“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” Oswald Chambers.
Prayer has not always come easy for me. I have had to work at the great work of prayer. That is one of the reasons I am asking you to join us this month for a great work of prayer.
We are setting aside the week of September 18-24th as a focused time of prayer and fasting. Each day will have a specific prayer request. You can use this as your prayer guide, but these requests will also be posted daily on our Facebook page. Our staff, board of directors and networking leaders have all committed to petition the Lord for an outpouring of His Spirit in several different areas of need for our ministry. Many of you will be launching your fall session and this will be the perfect way to focus on what is needful through the power of prayer.
This is the specific prayer guide that will prompt our prayers for the week:
Day One – September 18. Pray for lives to be transformed by the power of Christ. Many of our FP4H leaders have seen marriages healed, friendships restored, fears conquered, medicine declared no longer necessary, parents forgiven and daily joy restored—just to name a few of the life changes that can come about through this ministry. The spiritual disciplines encouraged in FP4H will lead to transformed lives. Daily Bible reading has changed my life. Eating well and exercising my body has given me energy to do the work God has called me to do. We need to pray that weight goals will be reached. We believe that external change comes from internal transformation. As weight loss occurs, so does so much more. Pray for life change in each person participating in FP4H. This change has the potential to change the world. Change the believer, change the church, change the world!
Day Two – September 19. Pray for people to come to Christ. I gave my heart to Christ at age 18. Our mission statement declares that we are on mission to bring people into a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the key to health and wellness in our lives. Sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we can give to anyone. FP4H is not so much a program you go on, rather a relationship you enter into – a relationship with Jesus. In our classes, in our materials and in our daily walk, He must be lifted up. As we pray for salvations, we must have the courage to share the plan of salvation to those with whom we come into contact. Today we are still free to share our faith. There may be a day coming that this will not be so. The time is now, the need is tremendous and God has equipped us for the task of sharing the Gospel.
Day Three – September 20. Pray that people will be set free from strongholds.Jesus said in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Please pray for God to use the new Bible study Training for Success. This is a wonderful study introducing Jesus as the best personal trainer available. We are at an all-time high of people being overweight. We need to pray people will find true liberty in Christ though FP4H. We do not treat obesity as a disease and until we find true freedom in Christ, we will never be free. Freedom is the final result of discipline.
Day Four – September 21. Pray for our staff, board of directors and networking leaders. I am asking you to specifically pray for protection from the enemy, our health and for our families. I have been dealing with health issues for several years now and there are some days the pain is prohibitive to my job. I have severe arthritis in my hands which keeps me from writing or typing. Please pray for God to continue to sustain me in His strength. Our staff consists of Lisa Lewis, Helen Baratta, Lois LeBert, Monica Clark and myself. Barbara Amy and Dee Matthews are our volunteer staff. We have a huge task in leading this ministry. We are all working beyond our capabilities. You know that FP4H is not the only thing we have going on in our lives. We are moms, grandmas, wives, speakers, accountants, cooks, writers, web managers, etc. Pray for our health, our families and the tasks in which we engage every day for the work of this ministry. We need these same prayers for our Board of Directors: Karen Porter, Becky Turner, Gari Meacham, Mary Ward and Wendy Lawton. These are amazing women of God who give their time and talents freely to FP4H. Our Regional Team Leaders are Delilah Dirksen and Lisa Rigoni, both working hard to support and train our 23 networking leaders.
Day Five – September 22. Pray for the leaders of our classes, including our virtual groups. Please pray that God will bless each of our leaders with protection from the enemy, wisdom, perseverance, good health and boldness to share the gospel. Please pray against burnout and fatigue. I know it is hard work leading groups year after year. I have been leading for over twenty years. We cannot quit because this is where the real work of the ministry happens—individual classes in churches and committees.
Day Six – September 23. Pray for growth and expansion of the ministry. We need more product sales, more leaders and more new groups. We are asking God to grow this ministry in a supernatural way. He is the Lord of the Harvest and He will bring the growth. We are asking God to open doors of opportunity in communities without FP4H. We are seriously committed to doing our part. We want to help you start that group the Lord has laid on your heart. Please contact us. We have tools, people and resources to meet your needs.
Day Seven – September 24. Pray for financial blessing. I am not ashamed to ask God for money. He has even more than “a cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). Our materials need to be updated and we are working hard to keep the process on task. Additional funds are needed to pay new writers, develop new concepts for reaching the lost, updating our website, for marketing and to manage and operate this ministry. God has resources for us and we need to boldly ask Him for the monies, opportunities and talent. Please pray that God will open the door to us in discovering foundations and donors that care about “kingdom wellness.” There are those of you who have the spiritual gift of giving and we pray you will consider partnering with us to bring hope for the hopeless.
Additionally, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to post any personal prayer request you or your group may have on our FP4H Facebook page.
We are committed to pray. Please join us!