To kick off the new year, we are inviting everyone at Sound City to a month of dedicated, collective prayer. Each week, we will have a different area of focus as disciples: 1) relationship with God, 2) relationship with self, 3) relationship with the church community, and 4) relationship with the unbelieving world around us. Please set aside time each day to pray along the lines of the guidance provided below. The focus of this week’s prayer is our relationship with self and the way that God transforms our inner-life.
God, let my heart find its rest in you like a sheep with its trusted Shepherd. God, help me to not give place to insecurities, fear of man, anxious worries or fears; but even when I do, let those be the very things that lead me to press closer into you, seeking the comfort of your presence. I am weak and I was not designed to carry all the burdens of this broken world. Oh God, make me increasingly aware of your Holy Spirit sustaining me, sanctifying me, guiding me, and renewing me.
Day 8 (Jan 9) focus: God’s peace in our hearts and minds
Today’s prayer focus is God’s peace given to us. God’s peace is not something we muster up by telling ourselves to, “Be peaceful!” It is a peace that is received from God through reflecting on who he is. Spend some time reflecting silently or journaling about who God is.
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7
Pray for a sense of God’s goodness and faithful love to you.
Pray for transformation in your inner life that would give way to the peace of God which passes all understanding.
Pray thanking God that there is nothing outside of his knowledge and dominion.
Day 9 (Jan 10) focus: sabbath rest
Today’s prayer focus is sabbath rest. Sabbath rest is a gift that reminds us of our humanity and helps us reorient our attention towards God as we remember his truths and promises. Therefore, sabbath rest is more than just taking a day off, but an opportunity to fill our time with Christ-focused rest and worship. Schedule a sabbath day this week for rest and worship.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. – Matthew 11:28-30
Pray that God would help you receive his invitation to rest in his presence.
Pray that God would help you to experience unity with him and engage with his rule and reign over all things.
Ask God to help you remember that you are dependent on him and not on what you do, that you would trust in him and not your own efforts.
Day 10 (Jan 11) focus: awareness of hidden sin
Today’s prayer focus is the awareness of hidden sin. In Christ, our sins like scarlet are washed white as snow. Yet Paul reminds us that even though we are new creations, we will continue struggling and wrestling with our old sin nature. This is why he encourages us to put off our old self and put on our new self. Let's remember that we worship a merciful and gracious God who forgives us of our sins.
Who perceives his unintentional sins? Cleanse me from my hidden faults. — Psalm 19:12
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. — 1 John 1:5-7
Ask God to search you and reveal to you any sin that needs to be repented of.
Pray that the gospel of grace alone offered to hopeless sinners will both humble and comfort you.
Day 11 (Jan 12) focus: self-discipline
Today’s prayer focus is self-discipline. “Although God will grant Christlikeness to us when Jesus returns, until then He intends for us to grow towards it. We aren’t merely to wait for holiness; we’re to pursue it.” - Don Whitney
Consider fasting today as you pray and focus on self-discipline in the Lord. (For more info on the practice of fasting visit soundcitybiblechurch.com/fasting)
So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified. — 1 Corinthians 9:26-27
Pray that God would help you to build good habits that promote your spiritual and physical well-being.
Ask God to reveal to you any areas of your life that you have given place to carelessness or self-indulgence.
Pray that God would remind you that, although you are weak, he is your strength.
Day 12 (Jan 13) focus: assurance of God’s presence in life’s storms
Today’s prayer focus is the assurance of God’s presence in life’s storms. The storm’s of life cause major disorientation physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Therefore in these storms, we cling tightly to the truths and promises of God to carry us through. As you prepare for your time of prayer, sit in a relaxing spot and think of God’s truth. Use your Bible to look up some of his promises.
Open your Bible to Psalm 34. Try this: Whether you are praying alone or with others, read two or three verses of this Psalm out loud and then pray in response to what you read as you think of God as your provider and protector in all of life’s storms. Work your way through the whole Psalm this way. If you are praying with your family or in a group, you could break up the Psalm and assign some verses to each person.
Day 13 (Jan 14) focus: awareness of our own emotions
When we aren’t aware of the emotions that are running under the surface, they can lead us to sin, to despair, or to hide from God. Today, spend time journaling or reflecting on your own emotions. Ask the question “what are my emotions trying to tell me?” Take some deep breaths and try to relax your body. Then, in prayer, bring those emotions to God and ask him to meet you with his love.
Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. — Psalm 43:5
Ask God for help to experience your emotions and not hurry to tidy them up as you sit with him in prayer.
Pray that God would reveal to you any lies that you are believing about yourself or about God as well as anything you are worshipping besides him.
Pray that God would teach you to grieve, to give up idols, to lament, and to rejoice more fully as you learn from your emotions with his help.
Day 14 (Jan 15) focus: listening to God’s guidance
Today’s prayer focus is listening to God’s guidance. On a daily basis, we make hundreds, if not thousands, of small and large decisions. As Christians, we make these decisions seeking to bring all glory to God, so let's daily seek the Holy Spirit to recall and bring to life God’s word as we seek guidance in the small and large decisions of life.
Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. — Psalm 119:105
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. — Matthew 6:33
Pray that God would make you more aware of his voice and that he would bring scriptures to your mind during your times of prayer.
Pray for wisdom to test things by the scripture and by the counsel of others in your life.
Ask for a sense of his leading even in the small things and for a sense of his constant presence.