Matthew 1:23
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.”

Who would have thought that we would actually have Christians questioning the Virgin Birth? What’s wrong with Jesus having a human biological father? Well, two things. One, he would have been conceived out of wedlock, a sin and sign of disobedience, and two, he wouldn’t be divine from eternity. So, other than those two reasons…

Pray for God to continue to bless faithful teachers of the Gospel.

Daniel 6:22
“My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”

Confidence and humility are the ways the Holy Spirit works through us most often. We know we are going to be just fine, no matter what, in the long run. We also know this is because of who God is not who we are. We just made the connection and stopped getting in our own way.

Pray for confidence in the power of Jesus in your life.

Daniel 3:25
“Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!”

What does God look like? God can have an appearance (“glory”), but he is a non-physical entity. Yet, there are instances where God appears through his angels. Here is one of those times. Protecting his teachers (missionaries) in a land that does not recognize God.

The three servants of God are spared and the angel disappears. What if God could be with us all the time? What if every single step of the way nothing bad would ever happen? God is with us, but not always for immediate protection. If we lived in a sheltered bubble, we would never grow out of infancy. Yet, we are wise to pray for God to be with us always.

Pray for God’s glory to shine in any darkness you or a loved one is experiencing.

Ezekiel 37:27
27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Have you invited God to live with you? If not, why not? Do you feel unworthy? You are not. Jesus makes you worthy as you connect with him. It’s really not about you.
Do you think you don’t need him? Are you fine on your own? Really?

Have you had bad personal experience with people who identify as Christians? Perhaps you need to get out more. There are probably a few people you could hang out with. Seems others have been able to do that in spite of Christians who disappoint. Even people who hang out with me!

Pray for faith.

Isaiah 63:11
Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock?

When it seems God is far off even though he has been so powerful in our lives in the past, we have good company. God’s people in the Bible bring this up again and again.

So, when you are experiencing challenging times, do you figure God really doesn’t exist and try to find another one? Think about what that means in every other area of your life. If I am being challenged, I just give up. If I don’t understand something, it must not be right. You get the picture.

Pray for understanding.

Isaiah 45:15
Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel.

God chooses Cyrus the Persian, king and enemy of Israel, to do his bidding, defeating another enemy, the Babylonians, and bringing the Israelites back to their homeland. We don’t know when God is at work in human history but we know he is at work. How can so many good things happen in spite of human sin? Only God knows.

Pray for God to open eyes to his work.

Isaiah 43:1-5
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. 6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

Christianity is the fastest growing faith in the world. Especially in the South and East. North Americans and Europeans have a hard time understanding this because they seem to be missing out on all the fun! Unlike any other faith or worldview (except, perhaps rock music) Christianity brings people from every culture together, with at least one thing in common. Trust in Jesus. This appears to be enough.

Pray for Christians in North America and Europe to share the love of Jesus.