- Pray for our nation and our nation’s leaders. Pray for Jesus’ church to be faithful, present, powerful, and marked by love, goodness, courage, and hope.
- Pray for justice for those who have been wronged, persecuted, exploited, murdered.
- Pray for comfort for grieving families.
- Pray for communities ravaged by destruction.
- Pray that revival starts, continues, and springs forth with us.
“Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father …” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-3)
- Pray that we would be ever increasing as followers of Christ in our work of faith, our labor of love, and our steadfastness of hope so that others would see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.
“So that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia…” (1 Thessalonians 1:7)
- Pray that we would, by God’s grace, be an increasing example to all the believers in our day.
”For they themselves report…how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10)
- Pray for God to reveal to you where you have not turned from idols or where you have returned to the things He died to deliver you from. Confess how you have not “waited for Him to return” but have set your heart on this world. Ask for His specific forgiveness for ways you have turned from Him.
“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain …thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2, 13)
Pray for your passion for the Word of God, and for Watermark’s passion for God’s Word, as well. Pray that we would stand firm where it is firm and remain flexible where it is flexible. Pray that we would read it through, pray it in, live it out, and pass it on. Pray that we would memorize it, meditate on it, and be transformed by it. Pray that we would be doers of the Word and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
Read and use as a guide for prayer: Psalm 1; Psalm 119: 9-11; Joshua 1:8; Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 3:18.
“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen … For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. For … I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.” (1 Thessalonians 2:14, 3:4-5)
- Pray for the persecuted church. Pray that each of us would stand firm in the face of every persecution or temptation.
- Pray specifically for help in light of current temptations you face. Pray that you/we would not be led into temptation and that God would deliver us from the evil one.
- Pray that we as a church would not be tempted to focus only on ourselves or become satisfied with what God has already done through us.
- Pray that we would never become just a meeting place and lose our heart for the mission.
- Pray that we would not stop creatively sharing Christ. Pray that we would never give into the temptation to do things just because we have always done them.
Pray that the Lord would ...
“...cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people… so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Finally then, brethren (pray) as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God, that you excel still more.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, 4:1)
- Pray that as individuals and as a church we would always press on to higher ground and never stay satisfied with where we are.
- Pray that we would all diligently spend time with the Lord and use the 4B Assessment to evaluate how we are doing as fully devoted followers of Christ.
- Pray that each of us would be actively involved in a ministry where we would have a community of other believers to shepherd and care for us, pray for us daily, and help us to develop a plan for spiritual growth.
Pray that we would know and obey ...
”The will of God… that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)
- Pray for the purity and protection of our youth specifically.
- Pray for the patience and purity of our singles community.
- Pray for protection within our marriages and pray that they would be continually striving after oneness.
- Pray that individuals in our body who are struggling with pornography would confess to others, seek help from the Lord and a community of other believers in the fight against sin, and escape the trap that this behavior represents.
Pray that you would ...
”Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as (He) commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need. But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-18)
- Pray for comfort for those you know who are sick or who have lost loved ones. Pray that they would know the hope of eternity with Christ and remain steadfast in assurance that He is aware of their plight.
”Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6)
- Pray for friends and family who are not ‘sober-minded’ in relation to who Christ is. Pray that they might be delivered from the darkness, and by God’s grace and your sharing truth with them, be brought into the light. Pray for them specifically and by name.
”But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation…But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8, 12-13)
- Pray that we would live in peace with one another.
- Pray for individuals in our body that you know are in conflict with one another. Pray that they would search God’s Word as they seek biblical resolution to the conflict. Pray against gossip in our midst.
- Pray for us to be an example of godly relationships. Pray that we would be peacemakers not “peacefakers” or “peacebreakers.”
”We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)
- Ask for prayer for areas where you are weak, unruly, or fainthearted.
”See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15-24)
- Celebrate God’s faithfulness. Thank Him for being faithful even when we are faithless. Ask for increasing confidence that He will bring everything in His Word to pass.