Prayer, Pandemic, and Passion Week

A Guide to Prayer
This is a prayer guide based on the Scripture-fed, Spirit-led prayer approach of Daniel Henderson.  God has been using this approach to prayer in my life and in the lives of men with whom I am privileged to pray.  I hope you will find it helpful both in your ongoing prayer life, and as a way to bring your apprehensions and anxieties over the COVID-19 pandemic into perspective with God’s plan for you and for the world.

Theme: “God’s Plan and Our Plan”
Scripture:  John 11: 17-44

A couple of weeks before His triumphal entry which we celebrated on Palm Sunday, Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead.  In John’s account in John 11, after Jesus purposely delayed His arrival, we see that Lazarus’s sisters were overtaken with grief, failing to see that Jesus’ plan was much greater, and much better, than theirs.  Coincidentally, our senior pastor, Zach Swift, preached online from the account of Christ’s triumphal entry (Matthew 21), teaching us that we should not focus on “our plan” to the exclusion of God’s greater Plan—i.e. preach the Gospel and make disciples.

Praying according to this guide helps us submit “our plan” and ourselves to God in reverence toward Him and His Plan for us.  We will follow the pattern of Christ’s “model prayer” which we call The Lord’s Prayer:

REVERENCE -- toward God in the spirit of Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name

Read John 11: 17-37, and meditate on this powerful scene representing God, as a humble servant, clothed in human flesh, meeting two women representing us all, broken because their plan has died with their brother.  Can you relate to Martha and Mary:  Lord, if you had been here…  Open your prayer with reverent praise to our sovereign God who can seem late, uncaring, insufficient--yet is eternally “on time” and is eternally sufficient for our individual lives…and for international happenings like COVID-19. 

RESPONSE:  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In their sadness, Martha and Mary struggled with doubt-- “God’s will be done on earth?”  They had seen Jesus’ power and love, but where is He now?  If you are questioning “Where is God?”, ask Him through His Spirit to search your heart to locate any doubt or other encumbrances to your faith.  Then, respond in confession and surrender. Note that doubt and encumbrances are not necessarily sins (Hebrews 12: 1), but unchecked, they can lead to sin.

REQUEST:  Give us this day….forgive us as we forgive…lead us not into temptation…deliver us from evil..
Spirit-led meditation on God’s Word may have brought you to conviction and grieving over certain areas of your life that require repentance and confession (John 11: 33-38).  If so, ask God to “remove the stone” and cleanse your heart from the “stench” of sin and death (v. 39) and to bring you forth into the light of His righteousness (v.43).  Then, devote time to intercession for our…
a.     Our pastors:  
        That they will focus on the Cross: lead their wives and families
b.     Churches and their shepherds in America & the World:
        preach the Gospel; that God will open hearts to the Gospel
c.     Missionaries:
        Powerfully present the Gospel; personal safety against the virus
d.     Government leaders:
        Seek God's wisdom for the pandemic; their hearts transformed
e.     Medical professionals:
        Christ followers to testify of their faith; for their personal safety
f.      Personal opportunities to evangelize in this unique situation
g.     Other personal requests

READINESS:  For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen!
Focus your readiness and preparation to go forth in spiritual victory by affirming that God has heard your prayers (v. 41-42) and will make you useful as His clean vessel to reflect His power and glory during this important week in the Christian calendar.  Praise God as we celebrate JESUS death and resurrection, God’s greatest act of love and compassion—“that they (family, friends, etc.) may believe that Thou didst send Me (v. 42).”

Thank you for using this prayer guide.  May God bless you and yours!

Acknowledgement:   I want to thank Kirk Fairhurst who is Chaplain at West View Healthy Living here in Wooster, and serves on the pastoral staff at NorthWinds Church, in West Salem, OH.  In 2016, Kirk introduced praying over Scripture with hearts submitted to the inspiration of God's Spirit.