Ocean City, MD 2019

Dear Gracious and Way-Making God,

How majestic is Your name in all the earth! We magnify and exalt You, today. We lift up Your name and give You praise. Thank You for last night’s rest and for seeing us through another day. Your faithfulness is immeasurable and Your blessings are endless! Thank You, O God!

On this eleventh day of Christmas, we lift up those who are waiting for a way to be made out of no way. We pray that You will move mightily on their behalf. Your word lets us know that You will supply all of our needs according to Your riches in glory. We pray that the floodgates would open for Your people:

• We lift up the one who is “robbing Peter to pay Paul” and needs a financial breakthrough. Let provision come from unexpected places.
• We pray for those who do not have enough to eat and go to bed wondering when and where they will have another meal.
• We pray for those who work two and three jobs or more yet do not make enough money to meet all of their financial obligations.
• We pray for those who do not have a place to live and have made the streets their home. Provide for them, O God, and push us to insist on affordable housing in our communities.
• We ask that You would be present in the hospitals and let Your healing hand touch sick bodies so that they would be made whole. We pray that healing would happen from the inside out and that it would be a complete work, O God.
• We lift up those with Alzheimer’s and dementia and ask that You would move on their behalf. We also pray for their caregivers. Give them strength and encouragement.
• We pray for those with debilitating diseases. Touch their bodies and ease their pain.
• We lift up parents who need You to move in the lives of their children. Give them the resources and patience and support that they need.
• We pray for those who are in prison and need Your presence to surround them, Your mercy to keep them and Your grace for another chance.
• We ask You to move in the lives of those dealing with depression, bipolar, schizophrenia and other mental health issues. Direct them to the right people and resources so that they can get the help they need. We pray that they would not be taken advantage of in their vulnerability.
• We pray for those who have thoughts of suicide. Wrap them in Your love and turn their despair to hope, we pray.
• We pray for the broken-hearted. Let them be healed.

There are many who are praying and asking for You to lift a burden, to be present in a situation, to make a way out of no way. We lift them up to You and ask that Your way-making power would be manifest in their lives.

In the places and spaces where there is something we should be doing to make sure that those who are hungry have food, those who are without shelter have a place to live, those who are sick are encouraged, those who are in need have their needs met, we pray that we would rise to the occasion. Not only when our own circumstances are perfect but when we can do even a small thing to help.

We pray also that we would do our part to advocate on behalf of those in need and not simply watch in silence. Let us be charitable while we simultaneously insist that there is justice for Your people.

There are times, O God when we do not know exactly what we should pray for because our understanding is limited. But, You do know. We pray that You would hear the cries of our hearts and filter it through Your will and let it be so.

In the Name of Jesus, who in his darkest hour prayed for us and in his glory continues to make a way for us, we do pray and ask these things. Amen.