30 Day Prayer Challenge
By now the hustle and bustle of the holiday season has slowed down, the decorations have been packed away until next year, and all the Christmas cookies have been eaten. The calendar has been flipped to a new year, and for many of us January 1 is a day we pledge to hit the reset button on healthier habits: better eating, more activity, a more organized, less-stressed life, hoping to bring about change on the outside. We start out energized with the best of intentions to really stick to our goals, but by now, many of us have already broken those new rules we set for ourselves back on the first day of the new year. But I’m here to offer a different kind of challenge. Not one that brings change to our physical, outward appearance, but a 30-day challenge that will have God changing us from the inside out.I’m talking about a 30-day prayer challenge. Prayer is something that should be part of our daily routine. It can be done anytime and anywhere. Scripture reminds us that Jesus took time to pray, even in the midst of busy ministry life. In Matthew’s gospel, after Jesus feeds a crowd of over 5,000 people, “he dismissed the crowds and went up on the mountain by himself to pray.” (Matt. 14:23). He was modeling for us the importance of taking time away from our schedules and talking to the Father each day. Our God is a God of relationship. He wants to hear about our day, our joys, our struggles, and the desires of our hearts. Jesus also took time away to pray during his most troubling moments leading up to his arrest and death on the cross, “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while I go over there and pray.’” (Matt.26:36). He can relate to our struggles, and He is there walking through them with us as we come to Him in prayer.If you are new to daily prayer, this challenge will be a great way to get started. If you’ve been praying daily already, this is an opportunity to change things up a bit. It will focus our prayers not just on ourselves, but extend our prayer to our families, our communities, and around the world. Never underestimate the power of prayer. Whether simple or complex, God hears our prayers.
30-Day Prayer Challenge
Day 1: Pray for your family and your home.Day 2: Pray for your neighbor nearest you by name.Day 3: Pray for someone you know who is sick or struggling.Day 4: Pray for your community schools, principals, and teachers.Day 5: Pray for churches in your community.Day 6: Pray for the mayor of your city.Day 7: Pray for those without or needing employment.Day 8: Pray for local law enforcement, first responders, and medical community.Day 9: Pray for those in your community who don’t know Jesus.Day 10: Pray for the homeless and the less fortunate in your community.Day 11: Pray today without asking for anything—just praise God!Day 12: Pray for your church, pastor, church staff, and leadership.Day 13: Pray for those who have influenced your spiritual walk.Day 14: Pray for your governor, state leaders, and key social issues.Day 15: Pray for children in the foster care system.Day 16: Pray for those in prison and their families.Day 17: Pray for the marriages of the people you know.Day 18: Pray for those trapped in human trafficking.Day 19: Pray for your friends going through hard times.Day 20: Pray that people across our nation will know Christ.Day 21: Pray for our nation, our president, and our military.Day 22: Pray for our House, Senate, and Supreme Court.Day 23: Pray for a specific social issue effecting our nation.Day 24: Pray for people around the world who are hungry.Day 25: Pray for churches and Christian leaders around the world.Day 26: Pray for those unemployed around the world.Day 27: Pray for the millions of orphans, refugees, and widows around the world.Day 28: Pray for persecuted churches and leaders around the world.Day 29: Pray for those in modern-day slavery around the world.Day 30: Pray for the name of Jesus to be made known globally.