What Should I Pray for Our Church Family?

3.12.2020

What Should I Pray for Our Church Family?
By Holli Worthington
Northpoint Women’s Ministries

Hello Northpoint Family,

On Sunday, Pastor Tony urged us to pray that we would be faithful to the Word of God and mindful of the people of God. We know we should be praying for our church, but sometimes we don’t know what to pray.

When Jesus was with his disciples on the night before he was crucified, he prayed what is known as his High Priestly Prayer. In this prayer, he prayed for those who would one day believe in him—he prayed for us! If this is what was on Jesus’ mind to pray for us, hours before he was crucified, then we can be sure that this is what the family of God needs to pray for each other. What better things could we pray than what Jesus prayed for himself and for us?

From Jesus’ prayer in John 17:

Verse 1. “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”

Pray that each of us would seek to glorify God above all.

That we would glorify God together. (Romans 15:6)
That we would make God look good in the way we act and speak. (Philippians 1:20-21)
That we would show his worth by the way we live our lives. (Philippians 1:27)

Verse 11. “Holy Father keep them in your name. …”

Pray that we would be kept in God:

That we would be steadfast and persevere daily in our faith and not grow weary in trials. (James 1:2)
That we would not grow dull of hearing, but be earnest in our faith. (Hebrews 6:11)
That we would press on to holiness and to the end of the race (Philippians 3:12)

Verse 15. “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

Pray that we would be kept from the evil one:

That we would not give Satan any room in our lives and interactions to do his work. (Ephesians 4:26)
That we would not be led into temptation and that we would be delivered from evil. (Matthew 6:13)
Help us to put on the armor of God each day and fight against sin and Satan. (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Help us not to be carried away by our own selfish desires. (James 1:14)

Verse 17. “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.”

Pray that we would be sanctified in the truth:

That our love for God’s Word would translate into godly thoughts and actions. (Romans 12:2, 2 Timothy 3:16)
That his Word would penetrate our hard hearts and change us to be more like Jesus. (Philippians 1:9)
That we would be doers of the Word and not only hearers. (James 1:22)

Verse 11 (21, 23). “That they may be one even as we are one.”

Pray that we would be one, just as Jesus and the Father are one:

That our love for each other would abound. (Philippians 1:9)
That we would outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10)
That we would count others as more significant than ourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
That we would remember that we have the same loving Father, and we are brothers and sisters in Christ. (1 John 4:21)
That peace would rule in our hearts because we are one. (Colossians 3:15)
That the world (Corona) would see Jesus because of our singleness of purpose. (John 17:23)

Verse 26. “I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them.”

Pray that we would see God revealed and know his love:

That we would experience the love of Jesus and be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)

Let’s rise up and pray one of these things each day for each other!

In Him,

Holli Worthington
Northpoint Women’s Ministries