather be doorkeepers in your house, our God, than dwell in the tents of the wicked. (Ps. 84:10)
- Praying for discernment – The apostle Paul warned local churches about false apostles and prophets. Unfortunately, in our time there are still many of those around. Pray that God will raise up an army of true believers with the ability to preach God’s Word, led by the Holy Spirit and manifesting spiritual wisdom and authority. (Acts 4:31)
- Believe Scripture – John Stott, the late chief architect of the Lausanne Covenant, once said, “We must insist that there are no apostles in the church today. … The teaching of the apostles is found in the New Testament.” Pray that God will help equip all true followers of Jesus with the ability to distinguish between true and false teaching. (2 Tim. 4:3)
- Be cautious – Paul warns us not to be too quick to lay hands on somebody (1 Tim. 5:22), presumably meaning that we should take great care about whom we ordain in the church or endorse as ministry leader. Because only God knows the heart of men, we need his discernment and the direction of the Holy Spirit in order to keep ourselves pure and free from other people’s sin.
- Ask for laborers – Only 1 in 30 cross-cultural missionaries serve among the estimated 3 billion unreached people around the world. Pray that God will call more missionaries to go where the need is greatest. Also, be aware that he might ask you to go. (Isa. 6:8)
- Pray for media ministries – Pray that the gospel will penetrate closed borders so that the good news can be heard everywhere in the world. And thank God for providing us with mass media tools that help us accomplish the Great Commission. (Matt. 24:14)
- Guard Our Speech. Set a guard over our mouths, Lord; keep watch over the doors of our lips. Do not let our hearts be drawn to take part in wicked deeds along with evildoers; do not let us eat their delicacies. (Ps. 141:3-4)
- Pray for God-sent revival – God entrusted to men the spiritual leadership in the home. When a man submits to Christ, his wife and his children are blessed and secure. Pray for men to understand their unique role and to courageously seek the Lord for guidance and enablement. (1 Cor. 11:3)
