Prayer Connection July 2022
Freedom through the Fight
Imagine it: After landing at Normandy Beach in France, a company of soldiers stops to help two landowners settle a dispute. Instead of taking the land back from the enemy, they are taken prisoner.
Suddenly they are ineffective for the mission, endangering their fellow soldiers, and missing an opportunity to deliver freedom. Just so, we read in 2 Timothy 2:4, “Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.”
Every day of our earthly lives, we can be effective agents of God’s mission, doing our parts to make disciples. I don’t want to miss the mission given to me by getting distracted by a good cause but not the best cause.
I am thankful for the freedom I enjoy, thanks to Jesus having done a serious battle for me and us against all the ways we fall short. Not only has Jesus set me free live new, but He also gives me specific ways to join Him and help others discover that freedom.
Pray: How does our freedom in Christ inspire us to help others find Him too?
Sow: LORD, help me be so thankful for the freedom You have won for me that I want others to have it too!
Prepare for Prayer
SPECIAL NOTE: This summer, we are engaging in 100 Days of Prayer (starting in June and leading up to September’s National Conference), including here in Prayer Connection. We are inviting, leaders, groups, and Prayer Connections to be a part of this important time of prayer.
Join us in this 100 Days of Prayer:
- Be sure you are signed up for our newsletter HERE.
- There will be a special Facebook Live, as well, each week. Our other social media, like Instagram, will also have prayer prompts for this season.
- We’d also love to have you join us on the Prayer Call each Wednesday to join as one voice to seek the hope that is only available through Jesus Christ.
Our guide to prayer is “Freedom.”
Read: Leviticus 25:10
Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan.
Pray: Dear Lord, we are your people, the sheep of your pasture. Fill us with the passion for your Kingdom that consumed Jesus.
Pray:
- Ask God what places in your life might still need freedom, such as a sin pattern or a troubling relationships
- Praise God for the freedoms we enjoy and ask him how to use them for his Kingdom
Pray for Your Group’s Upcoming Outreach Event
Read: Isaiah 49:9
I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare.
Pray: Father God, you have given us this outreach in order to bring the Good News of freedom in Jesus to more women. We ask that these women ask themselves if they are truly free and to see their sins as spiritual handcuffs.
Pray:
- Ask God to richly bless and favor all preparations and those working to bring it together
- Ask God to open doors for conversations with new friends and family to invite them
Sharing Your Faith
Read: Acts 24:23
He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take care of his needs.
Pray: Dear Lord, even in what seem the most difficult circumstances, like Paul’s, you provide ways for us to go and make disciples for your Kingdom. We ask that you provide unmistakable favor for us to share our faith.
Pray for:
- Ask God to open the eyes of your hearts that you might see all the people around you as he does: those in need of a Savior
- Ask God to bring to mind the right Scripture in order to speak truth from your Word when needed
Pray for our Nation and Leaders
Read: Romans 8:21
…the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
Pray: Father, we know that the troubles of our country are part of your creation’s groaning as it waits for restoration. We praise you that there is hope for all if only we can show them.
Pray specifically for:
- Ask God to open the eyes of government leaders to the groans of this country and be given supernatural wisdom to make decisions
- Ask God for unifying events and truths that the country can come together around
Pray for the Stonecroft Family
Read: 2 Corinthians 3:17
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Pray: Dear Lord, we ask that you pour out your Spirit upon all who work and volunteer with Stonecroft, that your presence and guidance would be a blinding light of hope to all who interact with them.
Pray for:
- Ask God to stir a hunger for the movement of his Spirit in the hearts of Stonecroft women
- Ask God to rejuvenate Stonecroft volunteers in the mission of the bringing the message of freedom from sin and death
Share Personal Requests
Pray for each other’s personal needs and lift up one another’s passions for God to bless and grow.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, we are thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and for the men and women who fight to keep us free. Lord, we recognize that the greatest freedom we can ever enjoy is that from you paid for by Jesus Christ our Lord. We have a new mission as soldiers in your army and the armor and weapon, your Word, that we need in order to do what you’ve asked of us. We praise you and thank you for our freedom in Christ Jesus!