Prayer Guide for the church...

Prepare your mind and heart through prayer.

(1) Take time to pray (with your family or house mates) asking God to give you a spirit of worship, praise, thanksgiving, proper fear and a wholehearted focus on giving worship to the Lord (). See the following Scriptures for this attitude: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .

(2) Pray for others in the body as they prepare to worship God, asking the Lord to prepare their heart for praise and the hearing of the preached Word. Pray through portions of the church address list or the whole list. This will enable you to pray specifically for members of the body.

(3) Pray for the preaching to be anointed by God, and for your ears to be ready to hear and obey God’s Word: 1 Thessalonians 2:13; James 1:21-23.

(4) Pray for the worship leaders and for those playing music, for those selecting the music, Scripture readings, that they will all contribute to the actual worship service being used to promote vibrant worship and to bring glory and praise to God as well as joy to God’s people ; ; .

(5) Thank God for the body and for the individual members and their gifts. Thank God for the privilege you have of worship and fellowship together. Thank Him for the fact that the body is an inter-dependent organism, that ‘we need each other’ (). Ask Him to make us a harmonious ‘orchestra’ to bring Him praise and adoration.

(6) Ask God to give you (and your family) a spirit of love, care, service, encouragement, affection, tender heartedness and humility toward oth ers in the body, so that you might contribute to building an atmosphere of love, welcoming, greeting and encouragement. (See ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .) Ask for a sensitivity to the needs of the members of the body (; ).

(7) Confess any sins of attitude or action that you might have against another brother or sister in the church e.g. anger, bitterness, jealousy, coveting, a judgmental or critical spirit. Confess to God, and if necessary the person, and ask for forgiveness.

(8) Pray for visitors and guests and those coming who do not know the Lord that God will use our worship and His Word to bring people into His Kingdom.

(9) Pray for the preacher to be sensitive to the Spirit’s leading and to peoples’ needs as he proclaims the gospel, teaches the Word and invites people to come to Christ.

(10) Ask God to give our whole church a spirit of love for new people that we might have hospitable attitudes and welcome them to our fellowship and to the Lord (; ; 5:14).