Partners In Prayer For The
Ukiah Bible Church
FEBURARY
Introduction:

Our purpose and how to use the Scriptures to pray

Our desire is to create partnerships in the ministry of prayer for our church.  The purpose of this ministry is to unite the members of our congregation around the throne of God each week with a special theme for prayer.  The manner in which this takes place is simple; each partnership determines the time, location or means of connecting for prayer.  

One of the most effective ways of praying is to use Scriptures in conjunction with one’s conversations with God.  When one does this, the Spirit of God will use the Scriptures to help you align your prayers with His priorities, thus effectively conforming your prayers with what pleases Him.  One noted prayer Warrior said, “The Spirit rides best in His own chariot and His chariot is the word of God.” For this reason, along with each theme you will find Scriptures that relate to those themes.  If you will read the passages from your Bible before you pray and consider the context in which you find them, you will discover a source of words and ideas that will help your prayers align with God’s Word and thus, enhance your experience and accomplish much.

James 5:16, “…The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”
 
Our theme for this month is unity in the body of Christ––“that they may be one” (John 17:20–23).  Pray for genuine unity, humility, forgiveness, and harmony within ministries, leadership, and relationships at UBC. Pray that our heart and actions would show a broken world the glory of Jesus. 

Pray that God would help each of us to shine His light to those in the world, in our workplaces, and in our families.  May He receive the honor and praise through our worship of Him.

Week of the 2nd - Genuine Unity

• Praise God that in His Spirit we have full unity in Christ.  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23).

• Ask God to bond our church in genuine unity and peace. “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:1–6).

• Pray that our marriages and families would be close-knit in Christlike unity. “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God…Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband” (Ephesians 6:1–2, 21, 31–33).

Week of the 9th -Joyful Humility

• Ask God to help us to walk in humility in relating to people in our families, church, and workplace. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2). “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

• Pray for our church leadership to walk in humility and wisdom in leading UBC. “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:1–4).

• Pray that our church would be clothed in humility in relating to one another. “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,’God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5–7).

Week of the 16th - Gracious Forgiveness

• Praise God for His forgiveness, which empowers us to forgive others. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2). “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

• Ask God to give us courage to confess sin and seek repentance and forgiveness. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16). “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). 

• Pray that our church would show the heart of Christ in forgiveness and love. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12–14).

Week of the 23rd - Loving Harmony

• Ask God to help us walk in the harmony of our life in Christ. “But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:8–11). 

• Pray we would reject favoritism and partiality, and love our neighbors as ourselves. “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, ‘Here’s a good seat for you,’ but say to the poor man, ‘You stand there’ or ‘Sit on the floor by my feet,’ have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? …If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.” (James 2:1–4, 8–9). 

• Ask God to instill loving harmony in our service and life together. “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus….And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:3–6, 9–11).