Prayers for Your City

Trey and Mary Anne Kent have written a Scripture-based, 40-day prayer guide, Praying God’s Word Over Your City, to equip believers to pray regularly for their community. Trey is the founder and a leader in the Unceasing Prayer Movement in Austin, TX, which has rallied more than 100 churches to cover Austin in 24-7 prayer. The story of this movement and how this could happen in any city, is told in City of Prayer, by Trey Kent and Kie Bowman.

Each day in Praying God’s Word Over Your City has a Scripture passage, a brief thought, a written prayer, and prayer points. Here are samples:

Pray for Laborers for the Harvest

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matt. 9:37–38, esv).

The greatest need in our community is not only for the lost to be saved, but for the saved to become harvesters. Jesus taught His disciples to cry out to the Lord of the harvest, asking Him to ignite in us the passion and give us the power we desperately need to reach the lost.

Prayer: Lord of the harvest, I cry out to You today in joyful obedience to Your Word. Give me Your passionate desire and love to see the lost come to know Christ Jesus. I ask for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to empower me to be an effective and loving evangelist in my family, workplace, and community.

Make me a passionate harvester like the disciples. Do miracles, convict hearts, and empower believers to make much of Jesus in my city. Use me in a way that causes those in need of Christ to look to Him as Savior and Lord. Jesus, convince me and fellow believers that this is the greatest work of the Church—to seek and save the lost. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer Points:

• Ask forgiveness for letting fear and the world stifle your evangelistic fervor.
• Seek God for a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit to empower you with boldness.
• Intercede for fellow believers to be mobilized as harvesters.
• Pray specifically for lost family, friends, work associates, and neighbors.

Pray for Personal and Corporate Revival

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:13–14, esv).

God places the responsibility for revival upon His children. He gives us a strategy to compel us to remedy tragedies in our society and to be a part of seeing true and lasting revival in our land. All the promises of God are ours to claim and embrace as we trust God for a new work of grace in our communities.

Prayer: Father, I pray today, in keeping with Your ancient remedy for the ills of society and Your benevolent promise for a healed land, that You would send revival—and start with me! Do a work of grace in me that causes me to humble myself, pray, seek Your face, and turn from my wicked ways. Gracious Father, as You revive me, cause passion for Jesus to be the norm in our family line. Let no one go to hell who is a part of my family.

May this revival spread to my church! Cause holy fire for Your name to consume our church family. Please revive our state, making each city a place where Jesus is treasured and exalted.

And, may our nation be a tool in Your hand to spread a hunger and thirst for Jesus to the nations of the world. I ask that the knowledge of God would cover the earth like water covers the sea. Let me see this in my lifetime! In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer Points:

• Seek Jesus for a personal revival in keeping with 2 Chronicles 7:14.
• Ask God to send revival to your local church.
• Believe God for the Church in your state to be ignited with holy fire for God.
• Pray for a national spiritual awakening.

Ask God to give you a heart to raise up 24-7 prayer over your own city. Cry out to God to send historic awakening to your city and our nation! 

–Taken from Praying God’s Word Over Your City by Trey and Mary Anne Kent (PrayerShop Publishing).