Thanks for praying!

We’re so grateful for this opportunity we’ve had to join together in prayer – we hope you’ll stick with it! Perhaps what started as an Easter Prayer Initiative could be an invitation to a whole new step forward in our prayer lives.

Below are a few resources we’ve put together to support you in continuing to pray for family, friends, church, coworkers, community, and beyond. Let’s keep growing together in our relationships with Jesus Christ, as He invites each of us into a deeper connection to Him – and dependence on Him – through prayer.

Keep praying re: COVID-19

Here are some resources offering ways to continue praying during the pandemic:

• The makers of the PrayerMate app shared a #PraytoEndCOVID19 Prayer Guide from SIM (English PDF here, other languages here) – if you use PrayerMate, you can add these requests from within the app by tapping Add > Self-Isolation Survival Pack > SIM Pray to End Covid-19 (detailed directions in PrayerMate section below).

• Several other Christian groups have put together resources for a day of prayer and fasting, such as The Gospel Coalition and City to City (both include downloadable prayer guides).

Prayer apps

There are plenty of great apps that can help us be faithful in prayer. Here are two of our favorites.

Echo Prayer

Good when your prayer list doesn’t get too long.

PrayerMate

Good when you have lots of prayers to organize.

Want to add SIM’s #PraytoEndCOVID19 Prayer Guide?

• Download and launch the PrayerMate app.

• From the app’s home screen, tap Add.

• Under Suggested Resources, tap Self-Isolation Survival Pack, then SIM Pray to End Covid-19.

• In the top right corner, tap Download.

• Tap Suggested: ‘Special events’, then New subject, and you’re done!

Want a detailed tutorial on everything PrayerMate has to offer?

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Apr. 8-12

Easter is almost here! In this final week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, we’re praying that, like Mary in Luke 10:38-42, we’ll prioritize What Matters Most – a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Ask the Lord to:

• Use these times of difficulty and uncertainty to help people (including us!) recognize our limitations and our need for Him

• Move powerfully in our hearts and the hearts of many people all over North Platte, Lincoln County, and beyond – to draw us into (or deeper into) relationship with Him

• Awaken in us, through the Easter story, a new appreciation for His extraordinary generosity and the hope that is found in Him

• Help us focus less on ourselves and more on Him, living as His ambassadors and loving others in His name (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

We long to be growing in our own relationships with Jesus Christ and to be leading many others to know and grow in Him, too. No matter what these unpredictable times may bring, we know that What Matters Most will never change – because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)…He’s the hope our world truly needs!

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Apr. 1-7

In this sixth week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, we’re praying for Healing & Trust. Jesus’ resurrection reminds us of two wonderful truths: God has the power to heal and restore even when all hope seems lost, and He can be trusted to accomplish His good purposes even in life’s darkest and most incomprehensible moments.

Ask the Lord for Healing and increased Trust in Him, praying for:

• Health care workers on the front lines (here in Lincoln County and all around the world) to have wisdom, health protection, emotional energy, and physical stamina

• Those affected by COVID-19 (physically, emotionally, mentally), directly or indirectly, to draw near to the Lord and be softened to Him

• Our government leaders to have wisdom to do what is best, and for the rest of us as citizens to honor our authorities

• The Lord’s power and mercy to halt COVID-19's spread, while at the same time asking Him for His will to be done and our hearts to trust His plan

Let’s pray for the Lord’s healing power and for a deeper trust in Him – for ourselves, for those we know, for everyone who needs Him all over the world.

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Mar. 25-31

In this fifth week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, we’re praying for Our Leadership – both those who are in leadership positions (in our government, in our church) and also our entire church body as we pursue our mission of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Pray for Our Leadership, asking God to give:

• Wisdom for our governmental leaders to make decisions in the best interest of those they are serving

• Wisdom for our church leaders to position and equip the body to care for those who will be in need due to virus effects

• Spiritual protection from the enemy’s attempts to paralyze the church through fear, uncertainty, stress, being overwhelmed

• His help in figuring out how to help connect people to Jesus and one another during this window of time when people are searching

We long to see leaders at all levels – including ourselves! – using all the wisdom, creativity, and energy God gives us to capitalize on the opportunities He’s putting before us.

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Mar. 18-24

In this fourth week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, we’re continuing our focus on responding well in the face of the current pandemic. This week, please pray for Our Creativity and Commitment – we want to see our whole church active on the mission of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, and with the limitations and challenges posed by the spread of COVID-19, this calls for extra effort and ingenuity.

Pray for Our Creativity and Commitment in:

• Finding appropriate ways to reach out to our neighbors and those in need both inside and outside our church family

• Gathering together digitally while in-person gatherings of 10 or more people are suspended

• Submitting to the instructions from our governing authorities

• Staying on mission to reach people with the good news of Jesus through our words, attitudes, and acts of service

Please pray for this outpouring of creativity and commitment both for our staff (as they work to equip and mobilize the body) and for our entire church family (as they seek to do the work of ministry).

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Mar. 13

Prayer Friends – in a beautiful act of God’s sovereignty, He has assembled all of us to be praying before this pandemic struck our nation in the significant way we've witnessed in the past week.

We're going to “pivot” our Easter Prayer Initiative and send this out to you today in the hope that you will either add these requests to your Easter praying or pray these in lieu of Easter for the time being. In any moment, our first source of help is the Lord and let’s cry out to Him who can still storms, heal the sick, restore senses, and raise from the dead!

Here are some requests we’re asking you to pray through as often as you can:

• Pray first for God’s glory to be seen as this situation unfolds. 

• Pray for God’s power to halt the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. Obviously we think about our own community in NP, but let’s ask Him to mercifully contain it worldwide.

• Ultimately, however, pray for God’s will to be done perfectly on earth as it is in heaven. While we’d like it to halt immediately, God’s will is perfect and what we really need in this moment.

• Pray for God’s wisdom for our leaders, healthcare workers, and those making decisions which will impact many.

• Pray for God’s heart to be manifested in each of us that we will not fear, but rather love the vulnerable, honor those in danger, and exude confidence and the fruit of the Spirit.

For more information about our church's response/preparedness actions, visit our COVID-19 page.

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Mar. 11-17

In this third week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, please pray for Our Easter Gathering. This week we’re especially pleading for the Spirit’s movement in our time.

Pray for Our Easter Gathering to be:

• Unhindered by enemy opposition, our sin, or other distractions (sound, tech, other noises, wandering minds)

• Full of the Spirit’s power in the selecting, practicing and singing of songs

• Full of the Spirit’s power in the preparation and delivery of the sermon

• Full of the Spirit’s power to bring conviction, repentance, and joy on Easter

• For the glory of God alone and delightful to His heart

We desire our Easter Gathering to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power and movement - please pray with us to this end.

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Mar. 4-10

In this second week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, let's pray for Ourselves. Consider reading 2 Timothy 2:20-21 and, based on this passage, pray for our own lives this week to be useful for God's purposes leading up to Easter.

Pray for Ourselves to have:

• Good "heart soil" to receive seeds planted by the Word (Matt. 13:23)

• Awareness of our issues that need confession and repentance – and willingness to do it!

• Spirit-sensitivity to recognize opportunities to invite others to an Easter gathering

• Boldness and winsomeness in our invitation

• A sense of our role as God’s ambassadors – Christ making his appeal through us (2 Cor. 5:20)

Pray for ourselves that we won’t allow sin and self-interest to diminish God’s use of us for His glory!

Want to review previous weeks’ prompts? Return to our main Easter Prayer Initiative page.

Feb. 26 - Mar. 3

Welcome to the Easter Prayer Initiative! We'll be posting new prayer prompts each week (Wednesdays at 7 a.m.), offering ideas for how you can be praying for our church family and our larger community as we prepare to celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection at Easter.

In this first week of our Easter Prayer Initiative, please pray for Our Community. Consider someone you know who doesn’t attend (or might even be resistant to attend) a church, and pray for her or him to have:

• Interest in attending a Jesus-preaching church on Easter

• Good "heart soil" for seeds planted by the Word (Matt. 13:23)

• Protection from the Enemy's schemes of distraction and deception

• A positive response to the gospel

• Spiritual movement (whether we see it or not)

• Willingness to think/talk about spiritual matters before and/or after Easter

Please pray that many would hear, understand, and receive the gift offered through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection on Easter.