Prayer Focuses for 05/24-05/30

This week, use Hebrews 12:1-3 to help you pray for your heart and our church. 

1) Ask God to make us faithful witnesses. 

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses...    

• Whose faithfulness inspires you? It might be a character from the Bible, an individual from church history, or a Christian you know today.  Thank God for these people and how their faithfulness has spurred you on to follow Jesus.  Likewise, ask God to use your faithfulness to spur others on to faithfully follow Jesus. 

2) Ask God to make us faithful fighters. 

¹ …let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely…

• Ask God to help you fight the specific distractions and sins that pull your hearts away from Him. Ask for help in living out the "let us" in this verse—ask the Holy Spirit to give you the power to fight sin and live for Jesus, and ask God to deepen your Christian friendships so that you can increasingly confront and confess sin together. 

3) Ask God to make us faithful runners.  

¹ …and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

• Ask God to help you to persevere in following Jesus and serving His people in the specific circumstances that He has marked out for you.

4) Ask God to fix our eyes on our faithful king—Jesus. 

² Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 

• Thank Jesus "who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross," so that you could be brought into God's family. Pray for power to keep your eyes fixed on Him today.  

5) Ask God to use our faithfulness to point others to Jesus. 

³ Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 

• Ask God to give you opportunities this week to be a faithful witness to those around you who reject Jesus as King. Pray for courage to be loyal to King Jesus when it would be easier to protect your reputation or pursue your comfort, and pray for Him to use your faithfulness to prompt questions that lead to conversations about Jesus.