Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6,7

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7

Today is about persistently praying, not in a repetitive rhyming of a list of items or phrases, but to engage with what you are bringing to God.

Here are some items we regularly pray for in the prayer team;

• For the Mission to grow closer to God and to follow the leading of The Holy Spirit.
• Healing for our friends and family who are physically and mentally ill.
• For those in our church seeking asylum.
• That Government leaders will lead by God in their decisions.

Instructions

1. Choose something from the list or you can choose something in your own life that you have been asking God to change for a long time.
2. It helps to have a few items you can stack up while you pray (5 or 6).
3. Pray for the same thing over and over. Each time you pray, stack an item on top of each other making a tower.
4. When you are done, knock over the blocks as a symbol of God hearing your prayer and change happening.
5. Repeat as many times as you want to

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Today we will be making a paper chain with a prayer on each chain.

You will need

• Paper to cut into strips
• An easy way to stick the paper together
• Pens

Instructions

• Take two or more pieces of paper and write down the name of a person, a situation, or place that needs God’s justice and mercy.
• Add a line of glue to the short end of the paper. Bend the other short end round to form a circle and stick together to form a loop.
• Keep writing more prayers on the paper. Loop each piece of paper through the previous circle and glue it together to make a chain of prayers.
• On the final day of the prayer week, break the chain to show how God answers our prayers and breaks chains of injustice that prevent people from living in his freedom.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
James 5:16

• This is the time to pray daring, bold, big prayers. Because the power of prayer is not in us, but in God – who hears and answers prayers in his will, with his grace and in his timing.
• Spend some time thanking God for prayers he has answered for you, for your community and for your nation in the past.
• Kneel in humility, confessing the things you’ve done wrong or good things you’ve left undone, admitting that you need God’s help. If you feel led,
  you might want to talk to god about bigger issues: things your community or your nation has gotten wrong, things that you need God’s help to change.
• Dare to pray the big prayers that you haven’t prayed before, or you stopped praying because you didn’t think they’d be answered. Pray for God to be known in your life and the life of your nation in a completely new way: for his glory to be known in your community and shine out across the world!

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Ezekiel 37:4–6

In Ezekiel’s vision, the Spirit of God brings new life and new hope into a lifeless place.
Who are the people in your life, your community and church who need new hope and new life?
Pray for them.

Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
Exodus 33:15–17

You will need:

• Bread and juice
• A window to look out of, or a few photos of creation

This prayer activity uses our senses to practice increasing our awareness of the presence of God

• Touch: sit and feel your breath slowly rising and falling. Thank God that he is as close to us as our breath.
• Taste: thank God for his generosity to you as you eat the bread and drink the juice.
• Smell: think about the things you can smell, the bread, objects in the room. Practice focusing on God’s presence as you become more aware of your senses.
• Sight: praise God for his creation. Look out of the window, or at the photos in front of you, and thank him for his creative and inspiring presence.
• Extra action: Continue to practice being in God’s presence by setting a daily reminder on your phone to pause and spend time with him.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8

1. Think of people, places, schools, workplaces etc that can be mission fields for your community and write each one on a piece of paper and place them around your room.
2. Spend some time in the middle of the room asking the Holy Spirit to fill you afresh and guide your prayers. Pray for courage to leave this prayer room ready to share your faith with others.
3. Walk to one of the pieces of paper you set out, and pray for the topic it displays.
4. Continue your prayers as you walk around the room to each piece of paper you set out. Keep walking and praying as a symbol of being God’s feet taking his word around the world.
5. Before you move on, ask God to send you out from this prayer room ready to be witness for Jesus.