Current Prayer Requests and Praises

Please pray for Linda's mother, as she has been placed in Hospice. Pray for the whole family during this time.

Please pray for the Gunters as they continue with their teaching and leadership at The Moody Church.

Pray for Bob as he teaches the Your Marriage/Your Family community class on Sunday mornings and the Wednesday night Entrusted With A Child's Heart parenting class during Awana. Pray for Linda as she teaches her Tuesday morning Precepts class. Please pray for God's wisdom, pray for the leading of the Holy Spirit, and pray against the enemy's attacks.

Remember to pray for Bob's overall responsibilities and activities related to his position as the Family Pastor. Pray for endurance, wisdom, creativity, and insight as he partners with the other pastors on behalf of families at The Moody Church.

Pray, too, for Linda, that her health would remain strong and that she and Bob would have encouragement from the Lord as they serve together. Pray for Bob's ongoing struggle with his knees and specific wisdom for potentially needed surgery.

2012 Year of Prayer for Gunters

Thanks to all who are planning to pray faithfully for the Gunters this year! Our forth year in a row of weekly assigned prayer begins this month. Please check-in during your week for new postings of prayer requests and praises as we lift the Gunters before the Lord as a class.

We ask that you prepare for your week of prayer by sending the Gunters a note of encouragement the week of or the before, letting them know your plans to pray for them.

Prayer Basics

As we go to pray, it is easy to do it quickly just to check it off our list of things to do.
Here are a few things to help us slow down:

• Worship God First: remember that even prayer is an act of worship
• Praise God: take a moment to reflect on His character before you begin (and, as you begin, tell Him about His character)
  
• Pray for His will to be done (and believe that it will)
• Trust God's sovereignty and faithfulness; and give Him thanks for all things

General Prayer Guide

Even without specific prayer requests, there are always many areas of prayer need (especially for those in ministry). Here are a few examples.

Note: These can all be used as items of thanksgiving, as well!

• Faith - Pray for Bob and Linda's total reliance on God in all things in their life. Pray for strength against temptation (spiritual warfare). Pray that the Lord will refresh their minds and show them His love anew moment by moment.
• Health and Protection - Pray for Bob and Linda's physical health and their protection as they travel (either around the city or across the country).
• Marriage - Pray for Bob and Linda's marriage, that it would be a reflection of Christ's love for the Church.
  
• Family - Pray for the members of their families (immediate family names are listed in a post on this blog).
• Ministry - Pray for the Family ministry at Moody Church, including YMYF, Parenting Classes, MOPS/EWACH, Precepts, etc. Pray that the ministry reaches those in need and that it is always glorifying to God. Pray for Bob and Linda's strength in laboring in these ministries. Pray for God to lift up workers to help.

Praying Scripture

A great way to pray for someone is through the Scriptures. There is power in the Word of God!

Example:
You can use Paul's letter to the Colossians and turn it into a prayer using Bob and Linda's names and specifics of their lives and ministries.

Scripture:
~Colossians 1:9-14
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We thank You so much for the ministry of Moody Church and especially today for the ministries of Bob and Linda. We ask that You fill them with the knowledge of your will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. May you help them to live a life worthy of You and please you in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Strengthen them with your mighty power and grant them great endurance, patience and Your unsurpassed Joy. Lord, You are the one who has qualified all of us to share in your inheritance in Your kingdom. You rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son You love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
We pray these things in Jesus' blessed name,
Amen.

Suggested Scripture:
You can choose a different verse or set of verses to focus on each day this week--or choose a few to pray every day. Of course, these are just suggestions--feel free to use them or find others.

• Ephesians 1:15-23
  
• Ephesians 6:10-17
• Philippians 1:3-11
• Psalm 18
• Psalm 25
• Psalm 86 (especially verse 11)
• Galatians 5:22-23

Looking for more? The Psalms are a great place to start. Also, the letters to the churches (Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians) have insight into how to pray for the church.