Today is Prayer Day on the campus of
Columbia International University. This is a day we set aside our daily routine to focus on the Lord through worship and prayer. What follow is my prayer guide for the day. Feel free to set aside time to join us:
Adoration
You formed my inward parts;
You wove me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
And my soul knows it full well.
My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my embryo,
And all the days ordained for me
Were written in Your book
Before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13–16)
Pause to express your thoughts of praise and worship.
Confession
I return to the Lord my God,
For I have stumbled because of my iniquity.
I take words with me and return to the Lord,
Saying, “Take away all iniquity and receive me graciously,
That I may offer the fruit of my lips.” (Hosea 14:1–2)
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.
Renewal
May God grant me, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in my inner being, so that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. And may I, being rooted and grounded in love, be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that I may be filled to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16–19)
May I be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 2:1)
Pause to add your own prayers for personal renewal.
Petition
I was once darkness, but now I am light in the Lord. May I walk as a child of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), learning what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:8–10)
Growth in Christ
Greater desire to know and please Him.
Greater love and commitment to Him.
Grace to practice His presence.
Grace to glorify Him in my life.
My activities for this day.
Special concerns.
Intercession
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
Churches and Ministries
My local church
Other churches
Evangelism and discipleship ministries
Educational ministries
Special concerns
Affirmation
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, they have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We are the true circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)
The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26–27)
Pause to reflect upon these biblical affirmations.
Thanksgiving
I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and faithfulness You have shown Your servant. (Genesis 32:10)
You are the God who answered me in the day of my distress and have been with me wherever I have gone. (Genesis 35:3)
The Almighty is my shepherd, the Rock of Israel, who helps me and blesses me with blessings of the heavens above. (Genesis 49:24–25)
Pause to offer your own expressions of thanksgiving.
Closing Prayer
The Lord is the great God,
The great King above all gods.
In His hand are the depths of the earth,
And the summits of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
He is our God and we are the people of His pasture
And the sheep under His care. (Psalm 95:3–5, 7)
Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
The Lord, He is God.
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:1–3)
(Boa, Kenneth. “Part One: Day 15.” Handbook to Prayer. Atlanta: Trinity House, 1993.)
