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Praying God’s Purposes for the Church

By Richard LaFountain

God’s purposes for His people are clearly outlined in Scripture. When we pray according to those purposes, we are praying the very desires on God’s heart for His Church. Use one or more of these 36 scriptural principles to pray for your church.

 

  1. That we pursue lost people as Jesus did (Luke 19:10).
  2. That we evangelize our circles of influence (Acts 1:8).
  3. That we worship God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:22–24).
  4. That we love God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength (Deut. 6:5; Luke10:27).
  5. That we all become more like Jesus (1 Peter 2:21).
  6. That we all be radical followers of Jesus (Luke 9:23–26, 57–62).
  7. That we grow strong in faith, believing God for great things (Rom. 4:20–21).
  8. That we be disciplers, teaching all things that Jesus taught (Matt. 28:19–20).
  9. That we learn to pray, fervently and effectively (Heb. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Tim. 2:1–2).
  10. That we preach “the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2).
  11. That we “admonish” one another daily (Heb. 10:25).
  12. That we surrender our bodies as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1–2).
  13. That we henceforth be no longer children but grow up (Heb. 5:12–14).
  14. That we henceforth live no longer unto ourselves but for Jesus (2 Cor. 5:15).
  15. That we cease loving worldly things (1 John 2:15–17).
  16. That we be a glorious church without spot or wrinkle (Eph. 5:27).
  17. That we be holy (Matt. 5:48; 1 Thess. 4:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:16).
  18. That we be sexually pure (1 Cor. 6:19–20).
  19. That we share, break bread, have fellowship in homes (Acts 2:42–46).
  20. That we challenge, train, equip, send, and support missionaries (Acts 13:2–4, 16:5–10).
  21. That we are filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).
  22. That we bring our children up in nurture of the Lord (Eph. 6:4).
  23. That we forsake not the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25).
  24. That we intentionally minister to “little ones” (Matt. 19:14).
  25. That we identify and exercise our gifts (1 Cor. 12; Rom. 12; Eph. 4).
  26. That we sing to the Lord (Col. 3:16).
  27. That we give thanks in everything, good or bad (1 Thess. 5:18).
  28. That we give to the Lord cheerfully and liberally (2 Cor. 9:6–10).
  29. That we trust God to heal our bodies (James 5:14–16).
  30. That we confess our faults, failures, and weaknesses to one another (James 5:16).
  31. That we can give a reasoned answer to our faith (1 Peter 3:15).
  32. That we resist the devil and he flees (1 Peter 5:8–10; Eph. 6:10–18).
  33. That we forgive one another and make restitution (Matt. 6:14–15; Eph. 4:29–32).
  34. That we partake of the Lord’s table worthily (1 Cor. 11:26–30).
  35. That we follow the Lord in baptism (Matt. 3:14–17).
  36. That we love one another so intensely the world sees and believes (John 13:35).

 

 

RICHARD LAFOUNTAIN is a longtime pastor and missionary and the author of several prayer guides found at prayertoday.org. He is also a frequent contributor to The Praying Pastor.

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