Introduction as we begin our 40 days of Prayer (& Fasting for some).
In a survey done back in 2013 it was determined that the average American adult knows about 290 people. That might seem like a lot, but if you looked through your contact list on your phone and thought through all of the people you share space with each day at work or the places you frequent, I bet you could come up with all 290.
And in a more specific study done this year, the question was asked: “how many friends do adults actually have?” It turns out the answer is 16. The average American has three friends for life, five people they really like and would hang out with one-on-one, and eight people they like but don’t spend time with one-on-one as often as they'd like to.
I share this because whether or not you are thinking through your 16 friends or the 290 people you know, I bet many of them do not have a life-giving relationship with Jesus.
I would encourage you to pull out a piece of paper or your prayer journal and write down the names of those you will be praying for specifically during this 40 days together. Whether your list has 16 names or 290 names, keep it close and refer to it often, praying each of the daily prayer starters with them in mind. I would also suggest you pray generally each day, asking God who He wants to introduce you to each day who needs to be prayed for and needs to hear His message of hope found only in Jesus.
In this 40 day prayer journey that we are beginning today, our primary focus will be asking Jesus to move in the hearts of people who don’t know Him, both for their salvation and that they would become disciples of Christ who are actively making disciples as well. We are praying for a movement of disciple makers! Disciple making advances the Kingdom of God farther, faster and cheaper than any other form of church planting or evangelistic efforts.
So as we begin, each day will have a word or short phrase which is the focus for the day. For day 1 the word is “Awaken.” We are asking God to awaken a person or people to the their need for Jesus. This word or phrase will come directly from a Scripture passage that you can read and pray through. I would encourage you to use the topic for the day to pray for those your life intersects with each day. Also, I have attached a document which outlines specific ways to pray for people groups around the world around the same prayer starter topics.
Let’s ask God to awaken many people to the saving work of Jesus as we pray together these 40 days!
Day 1
(For each day the prayer requests come from the verses)
AWAKEN When God’s light shines on those who don’t know Christ, it exposes the darkness which holds them captive. Pray for those in your life, that the light of Christ would shine on them and that His love would flood their hearts with grace and salvation and awaken them to their need for Him. Pray that God’s light would awaken their hearts to know that they are living in darkness and that God would bring spiritual life to them and their family, freeing them from Satan’s bondage.
Ephesians 5:13-17
“Everything exposed by the light is made clear, for what makes everything clear is light.
Therefore it is said:
Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead,
and the Messiah will shine on you.
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
2 Timothy 2:26
“Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil's trap, having been captured by him to do his will.”
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