Partners In Prayer For The
Ukiah Bible Church
FEBUARY
Introduction:

Our purpose and how to use the Scriptures to pray

Our desire is to create partnerships in the ministry of prayer for our church.  The purpose of this ministry is to unite the members of our congregation around the throne of God each week with a special theme for prayer.  The manner in which this takes place is simple; each partnership determines the time, location or means of connecting for prayer.  

One of the most effective ways of praying is to use Scriptures in conjunction with one’s conversations with God.  When one does this, the Spirit of God will use the Scriptures to help you align your prayers with His priorities, thus effectively conforming your prayers with what pleases Him.  One noted prayer Warrior said, “The Spirit rides best in His own chariot and His chariot is the word of God.” For this reason, along with each theme you will find Scriptures that relate to those themes.  If you will read the passages from your Bible before you pray and consider the context in which you find them, you will discover a source of words and ideas that will help your prayers align with God’s Word and thus, enhance your experience and accomplish much.

James 5:16, “…The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

Our theme for the next two months is the fruit of the Spirit––“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control” (Galatians 5:22–23). As we reflect
on these attributes, we see how often we don’t reflect them. When we look to Jesus Christ, we see the One who perfectly embodies these important traits.

As we draw near to Jesus and treasure Him more and more, He sanctifies and refines our hearts to look more like His. “Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the
same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). We become like the One who loves us and is transforming us!

This month we will focus on the first four fruits of the Spirit. May we behold our Savior and be transformed to look more like Him in our love, joy, peace, and patience.

Week of the 3rd— Love

• Praise God for His perfect love. Ask Him to empower our efforts to love as He has loved us. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37–39).

• Pray that God would refine our love for our families and other loved ones. Pray that He would give wisdom to know how to love well in both peaceful and difficult relationships. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away” (1 Corinthians 13:4–8). “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14).

• Ask God to cultivate a gracious and loving spirit in our church body, that we would reflect God’s love to a watching world. “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:13–14). “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35).

Week of the 10th— Joy

• Praise God for His perfect joy. Ask Him to empower our desire to experience joy in Him. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).

• Pray that God would sustain those who have difficulty experiencing joy from above. “Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!” (Psalm 126:5). “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit” (Psalm 51:12).

• Ask God to instill a deep joy in us that would overflow to our families, church, and the world. “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you” (Psalm 5:11). “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

Week of the 17th— Peace

• Praise God for His perfect peace. Ask Him to empower our hearts to find rest and peace in Him. “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16). “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24–26).

• Ask God to fill our hearts with peace in facing distress and uncertainty. Pray that we would remember true safety and comfort is found in Jesus Christ. “You keep him in perfect peace whose 2 mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

• Pray that we would be wise peacemakers in our families, churches, and workplaces. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11). “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).

Week of the 24th— Patience

• Praise God for His perfect patience. Ask Him to empower our patience toward others. “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…” (Ephesians 4:2).

• Pray for patience in facing trials, that we would fix our eyes on Jesus in the midst of difficulty. “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14).

• Ask God to humble our hearts to show patience to those in our families, church, and community. “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5).”Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Colossians 3:12).