I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 1 Timothy 2:1 NLT
Tomorrow, May 7th, in America is our designated National Day of Prayer. Congress made a law in 1952 that the first Thursday of May shall be a day of prayer observance for our nation and its needs. Most communities host local gatherings while the NDOP steering committee hosts a National response. With the COVID19 pandemic the larger gatherings are not going to happen this year.
The following is a few ideas for changes this year with the last one sharing the bulk of this blog. Many have used Zoom for communication, plan your own group of people to pray for your community and needs. Pray with family and friends in your home or over the phone. Join the National Broadcast on May 7th between 8:00pm and 10pm ET on several different venues. Finally map out your own DRIVE BY PRAYER.
DRIVE BY PRAYER is similar to prayer walking, except you drive to different locations to pray. Each person has places of importance and significance in their lives that are unique to them and where they live. Drive to these locations and pray for the people and activities that occur. I have provided some ideas and prayer prompts for your DRIVE BY PRAYER. Use these as a catalyst for stirring up your own intercession for your community and needs in these areas of influence.
Prayer Prompts for DRIVE BY PRAYER – Drive to designated spots and pray the prayer prompts related to the area of influence
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13
Church (Stop in Parking Lot of your Church or a Significant Church)
- Pray for God to provide “all good things,” for new churches and ministries that are being started.
- Pray for spiritual strength and protection for pastors and their families.
- Pray that the Gospel would be proclaimed clearly through all the churches in our area.
- Pray for the church in our community to be filled with God’s love and known for God’s love.
- Pray for Wisdom for churches to nurture their flocks through the Corona Virus
Education (Drive by your Child’s school or the Universities and Colleges)
- Pray for safe and positive learning environments for all levels of education.
- Pray for wisdom in Tuscaloosa City/County Schools strategic plan implementation.
- Pray for educators in the classroom to highlight biblical truth in contrast to secular teachings. (humanism etc.)
- Pray for principals & school board members in your area by name, for the Lord’s wisdom & Spirit to lead and guide them.
- Pray for Christ-followers at schools and college campuses to connect, pray, fellowship and extend the Gospel.
- Pray School administrators as they adjust and make decisions due to the loss of school time with students
Family (Drive by homes in your neighborhood and pray blessings over families)
- Pray that parents would engage relationally with their kids.
- Pray for peace in the home and not physical or emotional abuse
- Pray for God to turn the hearts of parents to their children and of the hearts of the kids to their parents.
- Pray for young fathers and mothers, ages 15-21, to be encouraged and supported.
- Pray for husbands to make God the center of their lives, marriages and families.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to highlight God’s design for sex & empower men & women to live sexually pure lives.
- Pray for our community’s abortion rate to decrease and for the adoption rate to increase.
Government (Drive by the Courthouse and/or city administrative buildings)
- Pray for leaders to make timely and wise decisions for public safety and growth
- Pray for our elected leaders to have God’s wisdom and discernment for projects, policies and future plans.
- Pray for respectful and more fruitful collaboration, communication and coordination among all of the various government agencies and jurisdictions in our community.
- Pray for clear communication and harmony between the government and business sectors.
- Pray for proper care and guidance for veterans and homeless.
- Pray for city & county leaders to provide awareness & solutions to shepherd those struggling with mental illness.
Business (As you drive by businesses, lift up the name of those businesses to receive God’s blessing)
- Pray for entrepreneurs to collaborate with, connect resources for and mentor younger business leaders.
- Pray for the government & business relationship to be respectful and productive for a strong local economy.
- Pray for local core businesses to be financially blessed so that they can provide health care & other benefits.
- Pray for the downtown core: Light, peace, safety and to become more business and professional friendly.
- Pray for Christ-following business leaders to lead with Christ-like integrity & honor the Lord in their businesses.
- Pray for the creation of “above average median” jobs in our community & an increase in the living wage.
Arts (Drive by museums, libraries, music stores, dance studios, etc)
- Pray for Christ-following artists to step out into their gifting as artists and to impact our community.
- Pray for all Christ-following artists to lovingly participate in art shows, galleries, & marketplaces.
- Pray for the Lord to provide new vision, finances and favor on Jesus-honoring artists.
- Pray for the Lord to bless those taking leadership in shaping our children in the arts.
Health Care (Drive by Hospitals, clinics, specialized medicine businesses)
- Pray for safety for health care workers who are treating those with the COVID19 virus.
- Pray for God’s presence to bring a strong sense of the “sanctity of life” in all areas of health care.
- Pray for the Lord to guide our health care community into effective ways to treat the mentally ill.
- Pray for health care providers to have joy and peace in their heavy work load, and to provide their best care.
- Pray for Christian doctors: to be bold in sharing their faith, to learn how to pray with their patients and to seek the spiritual health of their patients.
- Pray for them to mentor younger doctors, nurses and staff.
Police and Fire Departments (Drive by Fire Stations, County Sheriff’s building, City police stations)
- Pray for the personal safety of those serving in our police and fire departments.
- Pray for all 911 workers: strength, peace, wisdom, pray for more 911 workers to be hired.
- Pray for the emotional well-being of the families of police and fire department servants.
- Pray for God to expose evil intent, defuse murderous intent and violent acts, replacing them with peace.
- Pray for community support to increase staffing in the police and sheriff departments.
Media (Drive by TV, Radio stations, Movie theater, Newspaper, Magazine businesses)
- Pray for encouragement, job security and peace for those in media.
- Pray for media organizations to have strength & discern how to handle new demands of a changing industry.
- Pray for the Christ-followers to be employed and engaged in local media: newspaper, T.V., radio, etc.
- Pray for clear and truthful reporting in all sectors of local media: TV, paper, radio, internet, and advertising.
- Pray for uplifting & encouraging stories to be highlighted daily & for Christ-like testimonies to be reported.
Sports (Drive by ball fields, stadiums, little league parks)
- Pray for FCA leaders to have favor and grace as they minister to UA athletes.
- Pray for all types of coaches: Kid Sports, YMCA, Middle School, High School, and College: for God’s hand to empower them to teach, encourage and to positively develop character in athletes.
- Pray for role model athletes to be strengthened and to have great influence on other athletes.