7 Weeks of Prayer A Collection of Crafted Prayers

Table of Contents 7 Weeks of Prayer: Why & How .……………………………………………………………..………. 3 Week 1: Local Cities & Government ………………………………………………………..…….….. 4 Week 2: Racial Reconciliation ………………………………………………………………………… 6 Week 3: College Campuses ……………………………………………………………………..……. 8 Week 4: The Workplace ……………………………..………………………………………………. 10 Week 5: Detroit ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Week 6: Refugees, Muslims, and Hamtramck ………………………………………………..…… 14 Week 7: The Nations …………………………………………………………………………………. 16


7 Weeks of Prayer - Why & How As a church planting movement nationwide and internationally, the Lord has been speaking to Antioch that the year 2017 will be marked with the theme of ‘Lord, Teach Us to Pray’. As a local church, we have engaged in this theme with Early Morning Prayer as Connect Groups meet in homes across the region weekly to seek the Lord in prayer as a community. Another way that we as a community will be engaging in learning how to pray and intercede for ourselves, families, community, city and region is through initiating 7 Weeks of Prayer as we enter into the season of Lent. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, Lent is the 40 day period before Easter - a season to prepare our hearts in celebration of Easter Sunday through prayer, repentance, fasting, and reconciliation with the Lord. Each week leading up to Easter Sunday, a different topic with scripted prayers will be covered giving us the ability to engage with the Lord in prayer and response. A Scripture passage related to the topic will be the launching point for our prayers directed in 3 ways: Up, In, & Out. ‘Up’ prayer is directed at God in adoration and praise for who He is and how He is revealed through the Scripture (Psalm 100:4); ‘In’ prayer asks for the truth in the passage to be reality in our hearts allowing Holy Spirit to bring greater revelation leading to practical application in our lives (Hebrews 4:12 & 1 Timothy 3:16-17); ‘Out’ prayer directs the Scripture passage to others around us praying the truth of the Word of God for specific topics and situations (Isaiah 55:11). We invite you to join us in unified prayer as a community. We have provided scripted prayers for you each day to pray as we continue to grow together as a community in asking, ‘Lord, teach us to pray’. Listed below are the days of the week that our Connect Groups are meeting for Early Morning Prayer (EMP) - we’d love for you to jump in wherever you can even if you aren’t able to make the day for your CG. Talk to your CG leader for more info.

Connect Group Early Morning Prayer Schedules Monday

6:30 a.m. College at 1010 E. Ann St., Ann Arbor

Tuesday

Wednesday 6:15 a.m. A2 Families at 2912 Colony Rd, Ann Arbor

Thursday 7:00 a.m. Ypsi Young Families at 1006 Cross St, Ypsilanti

7:30 a.m. Grad 7:00 a.m. A2 YA at Student YA at 1105 2171 Medford Rd, Edgewood Ave, Apt 36, Ann Arbor Ann Arbor

Friday 6:30 a.m. Ypsi Families at 2610 Verna St, Ypsilanti 6:30 a.m. Ypsi YA at 4603 Hunt Club Drive, Unit 2B, Ypsilanti

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Local Cities & Government It’s easy to go around on a daily basis and not think about where we live. We think about where the grocery store is, what the most efficient route is to school or to work, or the next time we’ll be able to fit in a trip to family and friends near or far. We think about where we live, and yet we don’t. We live in Ann Arbor. Ypsi. Saline. Dexter. Chelsea. Each of these cities have their own characteristics and flavor. When we travel to each, we love different things about them. Each area has their pride and their downfalls. Ann Arbor, for example, is known for its academic and cultural progression, but it also is a city full of an enormous amount of depression, anxiety, and emotional or mental pain. Ypsi, next door, has been spoken as a place that is less safe to live or a place that is more affordable, but it is also a place with burgeoning businesses and hardworking people. Saline and Dexter and Chelsea have amazing parks and nature that people from Ypsi and Ann Arbor visit. All of these areas are dependent on each other. All borrow and invite and trade with one another. Without one, the whole area is affected. Christ called us to be one body. So if we are to desire growth and healing for one area, we can also pray and work towards healing and growth of all parts of the body. Let us dream towards the wholeness of the body of Christ and the revelation of the weight of glory God has placed on these cities!

Scripture: 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12-26

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, hat there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”

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Up. In. Out. Up: Thank you, Lord, that you create us all differently. Thank you for the beautiful nature and wide spaces of land in Dexter, Chelsea, and Saline. Thank you for the business and diversity of Ann Arbor. Thank you for the entrepreneurship and hardy spirit of Ypsilanti. Thank you that you have a good plan for each region to benefit the other, and thank you for all the people you put in each region with all of their unique histories and backgrounds, cares and concerns, skills and passions.

In: Holy Spirit, help me see and think of each area of You/the Father see it. Give me vision to how you have “placed each member in the body...as you chose.” Help me see the region where I live with all the hope and potential that you see it with. Help me see the people in my neighborhood, local businesses, and school system as you see them. Give me eyes and a heart to have the same care for all members of the body, no matter their purpose or status.

Out: Father, would you heal the hearts of Milan, Chelsea, Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Dexter, and Saline and the government officials who look over them. Speak worth and value in their lives. Let them not scramble and grapple for their value, but let them find rest and purpose and hope in knowing that You love them and have already given them value!

Response Questions: • How can your words and actions honor people around you? What are some creative ways you can practically love those where you live such as helping your neighbors in practical ways, praying for the waiter/waitress, pray for wisdom for your local government or frequenting the same coffee shop or restaurants and build relationships with the owners? • How might God want to fill you with hope or vision for any of these areas and what God could do in and through each of them?

Challenge: Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” • Ask God what is in your heart. • Ask God for new or increasing hope. Seek something to set your mind on that you can see differently today. Listen to God for what He’s wanting to pray towards. Think about if there is anyone in your life you can speak an encouraging word to and affirm who they are and how God has made them. Bringing about full glory and revelation of our area starts one person at a time!

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Racial Reconciliation The brokenness, hostility, and division that racism brings is not part of God’s plan for humanity. He desires for us to walk in love and unity – to the point that He sacrificed His only Son to make it possible for us to experience unity with Him and our neighbors forever. In Revelation 7:9, we see a beautiful picture of all people - from every nation, tribe, and language - coming together in heaven to honor Jesus. But God isn’t asking us to wait until we get to heaven for this picture to become a reality. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He had them ask the Father to fulfill His will on earth as in heaven. Let’s follow His example, praying as Jesus taught us – believing that unity of races would be on earth as it is in heaven. Ephesians 2 describes how God brings reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles, but it just as much addresses God’s commitment to reconciliation and healing between races in the United States – whether Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and beyond. If God can intentionally commit to uniting a divided people, who are we to ignore it? Racial reconciliation doesn’t start with changes to policy. It starts with you and me actively loving our neighbors, living out the peace God made available for us.

Scripture Ephesians 2:14-22 ‘For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.’

Up. In. Out. Up: Father, thank You for being a God of unity; for designing us to live in community and togetherness. With the death of Jesus on the cross, You also put racial division to death. Thank you for making it possible for us to be reconciled with You, and reconciled with each other. In You there is hope, healing, and love.

In: Holy Spirit, reveal to me my sin and any sin I have committed against my neighbors. Highlight any explicit racism and unknown or hidden sin, bias, prejudice, racism, and unforgiveness. I repent for anything I have believed, said, thought, or done towards individuals in other races and within my race. I say no to any trace of division, and right now I ask you to fill me instead with Your love and Your Spirit. Fill me with Your hope. Give me Your eyes to see people around me as You see them – first and foremost as Your beloved.

Out: Lord, we ask you to heal our land of the pain brought by racism. We declare Your unity reigns over our cities, our country, and the nations of the earth. We know this fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities of this world. In the name of Jesus, we come against the attempts of the enemy to use racism as a tool for covering this earth with darkness, hostility, and brokenness. We say no! Use us, Your children, to be lights and ones who live out reconciliation. We ask You, Father, that Your kingdom come on this earth, and Your will of racial unity to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Response Questions When I think of the word “racism,” especially in the United States, what bothers me? What hurts me? What angers me? Where have I displayed an attitude of indifference and neutrality? In what ways can God use me as an agent of peace and reconciliation in my everyday life? When I look at the people with whom I spend the most time, do most people look like me? What can I do to incorporate into my life more time of engaging with people who don’t look like more, or aren’t from the same culture as me?

Challenge: Grab a buddy: commit to taking time to answer one or all of the questions above and pray with each other about your answers. Bring it beyond prayer, and this week invite someone outside of your race to share an experience with you: a meal, cup of coffee, play date, sports game, a walk around the block anything. If you’re not sure who you can invite – ask the Lord to reveal someone to you.


College Campuses In this week, we will center our hearts around the college campuses that make up a HUGE part of where we live here in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. To put this impact into perspective, the University of Michigan currently has nearly 45,000 students in attendance, and there are nearly 70,000 students total when Eastern Michigan and Concordia University are included. This makes up over half of the population of these cities (about 137,000 total). With this in mind, and realizing that the University of Michigan easily fits within the top 5 public universities in the nation, we can realize that this city is 1) young, and 2) smart. However, the majority of these people (nearly 80%) have not come to accept Jesus as their savior. Because of this, it is our job as ambassadors to step in and intercede for God’s people whom he loves. 2 Corinthians 5:20 “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead “Come back to God! For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Scripture: Isaiah 43:19-20 For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed. Isaiah 40:10-11 Yes, the Sovereign LORD is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Up. In. Out. Up: God, I recognize who you are in relation to Ann Arbor, and I say that it is good. I believe that You have a new thing You want to do here, something that will turn the dry and thirsty hearts of these students into rivers that bring refreshing. I adore Your ability to turn something out of nothing, and I admire Your perseverance after those who have fallen from You.

In: God, I realize that my abilities are finite, and do not compare with Your mighty power. I pray that You would remove any hesitation or doubt within me that is not allowing me to see the bigger picture You have for this city. Please use me, in whatever way You would have, to help feed the flock that is before me in this city.

Out: God, I pray that an overflow of thanksgiving would come from the students of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti who are about to taste and see that You are good. Thank you that You have plans to turn this wilderness of people separated from You into a guided pathway that leads to hope and restoration of hearts. I intercede on their behalf, asking that You would free them from the bondage and anxiety they face alone daily.

Response: God, what are things in my life that have blinded me from seeing this bigger picture You speak of for Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti?

Challenge: Smile at people you interact with this week. Ask them how their day is going, and be genuinely interested in them.

The Workplace This week, we are tackling what we are calling the ‘marketplace’. This would consist of every single working sphere in society (i.e. education, business, food industry, healthcare, government, social work, media, arts & entertainment, finance, etc.). The earth all belongs to the Lord and His glory fills the whole earth! Along with this truth, the Bible talks about how as the church, the people of God, we, together, carry the fullness of Jesus and are meant to fill all in all. All means ALL! Every single aspect and niche in society so that the the glory of God is seen and the fullness Jesus permeates the world. We are the ones that are meant to carry influence and impact with hearts of service to bless the places where we live and work. New, creative ideas given by Holy Spirit that would advance technology, new inventions, strategic insight, kingdom-run businesses, lives physically and emotionally healed and restored, knowledge instilled to those in schools with faith and wisdom, righteous laws and policies, new melodies written, dramas that would tell a hopeful story, financial freedom, and the list goes on - all possible through being present where God has placed us in our jobs. Let’s dream with God this week to see His Kingdom come and will be done in all areas!

Scripture Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Up. In. Out. Up: Jesus, you are the head of the Church. Your glory fills the whole earth and it all belongs to You. Your heart is to fill all of society with your glory and the knowledge of who You are.

In: Thank you for the job you have given and provided for me here in the city for this specific season. Holy Spirit, would you give me power to speak blessing and life where I work. Fill my heart with love and compassion for those in my workplace - those I work with, work for and work under. Show me how I can serve those around me. I ask for wisdom and creativity from You to bring positive change where I work. Give me boldness to share You and what I have learned through knowing You with others at my workplace.

Out: Jesus, would your presence fill the place where I work. I ask that You would bless those in authority over me, my co workers, and those I serve. I declare the Kingdom of God and will of God be done in my workplace. Would revival, a greater awareness of God and Your power, be present where I work. Father, would You draw people to yourself.

Response Questions: • What do you imagine the fullness of Jesus being seen at your workplace would look like? • In what ways can you be a blessing at your workplace so it is built up?

Challenge: Look for ways this week to practically serve those around you at work. This could be in a simple encouragement, asking if you can pray for someone, going the extra mile for a co worker, honoring your boss - you name it! Ask God for specific, practical ways to do so and have fun with it!

Detroit This week, we are focusing on the city of Detroit and the urban setting. Detroit has a rich, rich history. Once, a booming, industrial city leading the way in culture, industry, and entertainment, in the past 75 years has gone through much economic downfall, political corruption, race riots, financial loss, and urban/social decay. The good news in the midst of this is that God is able to fully revive and restore this city that has become known as desolate and elicits fear with just the name! Acts 1:8 declares over us that we are empowered by the Spirit of God to be a witness in our city, surrounding region and the nations of the earth. Because of this truth for us as children of God, we have a role to play in prayer for the city of Detroit. What if the city no longer was called ‘abandoned’, ‘wrecked’ or ‘bankrupt’ but was thought of as a city of beauty, hope, restoration, creativity, and new life? What if when we thought of Detroit, we no longer felt fear but had full faith and hope that God is doing something good in that city and in the lives of those that live there? What if we believed that none are done - even those that we think are a complete lost cause? We are going to be praying Isaiah 62 this week over the city of Detroit. Take some time to read through this passage and everywhere the word ‘Jerusalem’ is stated, replace it with ‘Detroit’. This is God’s heart for the city and we get to pray in line with His heart to see these things come to pass!

Scripture Isaiah 62 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy corn to be meat for thine enemies; and the sons of the stranger shall not drink thy wine, for the which thou hast laboured: But they that have gathered it shall eat it, and praise the Lord; and they that have brought it together shall drink it in the courts of my holiness. Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord: and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken.

Up. In. Out. Up: I adore you today, Father, for being a God who takes no rest who is faithful to the people and city of Detroit that in many ways has been forsaken. Your delight remains for the city of Detroit. You are a God of strength who speaks truth and promises for Detroit.

In: Holy Spirit, would you place in me this same enduring, committed heart to believe for the city of Detroit. Feel my heart with Your hope to speak with honor and faith for the city. Show me how I can practically remove the ‘stones’ in Detroit that get in the way and raise up a new standard of hope and living for those around me.

Out: I pray that right living according to God’s standard would increase in Detroit. Father, would You establish Detroit again as a city that is looked to with praise. I thank you that You say that city is no longer forsaken but is being given a new name. I ask by the power of the Holy Spirit and Your faithful heart, You would restore what has been lost and stolen from Detroit in resources, reputation, honor and glory.

Response Questions: • In what ways could God call you to be a ‘watchman on the wall’ for the city of Detroit? Is there someone or a ministry there that you should pray for regularly? For example, the Thebaults reaching out to Arab Muslims and refugees in Hamtramck - “Father, would you empower the Thebault family to be your witnesses to the refugee families. Help them communicate well despite language barriers and for the ability to love them well.” Another would be to pray for the Kubiaks launching Antioch Shoreline this fall - “I ask that You would plant and build your church through the Kubiaks. Would you provide for all their needs in a locating building and funds to lanch.” • Are there ways I need to change the way I speak and think about this city that is more in line with God’s heart so I am raising up a new standard for Detroit in Michigan?

Challenge: Ask God for a word of encouragement for someone you know who lives in Detroit and send it to them. 


Refugees, Muslims, and Hamtramck In the midst of the refugee crisis, a door has been flung open of Muslims coming to know Christ. God has been doing a tremendous work in the Middle East, but with the diaspora of many Muslims, the mission field is closer than ever before. In Michigan, we have the honor of engaging the region of Hamtramck, home to a wide diversity of peoples, and a very prominent Muslim population. So significant is the amount of Muslims and newly placed refugees here that as a movement, Antioch has started an internship in the area to work specifically in this region. Let us pray radically God’s heart for this region and these people, that we will see many Muslimbackground believers who will birth a Spirit-filled movement out of Michigan that glorifies Christ and edifies the Church.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 10: 12-22 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations— as it is today. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.”

Up. In. Out. Up: Lord, you are worthy, worthy, worthy of all honor and all praise. We fear you, God, Your commands are just and for my own good. You are “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (Deut. 10:17). You set a standard for us in your goodness and mercy. Your ways are higher. Your love for the least of these, for the fatherless, the widow, the alien in a foreign land, runs deep. You fight for those whom you love and call us to do the same. You are a just God, and we can trust you. You have been faithful to us through the ages.

In: God, lead us to repentance for failing to honor you by not loving the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner, for not conveying your heart to this world of defense of the powerless and

disconnected. Reveal to us where we have not walked in your ways in our thoughts towards refugees, to Muslims, to Hamtramck. Give us a heart like yours, to defend the cause of those in the land, who like the Israelites, like Christ, have been exiled from their own land and our now strangers in a new one. Let us eagerly desire for Muslims to do well in the land, to prosper under the care of those who love the Lord, that they will see your goodness and mercy, your kindness, and turn to you, God. Teach us how to befriend, to cross boundaries, to go boldly in peace. Change our hearts and perspective so that we may truly honor you. Holy Spirit, come and invade us. We want to see you move. To be “muslim” means to surrender and submit to the laws of the Creator. Help us to also be good “muslims,” that we would be ones who recognize that you are the One True God, and that we will willingly surrender to you, and submit to your ways, because we know that they are higher than our own.

Out: Holy Spirit, we want you to come in power among our Muslim friends, in Hamtramck and beyond. It is not by our own might or power, but by the Spirit of God that we will see victory. Your truth is good. Let it invade Hamtramck, Muslim communities, refugees to the United States, that many will have visions of you both in waking and sleeping. That divine encounters will occur every single day, and that many will be called to the harvest, because it is indeed plenty, and the laborers are few. You are the one who will perform many signs and wonders. You will fill us with awe at all you’ve done. We can trust your heart, God, so we pray your heart for our Muslim brothers and sisters.

Response Questions 1) God, in what ways have I failed to honor you in my care of refugees? 2) Lord, how can I be your hands and feet among Muslims? 3) Lord, what is on your heart that I can pray for over the region of Hamtramck?

Challenge Pray boldly for big things, that we would not hold back God because we are praying too small in regards to Muslims coming to know Christ. Example prayer: We pray that many Muslims will know that YOU are the one true God. That the God of the bible is the Lord of Lord, the Prince of peace, the one who has created everything, and fights on their behalf who need an advocate.

The Nations The Nations are the heart of God. He has called us to go and make disciples of ALL nations. Many of us might not have the opportunity to go to the ends of the earth financially, but we do in prayer. We are all called to pray for the expansion of the Church through the Word. We have this unique opportunity to partner with the Holy Spirit and ask Him how to pray for our brothers and sisters who are risking their lives for the expansion of the Gospel. As the song from Elevation Worship says “ Here As in Heaven “; when we partner with the Holy Spirit by praying for the Nations, we get a small picture of what Heaven will look like.

Scripture: Luke 11:1-4 “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Up. In. Out. Up: Thank you, Lord, that You teach us to pray. You are a God that actively hears and engages with the prayers of your people. Thank you, Father, that the Nations are in Your heart and that You are doing great things in and around us.

In: Father, give us greater vision for what You are doing in Your Kingdom in our midst. Give us discernment and wisdom to stop and pray for the nations, to pray for the missionaries, missionary kids (MK’s) and locals who are risking their life for Your glory.

Out: Father, we quiet our hearts to pray the prayer that You have left us as an example.

We have prayed this many times, but we ask for a fresh revelation of what You are doing in the nations. “ Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. ” Amen!

Response Questions: • Lord, what are you saying about the nations? • Lord, how do you want me to partner with the nations? • Lord, how can I learn to pray? What are you wanting to teach me?

Challenge Pick one day a week to pray for the nation (i.e. every Wednesday you pray for a nation that God put on your heart) If you don’t know where to start, one idea is to start with nations in the 10/40 window. Set an alarm on your phone to help remind you. Visit Voice of the Martyrs (https://www.persecution.com/) or other ministries like this and sign up for their newsletter. Financially give to missions. (Just 20 dollars a month can make a huge difference.) Here is a link to give to missionaries within the Antioch Movement - https:// aminternational.thankyou4caring.org/