Day 39

Precious Jesus,

As we enter into Passion Weekend, let us not forget the agony You suffered at our expense, starting before You took the Cross. In those hours before You were arrested, and beaten, and tried, and crucified, You wrestled in prayer. You prayed so fervently that Your sweat became like clots of blood. 

You loved us so much, You loved the Father so much, that even though You were frightened and anxious and wanted to know if there was any other way, You were prepared to drink the cup of suffering. 

Today, we think about the immense grief and agony You felt in the garden, and we remember that it is us who placed that upon You. It was our cup to drink, but You drank it. 

Help us to not be like the disciples on that night. That even though You were a stone’s throw away, they were sleeping while You were suffering. Wake us up today. Help us to be fully aware of what You endured for us, never taking a moment of Your suffering for granted. 

We pray that You would awaken us at Bethel. Don’t let us be caught sleeping while the Master is with us. Don’t let us go through Passion Weekend without stopping to remember that our sin put You on the Cross. Awaken our feelings to feel what You felt, to write ourselves into the Passion narrative, and to never cease being grateful for the sacrifice You made for us.

Amen. 

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Day 38

Our Savior, 

As You were heading toward Your crucifixion, You could have easily withdrawn from other people. Instead, You stayed with old friends, took part in a dinner they made for You, and used their generosity as a moment to teach and comfort others. You made time for Your community in the most challenging time of Your life. 

Help us Jesus, to take time for our Bethel community when we are tempted to withdraw. Teach us to engage with our brothers and sisters, so we may be a blessing presence in their lives.

As Mary poured the expensive perfume on Your feet during that night so long ago, give us courage like hers to love You in extravagant ways — to pour our the very best of who we are for You.

May we serve You as You deserve; may we give and not count the cost; and may we not quickly judge another’s generosity, but may we learn in humility from what may appear foolish.

We ask Jesus, that as Mary responded to Your gift of forgiveness by anointing Your feet, would You anoint us with Your Holy Spirit, that with her, we may sing Your praises not only with our lips but with our lives.

We pray these things in Your name; You who are alive and reigning over all things, now and for ever. Amen.

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Day 37

Precious Jesus, Master and Teacher of all things righteous,

As we look back to the week before Your death on Fig Tuesday, we reflect on Your last movements before death. Every minute that You spent that week, caring for the unseen, preparing the disciples for Your absence, struggling in prayer for the events to come, none of those moments were in vain, so today, we must stop and think about the fig tree in which You cursed.

 

The fig tree that was not yet in season but appeared to be from afar. It failed to produce fruitfulness and so You cursed it to never bear fruit again (Matt 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, 20-25). 

 

In so many ways, we can be like this fig tree. We are sorry for the ways we have put on the “appearance” of fruit bearers but when we have not actually been fruitful. Forgive us for when we should have been fully formed followers, but have fallen short in our actions. Help us to produce the fruits of the Spirit in our walk with You. Help us daily to grow in our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits that demonstrate that we have been transformed by Your power into mature Christians. 

 

Lord, we pray that You would make Bethel fruitful. That we would not only be fruitful in physical growth and expanding Your kingdom, but that we would be fruitful in our own spiritual lives. We pray that You would increase the righteousness of everyone who calls Bethel home. 

 

And just as You said shortly after cursing the tree, “Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive”. Lord, we pray that You would please hear our prayers this Lenten season.

Amen. 

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Day 36

Wonderful Lord,

As we reflect on the events of that Holy Monday so long ago, we remember that You boldly cleared the Temple of the money-exchangers and rebuked the religious leaders, declaring that Your house is to be a House of Prayer (Matthew 21:13).  

Jesus, as each of us are now Your Father’s holy temple, we ask that You would drive out the secular spirit that seeks to invade the sacred places of our hearts.  Please remove those things that defile our temples so that we can truly become a house of prayer and communion with You.

May each of us be as living stones, being built into the house of prayer that You are fashioning Bethel to be.  Help us to advance Your Kingdom through our intercession. We pray that the House of Bethel would so filled with Your divine presence that all who enter will be filled with Your Spirit and given the victory that is Yours.

We pray that Your heart’s desire for our church be carried out, through us, and may we bring You honor and glory this Holy Monday with our thoughts, words, and actions, in Your powerful name we pray, Amen.

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Day 35

Lord Jesus,

We begin Holy Week with worship in Your house this Palm Sunday.   You have never gathered Your people in vain, so we believe that You have already prepared a wonderful table before the people of Bethel this day.

We acknowledge You as the Sovereign King over all things — You sit on the throne of Heaven with nail marks in Your hands and feet having defeated death and the power of sin.  So we declare Your kingship this morning, not just with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna,” but with an ardent longing to live as You have taught us — serving others, loving our neighbors, and walking faithfully with You.

As the crowd in Jerusalem shouted “Save us” (Hosanna), we too cry,  “Save us!”  Save us from empty praise today; Save us from superficiality; Save us from pride; Save us from a lack of passion.

As we reflect on the journey towards the Cross that You began on this day, we ask that You would strengthen our faith this Palm Sunday so that with grace and courage, we would follow You this Holy Week from death to resurrection — from darkness to fullness of light.

 We pray this in Your Most Holy Name.  Amen.

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Day 34

Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

We come before You this Saturday to offer the fruits of repentance.  We acknowledge with shame the sins we have committed, by thought, word and deed, against You, who will judge all Creation.  

We praise You for adopting us as Your children and making us heirs of eternal life. You have washed us from our sins and made us clean in Your sight for the sake of your Son who died for us.

Yet we still fail to love You as we should, and serve You as we ought.  Where we have rejected Your will for our lives, and followed after our own desires, we humbly ask that You would forgive us, cleanse us, and change us.  

Wash away our wrongdoing and renew a right spirit within us.  Restore us to the joy of Your salvation, and by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, enable us to live in holiness for You.

Grant that from this moment forward, we may honor and please You in newness of life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

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Day 33

Lord Jesus,

As our week comes to a close, we thank You for everything You have given us. Thank You for the jobs we come home from, to the families we come home to, for every breath that You have filled our lungs with this week, we count our blessings this evening. We come bringing our gratitude to the foot of Your throne.

Thank You for the reset of the weekend. A reminder that You make things new continually. Starting with the new life that You have given each out us because of the life You gave up on the Cross. 

We pray that Your sweet presence would fill our weekends. That we would sense Your nearness in whatever we do. Whether we have a busy weekend ahead or whether we have a weekend of rest, in our coming and in our going, may we feel Your presence with us. Your sweet presence that brings an unexplainable peace and fills our souls with a holy rest. 

As we prepare ourselves to journey to Easter next week, may we stop this weekend and think about what the next week means for us. Help us to prepare to reflect on each day as it comes remembering that the week leading up to Your death, You were aware of what was coming. You willingly and continuously gave up Your life for us throughout the week as You continued Your journey to the Cross. Help us to plan out times in our week, next week, set aside to remember Your sacrifice and celebrate Your Resurrection with intentionality.

We pray that as a church at Bethel, we reflect and remember Holy Week more than we ever have before. We pray that we would not take a single part of Your journey to the Cross for granted. Remembering the costly price You paid for our sin.

In Your Precious Name We Pray, Amen.

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Day 32

Our Father in Heaven,

As we continue our Lenten journey, we reflect upon Your Son’s forty days in the wilderness.  Forty days alone in a wilderness of tempting and inviting thoughts, which so easily could have distracted Him from Your mission of redemption. Yet Jesus emerged, stronger and ready for all that You had willed for Him to accomplish.

In the wilderness of our own lives, we confess that we are easily distracted by every call to go this way or that, to turn stone to bread, to leap from mountains, and listen to the voices of this world.  So forgive us we pray — forgive us for allowing worldly and fleshly distractions, forgive us the things we have done which have caused You sadness, and those things we should have done that would have brought You joy — in both we have failed.

We ask Your forgiveness for ignoring the One who endured the suffering and shame of the Cross, that we might not have to suffer.  Bring us back to that place where our journey began, when we said that we would follow the way that Jesus first trod.  Lead us to the Cross and meet us there. 

We pray these things in the name of the King of Glory whose crown was made of thorns, and whose name we raise in worship.  Amen. 

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Day 31

Wonderful Father, 

As we continue this Lenten journey, we pray for a renewed and deepening desire for prayer in our body — please forgive us for our prayerlessness.  We join together today to pray in agreement that You would pour out Your Spirit of prayer upon Your people once again, right now.

We remind You of Your words in Zechariah 12:10:  “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication.”  Father, return us to a craving and yearning for deep times of prayer, so that You are able to pour out the Spirit of intercession upon us.

We ask that You would give each one of Your sons and daughters, young and old, a holy passion and fervor to pray like You desire us to pray.  

Let the prayer of agreement become the lifeblood of our times of fellowship at Bethel, so that our praying with one another becomes a grand symphony of unity being lifted up as sweet incense into Your nostrils.

Let Your grace and peace be multiplied upon our church, in Jesus name, Amen.

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Day 30

Merciful Jesus,

In the days leading up to Your triumphant entry into Jerusalem, You invested some of Your very last hours on earth into the otherwise unseen or outcasted.

 

You healed a blind beggar and You stopped on the side of the road for a wealthy tax collector. You demonstrated that no matter our backstory or pasts, whether we are suffering with physical or spiritual blindness in our lives, that once we have an encounter with You, we can never be the same.

 

Thank You that You have radically come into the lives of each of us that call Bethel home and taken the scales off of our eyes. You have supernaturally intervened in each believers life, calling us out of our blind pasts and into an abundant, overflowing life with You, not only in the future but right now.

 

Would you search us for any area of blindness in our lives today. Are there areas where we are holding on to our pasts and not fully reliant on You? Are there areas where we are listening to the people around telling us to “be silent” (Luke 18:39) as Jesus passes us by? 

 

May we be as desperate for an encounter with You this week as Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus were on that day they heard Your footsteps and refused to miss a moment with You. Help us to be aware that without experiencing Your saving grace, we will continue on in our blindness. 

 

In your Name we pray. Amen. 

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Day 29

No Prayer (Hey, sometimes we all need a Sabbath ;)

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Day 28

Merciful Father, 

As this day comes to a close, we turn to You in gratitude. Thank you for the experiences, challenges, and blessings of this Lord’s day.  Thank You that Your favor has no end but lasts our entire lifetime and through Eternity.  Forgive us for sometimes forgetting that You are intimately acquainted with all of our ways, that You know what concerns us, and You cover us, as with a shield. 

We ask for Your guidance so that we might walk fully in Your blessing and goodness this week.  We pray that You would open the right doors for our lives and loved ones, close the wrong doors, and protect us from those we need to walk away from. 

Please make our way purposeful and our footsteps firm; give us a heart of wisdom to hear Your voice.  May Your peace fill our hearts and minds this night, allowing us to find true rest for the week ahead.

We humbly ask this in the precious name of Jesus.  Amen.

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Day 27

Almighty Father, 

We prepare our hearts this evening for our time in Your house tomorrow.  May You find worshipers who worship You in spirit and truth; we pray that Jesus, our Head receives honor and praise – His cross boasted in, and the power of His resurrection proclaimed. May the Spirit of God, the heavenly Dove, find our hearts to be a fitting place to land and to dwell.

We pray that Your saints, young and old, are encouraged in the Gospel, equipped for service, sanctified in the truth, and joyously assured of the eternal redemption Jesus has earned for us. 

May Your house known as Bethel be the place tomorrow where the hurting receive comfort for their souls, the weary are refreshed, the despairing are filled with hope, the depressed filled with joy, and the sick are healed; where the thirsty find satisfaction and the hungry are filled.

We pray that Your Word is honored and Your people are perfecting holiness in the fear of You; we pray that friendships are established and deepened and many sins are covered by love.

And may we be sent out to touch our world around us — a world so desperately in need of good news!

All of this, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus and for your glory Father.  Amen.

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Day 26

Heavenly Father, we come before You this afternoon to ask You to abundantly bless our church.  Thank You that we have been called together as the saints of Bethel for the purpose of glorifying You.  

Lord, we ask that our mission statement would be than words that we hear, or see on our screens.  Help us to truly become passionate followers of Jesus who live out Your purpose for our lives.  Raise the passion level among Your people.  We pray the words of Romans 12:11 — that we would not lag in zeal, but be ardent and fervent in spirit as we serve You.

Help us to diligently and intentionally care about people — all people.  Make us first-class noticers of people.  May we run toward their need and not away from it.

And we ask that we would seize our destiny — that we would fulfill the purposes You have designed for each of out lives.  May we not waste our one and only life on lesser things.

We pray this in Your Son’s precious name, Amen.

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Day 25

Precious Jesus,

Give Bethel generous hearts. Give us hearts that are overflowing and eager to pour out to others. 

 

Help us be generous in our time. Lord, lead us into deep relationships and friendships with our brothers and sisters in Christ at Bethel. We pray that multi-generational friendships would form where our older saints and younger saints both glean from the others’ insights. 

 

Help us be generous in our participation. Give us servant hearts that are ready and willing to serve Your church. We thank You that You have given each of us gifts that can be used to edify Your body. May we not let those gifts lie dormant.

 

Help us be generous with our words. Present us with opportunities to have Gospel conversations in our homes and in our workplaces. Open our eyes and ears to those around us that may be desperate for Your hope.

 

Help us be generous in our finances. Help us to remember that everything we have is a gift from You on loan. Help us to understand that to tithe means to place our trust in Your provision in our lives. And what a faithful Provider You are. 

 

Thank You that You were generous to us. Help us to cultivate an environment of deeper generosity at Bethel.

In your Name we pray, Amen.

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Day 24

Lord Jesus, 

We gather this evening as a body to lift up our families to You.  Thank You for the gift of family.  May we never take our family for granted and truly cherish the moments we have together.

We bring before the Throne of Grace, any family members who are going through difficult times, whether it be illness, emotional pain, or other challenges.  We ask for Your healing touch and comfort to be upon them.

Jesus we seek Your wisdom and guidance as we make decisions that affect our family. Help us to make choices that honor You and are in the best interest of our loved ones. Help us to practice love, and offer grace and forgiveness within our family when we hurt each other.

With all of our heart, we pray that You would restore bonds that have been broken with some of our family members.  Bring reconciliation, bring restoration, oh Lord.  

May our families reflect the oneness that You have with the Father, and Spirit, we pray.  In Your Name,  Amen.

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Day 23

Wonderful Father, 

We praise You that one day, every tribe, every ethnicity, every people group will sing of Your glory and grandeur.  We thank You for the beauty of diversity.  Thank You that you have made us different from one another. 

Thank You that You did not make one gender, but two. Thank You that You did make one race, but many. Thank You that we do not speak one language, but You are praised in many languages.

We are grateful for the different nations and cultures represented in our church.  Thank You that we are united under the Cross, where we have equally received Your love which enables us to love one another. 

And so Father of Nations, we pray that Bethel would continue to look like Your Kingdom around the world.  Continue to send us brothers and sisters from other lands, increase the diversity in our body so that we would truly reflect here on Earth, what Heaven already looks like.

We pray that our community is witness to the power of Your love that brings different people together making them one family through faith in Jesus.  In the name of the One who died for all.  Amen. 

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Day 22

Our Father in Heaven,

As we continue this Lenten season of praying together as a church, let our communal prayers be counted as incense rising before You. May our thoughts continually turn back to You in worship throughout this day.

We worship You as our Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and the true end of all things.  We love You, we trust You, we honor You, we praise You.  We give ourselves over to You, Father, to be one with You in everything as Jesus is one with You. 

Thank You for forgiving our sins, for granting us Your Son’s righteousness, and for making us complete in Him. We praise You for making us alive with Christ, raising us with Him, adopting us into Your family, and seating us in heavenly places with Jesus. 

As we focus on worship today, may the way we live our lives through the remainder of this day, be an act of worship and thanksgiving for all You have done for us.

We pray this in the name of Your Son, Jesus.  Amen.

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Day 21

Lord Jesus,

We long to be like You.  We earn for Christlikeness in ourselves and our church.  We confess that our flesh loves control and clings to anxiety and acts with stubborn pride — so would You transform our hearts and help us to walk in humility.

We pray that we will become more like You in our interactions with people for whom You died.  As You laid down Your life for others, help us to joyfully do the same.  

Give our church the strength, power, and courage to enter into the hardships of all people in our community and willingly be Your hands and feet.  Help us to take up the towel and basin and wash the feet of the undeserving, to serve those from whom we will receive nothing in return.

Give us Your eyes to truly see lost people as You see them.  Give us Your mouth to speak life and not death.  Oh Jesus, as we begin this week, empower us to think, to act, and to speak as You would in our place.  

May Bethel reflect the glory and beauty of Your matchless character, we pray.  In Your holy name we ask these things.  Amen.

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Day 20

Oh Merciful and Mighty Father,

We look forward to being in Your house tomorrow!  It is a joy knowing that we can go anywhere in the world, and when we meet another believer, we have found family. 

Thank You especially for our brothers and sisters in our Bethel church family.  Father I ask that you put us in the right frame of mind to have fellowship tomorrow. Send Your Spirit to bring us closer together in joy and love. 

Whomever among us needs prayer or support, cause Your Spirit to bring it to our attention so we can be there for them, pray for them, and provide for any needs.  Make us a body of believers that does good for each another, does not neglect to meet together, and that encourages one another.

We ask that You would prepare our hearts to not just listen to Your Word, but help us to receive Your Word, so that we are formed into a more righteous people that pleases You.

In the name of Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

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Day 19

Our Father,

We love You. We love Your presence. We come to You as a church family, hungry for more of Your presence. Help us to not be content with a “Sunday Morning Faith” but to be desperate for You in every moment.

As we anticipate the gathering of saints this weekend, may we evaluate how we could better enter into a spirit of praise and worship. May we think of the ways in which we can be an encouragement to one another. May we develop an expectation for the movement of Your Spirit in our worship services.

We want the miraculous. We want an experience of Your supernatural power. We want to hear the revival winds in our sanctuary. But more than all of that, we want to experience Your presence in a new way. We desire closeness with You. We want to be changed by an encounter with You.

How we long to sit at Your feet; to dwell with You in the secret place. Come Jesus. Come.

Amen.

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Day 18

Heavenly Father, 

As our day slips into evening, may we wear the garment of praise. May we bring the day to you and examine it for Your goodness, noticing all the ways in which You were with us today. 

 

You are the Joy-giver - the one who created joy…defines joy…is joy. Search the parts of our heart today that are overwhelmed with grief, anxieties, depression, and the worries of tomorrow and fill us with an unspeakable joy, knowing that You are in control. 

 

Your Word says that You will give us an oil of joy instead of mourning and the garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:3). So, even when our circumstances today call for lamenting, may you put the spirit of joy in those of us who call Bethel home. Our inexpressible and glorious joy is what sets us apart from the world.

 

May our evenings be filled with Your presence in everything we do, even the simplest tasks. 

We pray in Your holy Name, Amen.   

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Day 17

Lord Jesus,

We come to You today as a congregation, united in prayer and seeking Your guidance and favor upon us.   We pray for each other, that we would be a source of encouragement and support to one another, and that we would lift one other up in times of need.

As we continue this Lenten journey together, we humbly desire that we would grow in deeper intimacy with You.  Help us to truly abide in You so that our lives will bear fruit that brings honor and praise to Your holy name.  

We earnest seek You, oh Lord, to sovereignly place Your hand upon Bethel — we plead with You, oh Lord, to restore what is broken, to revive what is lifeless, to purify what is unclean, to rebuild what has been torn down, to refresh what is weary.

We pray all of these things that Your Spirit has laid on our hearts, trusting in Your goodness, love, and power, made clear to us through Your Son Jesus Christ, to accomplish what alone we cannot, and to establish Your glory for all to see.  Amen.

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Day 16

Almighty Father,

You have declared yourself to be Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides. We rejoice that You own all things and You hold everything in Your hands. We are grateful that You know our needs before we even ask. You’re aware of all that concerns us, and You have a plan and You are our provision. 

We ask today that You would supply all that our church needs both individually and corporately.  We thank you in advance for Your miracles, for paving out pathways, for Your provision for each one in our body.  You alone can move mountains to make a way for Your children.  

We pray that You would richly provide Bethel and its ministries with all that is needful to proclaim Your Word, impact our community, and send out missionaries into areas of our world that does not yet know Your name.

Help each of us to cultivate generous hearts, and be faithful with bringing our tithes into Your storehouse.  Thank you for teaching us to be content in all circumstances. Lead us into a greater season of trust in You this Lenten journey.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Day 15

Merciful Father, 

As the people of Bethel, we pray with longing hearts for a powerful move of Your Spirit to begin and sustain an awakening in our city.

We see around us people who are lonely, lost, and hurting.  We join our hearts with Jesus when He felt great compassion on people because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  Day after day, the people of our community suffer from oppression, guilt, sin, sorrow, and a poverty of heart and soul — families are struggling and fractured.

So we proclaim today, our need for Your supernatural work. Come in mighty power that we would be Your witnesses to proclaim the passionate desire of Your Son to draw all people to Himself.

Father, we long for a revival in our church, and in our city — do not pass us by.  May you keep our church in fervent prayer this Lenten season.  Grant this, Father, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.

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Day 14

Gracious Father,

We take time this Lord’s Day to say thank You. Thank You for this house known as Bethel.  Thank You for the Spirit’s presence that was with us today during worship.  Thank You for the word we received today — that life in Your presence bring discernment, and freedom, and joy.

Thank You for the community You have given us in our church.   We ask that as this Lord’s Day begins to gather to a close, that You would meet the needs of each one who calls Bethel their home.  We ask for Your healing touch to be upon those in our church who are hurting physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

We pray now for those among us who are walking through a loss, a tragedy, or a difficult situation — please be their comfort and guide. Help us, as a body, to support them in meaningful ways, and help us to surround them with love and care.

As we continue our Lenten journey of praying together, may we focus this week on our lives being an offering of love to You and a blessing to others.

In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

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Day 13

O Precious Father, 

As Bethel continues through this season of prayer, we are reminded today that Your Son has invited us to die to ourselves so that we might find ourselves made new.  Help us this day, to take up our cross and follow Him.  

Give us the grace to welcome the Holy Spirit’s work to mortify our flesh and to breathe the renewing life of Jesus in us.  May we learn to participate in His sufferings and know the power of His resurrection during this forty-day pilgrimage of prayer.

Open our eyes to see the ways You would have us die to our selfishness and our sinfulness today.  And may we be awakened to the majesty of a Savior who promises nothing less than sharing in His glory (Romans 8:17).

In the name of the One who laid down His life for us.  Amen.

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Day 12

Loving Father,

As we encounter Your presence on this Lenten journey, would You strengthen our spiritual disciplines. Give Bethel the desire to be readers and hearers of Your Word, to be steadfast in prayer, and to place priority in spending time in our secret place with You.

Father, forgive us when we have placed our daily priorities in things that are far inferior than abiding in You. We have remained busy at the cost of not developing a deeper relationship with You.

In our devotional time with You this Lenten season, would Your Spirit show us the areas of our lives where we are still spiritual infants. It is not Your desire for us to be lacking in spiritual maturity, but to be those who feast on Your every Word. Help us to commit to reading and meditating on Your Word daily.

Lord, make Bethel a temple that has an appetite for Your Word.

Amen.

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Day 11

Lord Jesus, as we pray together this day with one heart, we ask that You would awaken us to the greater things You have for Bethel.  We earnestly plead for a spirit of revival to be birthed among us.

Wake us up from any slumber and apathy oh Lord!  May we begin to live more aware, to redeem the time, to listen to Your words, to be willing to make a difference in the places You have called us to.

We ask for an awakening of Your holiness in our own lives, and we ask that seasons of refreshing would fill the life of our church in the days ahead.  We ask that Your same power that broke prison chains, raised the dead, healed the sick, and parted the seas — may that same power be evidently at work in our church this Lenten season.

Amen.

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Day 10

Oh gracious Heavenly Father,

In this season of Lent, we are reminded of our brokenness and failures.  But in the midst of our weakness, we are also reminded that You bring beauty out of ashes.  

So let your Spirit shine into every broken place we are walking through.  As we walk through this 40 day journey as a church, we ask that You trade the ashes of our lives for the beauty of Your presence. Trade any grief in our hearts for the oil of joy and gladness from Your Spirit.  Trade our despair for hope and wonder. 

We thank You for the victory that is ours because of Christ Jesus, and we are confident that You are at work right now, both in our lives and in the collective life of our church, making all things new.  In Jesus’ great name, Amen. 

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Day 9 

King Jesus, we remember your Royal Priesthood today. 

We acknowledge that You are the cosmic Royal Priest and we remember the calling that You have placed upon Your people to be living stones that build Your temple; to be your holy priests. 

Lord, we repent for the times where we have not honorably represented Your Church. We are sorry for when we have sought to build our own silos, instead of building the Body. Forgive us for where we have not modeled Your love to the “one anothers” in our lives and in our community. 

We pray that You would make Bethel a place in which people say, “we know they are Christians by their love.” Help our words point others to You. Help our actions seek to serve others. 

Help us to desire to build Your Kingdom, not our own. May this be the deep desire of our hearts at Bethel.

In Your Perfect Name, Amen. 

 

Day 8

Oh Lord Jesus, as we take this journey together as a church through this Lenten season, we ask that You would purify our hearts.  Purify our desires to serve You.  Free us from any temptations to judge others, help us to surrender our impatience with others, so that with Your love and your grace, we may be less and less absorbed with ourselves.

Help us to decrease and may You increase.  May we be more and more full of a consuming passion to follow You, to obey Your words, and lay down our lives according to Your example.

Bless the household of faith known as Bethel today.  May the words we speak and the thoughts we think be pleasing and acceptable in Your sight oh Lord.  Amen.

 

Day 7

Gracious Lord Jesus,

We come before You this morning with hearts full of gratitude and anticipation.  We thank You for the gift of this new day, a day set apart for worship, grow, and communion with You. We acknowledge Your sovereign authority over our lives and over our beloved church.

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Lord, on this day, we seek Your presence to fill our hearts and minds.  As we gather together as a community of believers, may Your Spirit unite us in deep love and joyful fellowship. Open our ears to hear Your Word and our hearts to receive its truth. 

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May we be truly transformed today…may we may gain a stronger understanding of Your will and purpose for our lives.  And may Bethel be saturated with Your presence this day.  

 

Amen.

 

Day 5

Oh Heavenly Father, we come before You today as the people of Bethel, to ask for a mighty awakening in our body, and our community.

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We ask that You would eclipse every other longing, desire, and pursuit, so that we would be captivated by You alone. We pray that You would bring down spiritual powers that distract, tempt, numb, confuse and deceive. 

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We long for Your Spirit’s moving among us in Pentecostal power — work miracles in our body, and may we witness signs and wonders as You pour Your Spirit upon us.

 

Please use our church and our lives as catalysts for renewal, restoration and revival. We have heard of Your great works; but we cry out that You would do it again, now, in our day. 

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And may it be all for the glory, honor and praise of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our crucified, resurrected and returning Lord and King.

Amen and amen.

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Day 4

Precious Lord, we rejoice in the day that you have given us today. A day that is not yet spoiled by our own sinful thoughts. 

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Help us to resist a spirit of grumbling and complaint as we reflect on the goodness of Your power in our lives. 

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Forgive us when we have chosen an attitude of complaint when our expectations of You have not been met, instead of living in awe and expectancy that what You are going to do is so much greater. 

So, we pray with thanksgiving today. A thanksgiving in acknowledging that anything You are working is far better than our earthly minds can comprehend. 

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We sit in gratitude for Your continued faithfulness in our lives at Bethel.

In Your Precious Name, Amen. 

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Day 3

Lord Jesus Christ, before You went to the cross, You earnestly prayed for Your friends that they would be one as You and Your Father are one.

We confess our resistance to Your prayer.  We have failed to maintain the unity of the Spirit.  We have broken the bonds of being in one accord.

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For the times we have not listened to each other, when we have spoken in gossip or haste, and for the times we have so quickly judged one another, we are sorry.  

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For the times we have not loved each other, nor believed the best about one another, as Your word calls us to, we are sorry.

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For the harm that our disunity has done to our witness to the Gospel, we are sorry.

Have mercy on us, and please forgive us we pray.  Restore us to oneness with You and to one another through the power of your Spirit.

 

Amen.

 

Day 2

Heavenly Father, we humbly come before You this day, recognizing our need for revival in our church.  

We repent of our complacency, our lukewarmness, and our lack of passion in worship.  Ignite a fire within us, O Lord, that cannot be quenched.  Breathe new life into our worship, our fellowship, and our service to You.

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Pour out Your Spirit upon Bethel this Lenten season.  Stir within us a holy desire to reach the lost. We ask that our worship services would be marked by a breath-taking awareness of Your presence.

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Revive us, O Lord, and let Bethel become a habitation for Your glory.

 

 In Jesus’ name, we pray.

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Day 1

Oh gracious Lord Jesus, look with favor on your household known as Bethel.  As we begin our Lenten journey together, help us to pray in one accord.  

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We pray today that our one desire and our one choice would be to choose what leads to the deepening of the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts. 

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May we walk through this season intentionally, removing distractions that take our gaze away from Your glory. 

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May we quiet the noise that pulls us from adoration of You and puts our attention on lesser things.  

We humbly ask that You would pour Your Spirit upon us, leading Bethel into a season of revival.  May we see the wonder of Your greatness in new ways throughout our forty day journey. 

 

May we know the depths of Your love for us more fully. May we feel the pain You endured for our sake, Jesus, and may we rejoice that You conquered every bit of evil when You rose to life again.

Amen.