Prayer Points for September 2016

1. Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Pray for men to recognize that they will be spiritually impoverished outside a vital relationship with the Lord and that they will therefore pursue a deepening sense of the richness of his divine presence.

2. Jesus said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Pray for men to mourn over their sin and see it as an offense to God, then in confession and repentance to receive his comforting forgiveness.

3. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Pray for men to be teachable and gentle, open to the teaching of the Lord and godly mentors. Pray that proud men will humble themselves under the mighty hand of God (1 Peter 5:6).

4. Jesus said: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Men often try to fill the void of their hearts with wrong things. Pray for men to hunger and thirst for God and to be filled with him and his righteousness.

5. Jesus said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). Pray for men to have a gentle heart of mercy toward their families and co-workers. Instead of seeking revenge, pray for men to have forgiving hearts and to treat others’ faults with the same mercy that they want their own faults to be treated.

6. Dear Lord, adjust my thinking from walking by sight to walking by faith. Now that Christ lives in me, I have the spiritual eyes necessary to see God. Therefore, cause me to see you working in all things. Then enable me to endure hardship by trusting you to work all things together for my good and your glory. “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).

7. Oh God, thank you for allowing me to be born again of your Spirit by receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ has overcome the world through his cross and the resurrection. You have made me an overcomer in Christ. Therefore, cause me to continuously exercise faith in you in order that I might experience victory over all things. “For whoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

8. Heavenly Father, your righteousness is pure and perfect. Thank you for making me the righteousness of God in Christ. Just as we are saved by faith, so we must live by faith. When I placed my faith in Christ, acknowledging him as my Lord and Savior, your righteousness was revealed in me. Now cause me to live by faith in Christ so that your righteousness might be revealed through me. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17).

9. Thank you, Lord, for giving me spiritual ears to hear you. And thank you for making your Word, the Holy Bible, available to me. Remind me to meditate upon your Word in order that I might hear your still, small voice. As you speak your words of life to me, which causes faith to come to my heart, enable me to trust you with my life. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

10. Lord Jesus, you are the source of my faith and the basis of my faith. I praise you because you initiated my salvation and you will bring it to pass. Therefore, I look to you and you alone in total trust and dependency for all I am and all I need. Thank you for allowing me to rest in you and know that it is finished! “Looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …” (Hebrews 12:2).

11. In Isaiah 28:23-28, the prophet reminds Israel of the wisdom and work of the farmer. As intercessors we share in God’s ministry of international spiritual harvesting. “This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance” (Isaiah 28:29).

12. “But when He [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest'” (Matthew 9:36-38). Let’s continue to pray for the countless people who need to hear of the shepherd’s compassion.

13. As we pray in Jesus’ name, we depend on him as “the Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5). Divine life is provided through his redemption. But we also need his virtues to pray faithfully. Since he is the true vine, believers can abide in him and bear spiritual fruit that lasts (John 15:1-5).

14. Since we are often ignorant of the best way to pray, the Holy Spirit needs to be our guide and enabler (Romans 8:26). He is perfectly qualified to help us in our ministry of intercession since he is “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:2).

15. God designated the Temple in Jerusalem to be a “house of prayer for all nations” (Isaiah 56:7). After Israel’s leadership rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that Temple was destroyed (in A.D. 70). In this age of grace, we believers are the temple of God’s Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19). May we be faithful in our international prayer ministry.

16. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Often God uses wives to be that sharpening tool. Pray that husbands will be humble enough to recognize when their wives are in the right and to receive their loving guidance (Galatians 3:28).

17. Pray for the man who is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of his job and roles as husband and father. Pray God will help him to be “strong and courageous” with the obstacles he is facing (Deuteronomy 31:6).

18. Some of the most powerful words a husband can say are, “I’m sorry; will you forgive me?” However, these are also some of the hardest words to say. Pray that husbands will humble themselves before God, their wives and their children when they cause offense (James 5:16).

19. Jesus was never too busy to work with and train his disciples. Pray that the busy man who is a father today will take ample time to train and guide his children in the ways of the Lord (Proverbs 22:6).

20. Too many husbands believe the lie that if they divorce their wives after the kids have grown, the kids won’t be affected. Pray that men will be faithful to their wedding vows and not break them (Malachi 2:16).

21. King David wrote: “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him” (Psalm 32:2a). You can become this man – simply by confessing your sins. Pray today that unhealthy pride in your life, by God’s grace, will be replaced with humbleness and obedience to our Lord and Savior.

22. King David continues: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3). Secret sin in our lives is devastating. Pray that our Lord will let his light shine into your life and reveal everything that has to be confessed.

23. “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity,” says King David in Psalm 32:5. “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” Do like King David. You will never regret your decision!

24. Only by humbling ourselves, giving Jesus full authority in our lives – both as Savior and Lord – can we become the spiritual champions God wants us to be. Pray today that we will be able by God’s grace to let him transform us according to his will (Philippians 3:20-21).

25. Through focused prayer, audio programs and discipleship groups, Champions Arise (CA) encourages men to assume their role as godly leaders. Many Christian women experience the devastating effects when husbands fail to be godly role models in their families. Pray for those who promote CA in Africa, Albania, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Norway (Colossians 4:3).

26. TWR360.org is a powerful media platform that can be easily accessed through the website itself as well as through small, hand-held computing devices that allow access to wireless services. Statistics indicate that there are over 2 billion smartphones in use in the world. Pray for many to tune in to TWR’s programs. In June twr360.org had 590,778 visitors from 226 countries and territories (Psalm 147:15).

27. Unrest and violence are in the daily headlines of the news media. Pray for God to intervene and to grant wisdom and resolve for the authorities to confront the growing social upheavals. Accept the biblical mandate to be a man who intercedes for those in government and stands in the gap on behalf of your country (Ezekiel 22:30).

28. God mandated his people to love foreigners living among them (Deuteronomy 10:19). Christ tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In our world where nearly 34,000 people are forcibly displaced every day, according to the U.N. refugee agency, Christians have a special opportunity to live out the love of God. Pray for an open heart, and be ready to minister to the people that God has put in your area of influence.

29. Pray for church leaders to address domestic-violence issues. Pray also that Christians would bravely speak up concerning the role that media and the educational system can have in raising awareness on issues related to combating domestic violence and human trafficking (Proverbs 31:8).

30. Be aware that God never gives you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Therefore, take heart and commit to being a man of valor who trusts the Lord for courage and resolve in assuming his God-given responsibilities as husband and father. Resist any form of evil, and be ready to stand up for what is just and right (Matthew 5:14-16).