Kick off the Live It Challenges with seven days of prayer! Here’s a handy prayer guide to help you pray for your family, friends, community, and beyond.
What are the 7 days of prayer?
The seven days of prayer are designed to kick off the movement of the Live It Challenges! Prayer is a crucial element to any Christian’s walk – it’s a direct line of conversation with God and is a conduit for worshiping and communing with Him. First, let’s take a look at a special way you can pray during these seven days and beyond…
The P.R.A.Y. Model
If you are looking for a different structure for your Prayers, try the P.R.A.Y. model, which is based off the Lord’s Prayer.
Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.” Luke 11:1-4 (ESV)
Praise God
Start off by giving God praise and adoration (“hallowed be your name”).
Recognize His Gifts
Continue by acknowledging and thanking the Lord for his gifts (“our daily bread”).
Ask for Forgiveness
Next, acknowledge your sins and ask God for forgiveness (“forgive us our sins”).
Your Requests
Finally, bring your requests before your Creator (“lead us not into temptation”).
Prayer Guide
You can find the seven days of prayer guide below, but if you’d like to download the official PDF resource, you can get it by clicking on the button.
Your first day of this prayer guide revolves around your relationship with God. When your connection with your Heavenly Father is strong, it prepares you to contribute to His Kingdom. Praise God for creating you and for how much He loves you. Recognize the gift of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Ask for forgiveness for when you take that relationship for granted. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to strengthen your relationship.
Questions to think about:
What are things that distract you from focusing on your relationship with God?
What can you do to change that?
Day 2 – Pray for your family
The second day of prayer is for your family. It is important to take time to pray for those related to you. Remember, God has you in your family for a reason! Praise God for His wisdom to have you be a part of your family. Recognize the gift of a family, whatever yours may look like. Ask for forgiveness for times when you have not treated your family well. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you love your family better each day.
Questions to think about:
What are the differences in your family?
Can you start looking at those differences as strengths you can learn from?
Day 3 – Pray for your friends
Next up, we want to encourage you to pray for your friends, especially those who you may have had the opportunity to talk to on Bring Your Bible to School Day. Praise God for creating each one of your friends. Recognize the gift of friends and friendship. Ask for forgiveness for times you haven’t shown God’s love to others. Request that God gives you chances to talk about your faith with friends.
Questions to think about:
What do you and your friends usually talk about?
Can you think of opportunities when you can tell them how God has changed your life?
Day 4 – Pray for your church
The fourth day of this prayer guide is for your church. Pray with your pastor(s) and all those who attend church with you in mind! Praise God that you are a part of Christ’s body – the Church! Recognize the gift of being a part of a community of believers. Ask forgiveness for when you have forgotten to pray for your church. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you love your church and support your fellow believers.
Questions to think about:
How can you work with your church to make an impact in your community?
What are some areas of need for your church that you could help with?
Day 5 – Pray for your school
Praying for your school is up next! Take time to pray for your fellow classmates, your teachers, and your administrators. If you homeschool, choose a school nearby and pray for it and its students. Praise God for His wisdom to have you in your current school situation. Recognize the gift of education and learning. Ask for forgiveness for when you take your schooling for granted. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you to be a reflection of Christ in your school.
Questions to think about:
How can you make an impact for God in your school?
What are some things you can do to help those you go to school with?
Day 6 – Pray for your nation
The sixth day of this prayer guide is about your country. In a time of division and strife, prayer for the nation and its people is more important than ever. Praise God that you live in this country at this time. Recognize the gift of living in a nation where you can live out your faith freely. Ask for forgiveness for when you have forgotten to pray for the nation. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to help you bring understanding, love, and kindness to a divided culture.
Question to think about:
What can you do to encourage meaningful discussion with those who may not see eye-to-eye with you?
Day 7 – Pray for your world
The seventh and final day of prayer is for your world. Pray for those who live in places that don’t have the same religious freedoms as you and pray that God’s Word would reach everyone across the globe. Praise God for his power and craftmanship in creating the world. Recognize the gift that God has given in the wonders of His creation. Ask forgiveness when you have forgotten to pray for fellow Christians around the world. Present your requests to God. Ask Him to spread His peace throughout the world.
Question to think about:
What can you do to shine Christ’s light in the world today?
Use this Prayer Guide and Keep Praying
When you’ve finished this seven days of prayer guide, keep going! Your prayer life continues. You can also return to this guide whenever you’d like!
About the Author
Emerson Collins
Emerson Collins is the Program Manager for Bring Your Bible Day and The Live it Challenge at Focus on the Family. He lives in Colorado Springs where he enjoys time with friends and family playing videogames, ultimate frisbee, and bringing his Bible with him everywhere he goes. If he isn’t out on adventures with his new wife and son, you might find him serving his local church.
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Why It Changes everything!
The Live It Challenge presents Bring Your Bible to School Day—coming this October! This exciting event empowers Christian students to make an impact living out their faith by bringing God’s Word with them to school!
