God, there is life in the wisdom, judgment, discernment, and discretion that you give to us. It’s available to us if we will just surrender to you and stop going it on our own and leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). Life is good when we trust in you and you alone. You’re not our last resort, God, your our one choice and you are more than enough. Thank you, Father. We love you.

God, transform our reaction to trials. We read this scripture and, in the midst of some trial right now, it’s easy for us to think, “Pure joy? How could trials be considered joy?!” Holy Spirit, we want this word to sink deep into our spirits and to bring about a heart change. Change our attitudes, and change our world view. Help us to see that every trial helps us to grow in our faith and to become more like you. When we encounter a trial, be it an illness, a death of a loved one, financial problems, whatever it is, help us to remember how you reacted to persecution and attack. These are opportunities for us to understand your life on earth better, Jesus. You can use the rushing currents of the world’s problems and afflictions to carve away the rough edges of sin in our lives and to mold us into the people that you want us to be. In our hardship, we cry out to you and ask that you continue to fill us and permeate us, pushing out the rotten garbage that has collected in our hearts and minds over the years. Without the trials, we might not cry out to you as often, and without crying out and opening ourselves to you, we wouldn’t be filled with you. And without being filled with you, how can other people see you in us, Jesus? Thank you for being good through it all, and thank you for loving us enough to use trials to draw us closer to you. You are good, God! Thank you! We love you.

Father, we stand in agreement with our sister Gemma’s prayer:

God, we pray this morning for unity in the body. Give us discernment to recognize strife and division in our midst and the wisdom in how to put an end to it. Continue to build humility in each and every one of us with a total reliance on you and not our own understanding, Jesus. When we are all leading Christ-centered lives, we can live in better harmony. We recognize that we won’t always agree on every point. Your word says that we now see through a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:13). Stamp out pride that would have us force an issue that, in the eternal scheme of things, isn’t important. Instead, help us to walk in love. God, we want to continue to be the light and salt of the world, but the driving force behind the brilliance of your light and the richness of your salt is your love (1 John 4:8). Help us to always keep that first and to treat each other lovingly even in the face of disagreement.

Lord, we don’t want to live in mediocrity, but in obedience. We trust in you to show us when we should hold our ground and to give us the words to speak when conflict arises. We give those situations to you, Lord, and ask that through it all people would see you in us. Thank you, Jesus. We love you.

Lord, we lift up Akinjola’s prayer request from Nigeria:

We also lift up Wisani’s prayer request from South Africa:

God, at first glance, if we’re caught up in the things of this world, our reaction to this verse may be, “Well, that’s a little harsh! We’re without hope?!” But that’s only if our hope is in the things of earth. As Christians, our hope is in Heaven and in the name of Jesus. Holy Spirit, reveal to us right now where our hearts are. First Chronicles 29 describes the unfettered giving of the people of Israel to the building of the temple. We want to give to you in that same way. We are only able to give anything to you because you have put it into our hands. Our very lives were bought with a price on the cross by Jesus. Until then, sin caused us to be orphans (foreigners and strangers), but that’s no longer the case! Help us to see the truth of our very existence and to then give everything we have willingly and joyfully – not just financial giving, but giving all of our being to you. We commit our hearts to you, God. You are our only source of joy and fulfillment. Every good and perfect gift comes from you (James 1:17), and so you deserve the glory and the dedication of our hearts and minds. We love you, Lord! We live for you, God.

God, we’re always hustling and bustling about in life and many of us rarely slow down long enough to just come and sit before you. What more precious gift do we have to give you after our hearts than our time and attention? You deserve it, God, more than anything else in our lives! We just sit and soak in you now…

You are God above all gods and certainly above anything else that would threaten to consume our thoughts and emotions. You are God above all work, all relationships, all illnesses, all money issues – it’s all under your control. Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:8-11), and we do that right now, God. Jesus, you are Lord of all! You are beautiful and might. You are powerful and gracious. We bless your precious name, Jesus. Nothing can compare to you. Nothing can fill us as you fill us, Holy Spirit. We drink you up right now. Consume us, Lord. We sit and soak in you right now, God… We love you.

We lift up Peggy’s prayer request:

We also lift up Muttu’s prayer request from Hyderabad:

Lord, we rejoice in you. Regardless of how our circumstances may look to the rest of the world, whether we’re abased or abounding (Philippians 4:12-13), we will rejoice in you because we know that you are God above all else, and that you hold us in the palm of our hands. Lord, we will tell the world of your wonder. Continue to build a testimony in us, and give us the courage and opportunity to share your good news with others all around us. We want to glorify your name with every step of our feet and every word from our tongues, God. We love you so much, God!

God, we lift up Seeba’s prayer request:

God, we so often, sometimes daily it seems, cry out to you in times of trouble but can’t be bothered to give you a thought the rest of the time. We call you “Lord of my life”, but we don’t leave you much room in our lives. It doesn’t make sense!

We know that you’re the God of the Universe. We know that we need you. We know what you have done for us, Jesus, and we know that you did it all because you love us…SO WHAT’S OUR PROBLEM!?

You deserve to sit on the throne of our life. You deserve to be exclusively lifted up. What good are totems and Asherah poles (2 Kings 13:4-6) when we have Almighty, Living God who is desperate to have a relationship with us? God, we want to give you every square inch of our hearts!

Crush us, God. Destroy our lives if that’s what it takes for us to give them over to you! Because if you’re not our head; if we haven’t lived for you, then we haven’t really lived at all. Accruing riches or notoriety, social status, a nice car, a beautiful house – it’s all worthless if we’re not living to glorify you.

Holy Spirit, reveal to our spirits, the areas of our lives where we have yet to let you in. Soften our hearts and replace them with your tender heart. Take away bitterness and judgmental spirits that grieve you, Holy Spirit. Give us eyes to see your children, our brothers and sisters on this planet, as you see them. Give us eyes to see ourselves as you see us, God. You tear things down so that you can build them up, and we lay ourselves at your feet and say, “Yes, God. Do it!” We’re tired of trying to make our way in the world on our own, God. We love you! Thank you, Jesus. You are so gracious and your love never ends! Thank you, Lord.

Father, you have given us this precious gift of life and salvation through Jesus. Help us not to be swayed be the negative influences of the world. Holy Spirit, keep us plugged into you, and help us to ignore and fight against the things that would threaten to drag us down and move us away from the good things that you have for us. You are so good, God. Fill us with your leaven, Lord! We love you!

Father, we lift up Tojong’s prayer request:

Jesus, you are mighty and you have broken through! You have conquered sin and death, and you did it all for us! God, you loved the world enough to send your only Son to save us (John 3:16). It is so astounding to think that you loved us that much. Holy Spirit, help that love to sink in deep into our hearts. Marinate our hearts in the truth of your love. Dissolve hatred, bitterness, judgment and self-loathing. Replace all of this evil ugliness with your pure love, Jesus. Help us to share that love with every one we meet. Let your love ooze from our pores so that people can tell that there is something in us that they need. Shine your light through us and be glorified this day and always, God. We love you!

Father, we lift up Immanuel’s prayer request to you:

Father, thank you for my brother, Theara’s prayer:

Lord, thank you for being you, and thank you for calling us yours. Thank you for making us who we are and for redeeming us from what we have done. You see us differently than what the world sees and what perhaps we see in ourselves. You see righteous children of God, forgiven and redeemed from the pit. You see healthy children whose needs are met in you. Thank you for your renewing power in our minds and bodies. We need you, Jesus. We welcome you into this day and into our hearts for eternity. Thank you for your transforming and saving power, Jesus, and for the work that you completed on the cross. It is finished! We praise you, Jesus! Thank you for your love and compassion. Holy Spirit, wash over us right now with your love and compassion. Thank you, God. We love you!

Father, we lift up Rugumire’s prayer request:

Lord, we also lift up Martha’s family in prayer:

Father, we lift up Ruth:

Lord we also continue to pray for Katarina in Belgrade.

Father, thank you for Angela’s testimony!

Lastly, Father, we lift up the nation of Iran in prayer. Strengthen and protect the Christians there. Bless Elam Ministries and their outreach work. Continue to use these mighty men and women of God to transform the nation, Lord. Thank you, Father, for the people of Iran.