21 Day Prayer Guide
40 Day Prayer Guide
Enjoy the journey with the Father. Pray often. Listen well. Be ready to act when Jesus calls.
To the Mighty Family of God,
We joyfully welcome you into another special season of prayer at the Hills Church! This year, we will set aside 21 days to seek the Father and pray over the vision he has given us! Invited by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are Asking for Nations & Generations. We seek nations because they reflect the multi-faceted beauty of God who desires all nations, tribes and tongues to come to him. We seek generations because God’s works and ways are too wonderful for any one generation to keep to themselves. Jesus’ Kingdom must transform not only the world we inhabit but the one that will be built by our children’s children.
But the starting place to the pursuit of this vision has always been “Ask.” Jesus does not want us to pursue this vision for him. He wants us to pursue this vision withhim. We ask because we want God. We ask because we need God. We ask because the things he has given us to do are simply too big to pursue without him. And so, to honor God and situate ourselves once again in his story, we will ask him for nations and generations for the next 21 days.
The prayer guide this year will follow the spiritual rhythms of Cave, Table and Road. The ancient Celtic Christians had a way of life that was oriented around these three rhythms that still prove helpful for us today.
The Cave represents the place of abiding in the life of the disciple. The Cave is the space where we seek God in quiet and solitude. It is the place of knowing God and being know by him. It is often the place where we hear him speak. The Cave is where we receive what we need and what we can share with others the rest of the day. In this prayer guide, each day you will find an invitation and prompt to spend quiet time with the Father in the Cave.
The Table is the place where we care for each other and the world. We each bring to the Table what God has given us to share. The Table represents fellowship, blessing, and intercession. In this prayer guide, the Table will be the place where we get an update on the vision goals and are invited to pray over them. It is how we will care for our church and care for the vision God has given us.
The Road represents a faith that must travel. Ours is a faith with legs. It must move. The Road is the place where we remember that our world is lost and is hurting. Each day in our prayer guide, we will have the opportunity to pray for our “One,” our city, our neighborhoods, and our world.
May you be blessed these next 21 days as you Ask for Nations & Generations. Enjoy this journey as we celebrate what God has already done and ask him for more. Jesus, we are ready for more! May your Kingdom come!
Becoming a House of Prayer
In your quiet time today in what we’re calling the Cave, reflect on these two Scriptures:
Isaiah 56:7 – ‘I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?”
Close your eyes (unless you’re driving!) and imagine the place where God lives. Imagine the beauty of his throne room, the brilliance of the colors you can see, the light that reflects from his presence against the gold of the throne. Imagine the sounds of the worship that is being offered continually in that place.
Pause and listen
Now imagine all of that radiating glory of God is present within you. You are a temple of God’s Holy Spirit, a place where God dwells. Spend time with that thought and thank God for His presence with you
In the past there was one physical place on the earth where heaven and earth met. You had to go to Jerusalem, to the temple mount, all the way inside to the Holy of Holies, to find the one place where God lived on the earth. But because of the power of Jesus and the Presence of His Holy Spirit who now lives inside all those who have surrendered to him, heaven meets the earth in millions of places! Friend, heaven meets the earth in you.
Jesus declared that his temple will be a house of prayer for all nations. Today, at the table, we offer ourselves once again for the work of prayer for the next 21 days. We want to consecrate ourselves for this opportunity to become a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Today, ask God:
- To consecrate you (set you apart) for these 21 days of prayer
- To cleanse and sanctify you as a place where the Holy Spirit lives
- To fill you and The Hills Church with his Holy Spirit who will teach us to pray
- To become a house of prayer for all nations
Ask God to multiply people who will become houses of prayer all over our city and world. Pray that there will be more and more people who will surrender to Jesus so that heaven can touch the earth all over the world.
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
See 1,825 people surrender to Christ and be baptized
Today, as we spend quiet time with the Father in what we’re calling the Cave, we remember the words of Jesus in John 10:9-10:
“Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Are you experiencing what Jesus would say is a rich and satisfying life? Are there areas in your life where the thief is stealing, killing, or destroying? What would it take for you to receive true life from Jesus? Jesus is always ready to give life. He wants to give you more of it today. Spend time receiving life from him now.
One of our goals as we Ask for Nations & Generations is to see 1,825 people surrender to Christ and be baptized. We want to see one person come to Jesus and surrender to him every day of our 5 year vision – that’s a total of 1,825 people experiencing life for the first time!
As of September 6, 2023, 558 people have given their lives to Jesus and have been baptized. That’s 558 people in 614 days since we started Asking for Nations & Generations as a church. We praise God for all the new life he is bringing into the world! And now, in this special season of prayer, we want to ask for more.
Today, let’s pray together:
- That God will bring 1,825 new people into his Kingdom during this vision
- That God will move many people to surrender to him and be baptized at our baptism Sunday coming up on October 8
- That God will use each of us to make disciples and share our faith with those who need real life
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
Launch and lead Celebrate Recovery and a Freedom Ministry for the redemption of broken generations
We begin with the words of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
In the cave, alone with God, we have the opportunity to contemplate many things. The noise of our lives begins to dissipate for a moment. We settle into a safe space and we know that God is good. And often, in the silence, one of the quickest things that rises to the surface is our pain.
We run so hard in our lives. Maybe you’re panting and gasping for breath right now. Most of us believe we’re running towards something, some life we are intent on creating. But in reality, many of us are running from something. Let me ask you a question: “What do you do with your pain?” Are you running from it? Are you ignoring it? Are you medicating it? Are you trying to silence it with hobbies or achievements or activities?
Jesus wants to do something about your pain today. Right here, right now. The courage of God is on full display because he is willing to suffer with his creation. And friend, there is a day coming when he’s going to wipe every tear from every eye, and he is going to banish suffering and death forever. Until that day comes, you need to know that Jesus can handle your pain. Offer it to him. Tell him what hurts. Let him in. He knows what to do.
The church throughout history hasn’t always known what to do with people’s pain. The message has often been that God welcomes the whole, not the broken; that he loves the put-together, not the falling apart. And that’s just flat out wrong. This is one of many reasons we believe that God has led us to launch and lead Celebrate Recovery and a Freedom Ministry for the redemption of broken generations as a part of this vision.
We praise God because Celebrate Recovery has launched and is going strong! CR is averaging 110 adults who are participating on Thursday nights. We have over 50 trained leaders and over 80 graduates of our 12 step groups. Many new disciples are being made as a result of CR and members of our ministry have taken their testimonies to at least 12 other CRs in the area. The Holy Spirit is moving in this ministry and lives are being transformed!
Today, let’s pray:
- That more people will experience the healing and freedom of Jesus through the redemptive community of Celebrate Recovery
- That God will bless and protect the leaders of CR as they minister and love so well
- That God will save generations to come because people today surrendered their pain to Jesus
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
Support the Livingstone International University community through prayer and by sending 20 members to teach, equip, and encourage
Today, as we still ourselves in the quiet of what we’re calling the cave, we remember God’s heart for the nations.
Psalm 96:7-9: “O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him.”
Ask God to give you his heart for the nations. Spend time thanking him for the peoples of this world. Call out as many nations you can think of and ask God to bless them today.
The Hills Church helped start Livingstone International University (LIU) in Mbale, Uganda, as part of our last vision. Since then, LIU has been able to reach students and communities in Africa for nearly a decade. We are blessed to be a part of the story God is writing there. With over 200 students from 9 different nations, LIU is developing into a strong university that is partnering with God to shape the course of African communities across the continent.
Due to the slow return of the Livingstone University community to in-person classroom Instruction after the pandemic, we have been a bit delayed in sending people to teach and equip in partnership with the Livingstone community. However, we have sent 4 members of our church who have visited in the past 18 months to encourage and pray for this community, and we already have plans in place for our first teams to begin teaching and equipping there in the coming year. We are excited about what God is doing at Livingstone and grateful we get to play a part in the what God is doing there!
Today, let’s pray:
- That God will bless the LIU community with his peace and grace
- That many people all over Africa will come to know Jesus through the work and witness of LIU
- That God will give opportunity and calling to our members who will go to serve there in the next few years as part of this vision
- That God will give the leaders of LIU wisdom and discernment as they lead their school
If God told you to go to serve at LIU, would you go? He may just be doing that. If you feel a movement in your heart and spirit, don’t explain it away. It may be the Holy Spirit getting ready to send you to the nations.
Did you know that there are over 67,000 international university students here in Dallas/Ft. Worth? Did you know that almost 90% of those students, many of whom do not Jesus, will never be invited into the home of someone who lives in our city? Pray for the international students here in DFW today. Ask God to make us ready to welcome them into our homes and our lives.
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Amen.
See 2000 members a year serve in ministry to kids and students in our church and community
As we enter into our time with the Lord, meditate on these words from Psalm 145:4-5:
“Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts; let them proclaim your power. I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles.”
Before telling children of the next generation about God’s mighty acts, spend time as a child with your Heavenly Father. Ask Him what he wants to tell you, speak over you, sing over you. Ask Him how He sees you, what He thinks about you. Spend time resting in the Father heart of God and receiving once again the spirit of Sonship.
Bring to mind the faces of the children and young people in your life. See them now. Those faces are precious to God. He knows them. He longs for them. Is there anything that God wouldn’t do for those little ones?
The amazing truth is that one of his greatest strategies for the next generation to know and love the Father is you. Your love of God and your love of those who walk after you will be deposited in the good soil of children and it will give a harvest that will be seen in generations yet to be born. Thank God for the children in your life. Call out their names and bring them before the Father. Listen to what He has to say about each of them. And sometime this week, share with them what you heard.
Today, let’s pray:
- For a mighty move of God that awakens a generation to who He is and who they are
- For spiritual mothers and father to rise up, who will invest in the intensive, intentional discipleship of the next generation
We believe God is up to something in the next generation. Our Next Gen team is constantly seeking the Lord’s face on behalf of our students and children and one of the things they’ve heard recently is to “clear the clutter.” In a culture where the next generation is often overfull, overstimulated, and overwhelmed but discontent, distracted, and dissatisfied, we desire to help them see the one thing that matters—life in Jesus.
So far this year, 1,104 different people have served in kids and student ministry within our church. We are still collecting numbers of those who are serving students and kids in our community. We praise God for the faithful investment of our church into the next generation.
Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into the harvest field of the next generation. Listen to how He wants you to be one of those workers. Pray for eyes to see the next generation and ways you can bless them. Pray for a might move of God among them.
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Amen.
Reach the unreached by launching and supporting 5 church planting movements and by supporting Bible translation efforts in 5 new languages
As begin our time with the Father, if you’re able, find a Bible and hold it. Feel it in your hands. Flip through the pages. Did you know that it could take as long as 20 years to complete a translation of God’s word into a new language? Think about the people who gave their lives so that you could read the story of Jesus in your language. They couldn’t see your face, but they knew that all the work and prayer and sacrifice would be worth it so that you could hold what you’re holding now.
Thank God for those who have given their lives to translate Scripture into other languages so that the nations could hear and read his word. Ask God to deepen your love and appreciation of the Word of God, that you wouldn’t take it for granted, and that it would transform you in partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Since the launch of our vision, The Hills Church has partnered with missionaries and church planting organizations to engage unreached people groups in 19 different countries. In just two short years, God has allowed us to partner with 4 emerging church planting movements around the world. As the result of the good work of our missionaries and partners, hundreds of churches have been planted in some of the most difficult places on the earth. Here is a list of some of the countries we are blessed to partner and work in: Syria, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia, Sudan, South Sudan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Somalia, Lebanon, and Jordan.
We have also been blessed to support 4 new Bible translation projects since the beginning of our vision. These new projects will translate scripture for over 12 million people who have no Scripture in their existing heart language. We praise God because the Duke people are getting scripture into their language for the very first time. We rejoice because the Banda-Linda people in Central Africa Republic will have the complete Bible translated as a result of our partnership. And 2 new projects are launching in North Africa in the coming months because of our brave and courageous Bible translation partners and missionaries and the generosity and vision of The Hills Church.
Today, let’s pray:
- That God will continue to raise up missionaries and Bible translators who will go to the world
- That the leaders of these movements and projects will be protected and empowered by the Holy Spirit
- That God will multiply disciple making disciples across the world
Jesus’ Kingdom is coming into the world! And His Kingdom is coming because his people keep going. More than 3 billion people worldwide are considered unreached with the gospel. That means they have little to no chance of ever hearing about Jesus, His sacrifice, and His free gift of salvation. What are we going to do about it?
We invite you to engage in the mission with us at The Hills. This year, you will have the opportunity to pray, give and go as our response to God’s call to the world. The nations are ready. Are we?
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Amen.
Praying for Unreached People Groups – The Pashtun People of Pakistan and Afghanistan
As we begin with God today, we want to pause and remember the covenant he made with Abraham in Genesis 12: “I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
God promised to Abraham that all the families of the earth will be blessed through him. This was a promise that one day the Savior King Jesus would come from Abraham’s descendants and that by him the whole earth would be blessed. This is a promise that is still in the process of being fulfilled. Billions of people around the world are not experiencing the blessing of the Savior King because they’ve never even heard about him. Today, I want you to see their faces. Remember that they’re out there. See their smiles and hear the laughter of their children. The whole earth was intended for this blessing. Ask God to bring Shalom, his peace and blessing, to all the peoples of earth.
Today, we are going to pray for the Pashtun people of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Pashtun of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been called the largest Muslim tribal society in the world. There are at least 30 major tribes, and countless sub-tribes and clans.
The first intentional mission to the Pashtun was launched by the Church Missionary Society in Peshawar, Pakistan in 1853. This was followed by over 150 years of faithful witness, through mission hospitals, schools, colleges, literature, friendship evangelism, and other forms of witness. Despite this record, and the slow but growing number of scattered Pashtun believers, a vibrant, indigenous, disciple-making movement has yet to take root and spread. During the 1990 ‘s, Pashtun tribal areas and thousands of religious schools throughout Pakistan became the seedbed for the rise of the Taliban movement. Unfortunately, attempts toward a peace accord and durable central government have, to date, been unsuccessful. Armed opposition continues. Instability, corruption, and on-going violence have led to widespread disillusionment among many of the Pashtun people. (info from www.joshuaproject.net)
Today, let’s pray:
- That God will raise up missionaries and Bible translators who will go to the Pashtun people
- That God will bless and protect the Pashtun believers who are boldly sharing their faith with their neighbors and communities
- That God will spark a church planting movement among the Pashtun in Pakistan and Afghanistan
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Amen.
Be a church of at least 5 campuses
Today, as we still ourselves in the quiet of what we’re calling the cave, we remember God’s heart for our city:
Matthew 9:36 says – “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
What do you think God sees when he looks at our city? How do you think he feels about Dallas/Ft. Worth? Ask God now to share his heart for our city with you. Listen to what he has to say.
God has called us at the Hills Church to reach our city. Dallas/Ft. Worth is a vast place full of people from all nations and generations. They are literally next door. What do you see when you look next door? A neighbor? Someone you might call a friend? Maybe it’s someone you don’t even know. When Jesus looks next door, he sees his kids. And he’ll do anything he can, including sending you, to find them.
One of the strategies that God has given us to reach our city is to multiply our campuses. We currently have three campuses and we are thrilled because campus #4 will launch in Dallas during the first half of 2024. We launch new campuses in new places because the Kingdom of God always moves into the neighborhood. God is the great Always-Present and he’s calling us to make that Presence known among the people in our city. He’s ready church. He’s coming for Dallas. And we’re ready, too.
Today, let’s pray:
- For Ryan Young, our Dallas campus pastor, that God will bless and anoint him and his family as they lead
- That God will lead us to the right location to plant campus #4 in Dallas
- That God will save and bless nations and generations through the Dallas campus
- That God will radically change the story of our city because of His Presence lived out through us
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Amen.
Become a multi-ethnic church
As we become still before God, we place ourselves in a posture of surrender. So much is possible to the disciple who will surrender to the Risen Christ. Open your hands in front of you as a sign that you release control of this day to Jesus. Offer whatever you’re holding tightly to Him.
And now leave your hands open as a sign that you receive from the Father whatever He has for you today. He is a Good Father who knows how to give good gifts. Spend time listening and receiving what God has for you. God, please speak to us. We can’t live on bread alone but only by every word that comes from your mouth.
Today, we are asking God to make us a multi-ethnic church. Did you know that we currently have people who were born in 42 different countries who speak 27 different languages in our church? Our most recent nations survey revealed that currently we are a church that is 81% white and 19% of people of other ethnicities. Of the 19% of people of other ethnicities, the three largest groups in our church are Hispanic or Latino, multi-racial, and black. We are now diverse at every leadership level of our church. While we still have much progress to make, we thank God for the beauty that we see in the faces of our church every week and we want to ask Him for more. We ask him for more because the goal is not just to have a diverse worship service. Our goal is to become a multi-ethnic community who know each other, who love each other, and who form each other into the image of Jesus.
God delights in the nations and in the ways that all tribes, tongues, and people groups reflect his beauty. And there is a day coming when all of us will be gathered around the throne worshipping him as the majesty of God is reflected in each of our faces. And the Father will rejoice on that day because he will finally have what he has always wanted – a diverse, multi-ethnic family who love him and love each other.
Today, let’s pray:
- That God will continue to increase our multi-ethnic community at the Hills church
- That God will reveal the barriers to this goal that still exist and that we will actively surrender anything to him that will get in the way of our unity
- That God will create authentic, multi-ethnic friendships, community groups, and teams of people at the Hills Church who will help shape each other into the image of Jesus
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
Launch a ministry residency program that trains at least 10 people for future service in the church
A prayer as we begin with God today:
Father, I rest myself from the need to control my life.
Reduce the space between hearing your voice and my obedience.
Come to me and cause my hands to build what you know will last.
At the end of this day, may I be able to say, ‘I only did what I saw my Father doing.
Amen.
Spend time asking God to show you what to do today.
Today, we want to pray for our ministry residency program that is raising up the next generation of Kingdom builders. Our goal is to train and equip 10 people during this vision to become the next leaders of ministries, teams, and churches. We are thankful that our first two residents have graduated and are actively serving the church. Our residents will serve with us for 9-12 months at 25 hours per week where they gain practical experience and mentoring and discipleship from our team at the Hills. We thank God that our newest resident, Justin Thomas, is now engaged in ministry and learning how God has uniquely gifted him to build His Kingdom.
Today, let’s pray:
- For Charity Young and Parisa Brown, our first graduates, who are now serving in the church, that God will use them and bless them as they build his Kingdom
- For Justin Thomas, that God will bless his time at the Hills and grow him into a powerful Kingdom servant
- That God will us all of us at the Hills church to build his Kingdom
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
The Cave: Abiding with Jesus
Today, Jesus is inviting us to join him in the secret place, the place of abiding. Jesus said in John 14:23:
“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”
The life of the disciple begins each new day with a choice: Will I welcome the Father, Son, and Spirit to live with me today? Jesus is not an advisor. God is not a consultant. They are the eternal community of love who are the source of everything you need today. The fullness of their life fills the entire cosmos. The question is, will we allow them to fill us?
In the quiet of the cave now, invite them to fill you. Bless them to love you. Allow them to comfort you. Receive from them power and authority. Spend time doing that now.
Our world is waiting for the alive people to show up. We all know the ways we try to manufacture life. Success. Accolades. Fame. Money. Power. Self-indulgence. So many familiar pathways that end up leading us back to a jarring emptiness after a quick rush. It’s day after day, week after week, year after exhausting year of trying to breathe life into a wet fire. The truth that we know too well as we lay in the dark with our companions of tears and regret is that this isn’t working. We’ve fallen asleep to real life.
The call of Jesus to the church and the cry of the world that’s desperate for something more are really one in the same: People of God, wake up! Wake up to you are. Wake up to what you were made to do. Wake up to the gifts that are waiting for you so you can bless others. Wake up and partner with God to recreate the world that is crushing so many.
Waking up begins from a basic truth: We do not create life on our own. We receive it.
We can’t miss this church. The first step is not more independent action. The first step, the one close-in that we too often miss, is that life comes from the God who meets us in the secret place.
Today, let’s pray:
- That we will be a people who will constantly return to the secret place
- That God will continue to wake us up at the Hills church and that we will receive life from Him
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
Becoming a House of Prayer
In your quiet time today in what we’re calling the Cave, reflect on these two Scriptures:
Isaiah 56:7 – ‘I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?”
Close your eyes (unless you’re driving!) and imagine the place where God lives. Imagine the beauty of his throne room, the brilliance of the colors you can see, the light that reflects from his presence against the gold of the throne. Imagine the sounds of the worship that is being offered continually in that place.
Pause and listen
Now imagine all of that radiating glory of God is present within you. You are a temple of God’s Holy Spirit, a place where God dwells. Spend time with that thought and thank God for His presence with you
In the past there was one physical place on the earth where heaven and earth met. You had to go to Jerusalem, to the temple mount, all the way inside to the Holy of Holies, to find the one place where God lived on the earth. But because of the power of Jesus and the Presence of His Holy Spirit who now lives inside all those who have surrendered to him, heaven meets the earth in millions of places! Friend, heaven meets the earth in you.
Jesus declared that his temple will be a house of prayer for all nations. Today, at the table, we offer ourselves once again for the work of prayer for the next 21 days. We want to consecrate ourselves for this opportunity to become a house of prayer for all nations and generations.
Today, ask God:
- To consecrate you (set you apart) for these 21 days of prayer
- To cleanse and sanctify you as a place where the Holy Spirit lives
- To fill you and The Hills Church with his Holy Spirit who will teach us to pray
- To become a house of prayer for all nations
Ask God to multiply people who will become houses of prayer all over our city and world. Pray that there will be more and more people who will surrender to Jesus so that heaven can touch the earth all over the world.
Jesus, risen Son of God,
May you receive glory and honor forever.
Anoint us with the Holy Spirit and give us more life than ever before.
We offer ourselves as a place where heaven and earth meet.
Come with us into our homes, our work, our schools, and your church.
Make us a house of prayer for all Nations & Generations.
Amen.
We are asking God to use our church to bring one person to faith every day for the next five years. This reflects the heart of the church we see in Acts where it says, “And God added daily to their number those that were being saved.” There are over two million people who live in Tarrant County alone, and less than half are a part of any type of church. So many are struggling, worn out, trying to figure out their purpose and if anyone really cares. This is why we consistently ask the question, “Who’s your one?” We know they’re out there. We know what it’s like to be out there, alone. And we know the power of what it’s like when someone comes looking for us.
Friends, they’re waiting for us…
Today, please join in the prayer that God will lead us to 1825 people who do not know Jesus yet. Pray that God will prepare their hearts to receive good news. Pray that they will receive the news of Jesus with great joy and that the roots of the Gospel will grow deep so that the evil one cannot steal what has been planted. Pray for protection over these 1825 who will come to know Jesus in the next five years. Pray that this harvest will bring great glory to God!
We continue to pray that 1,825 people will come to Christ in the next five years through the life and work of our church. One of the essential elements to see this happen is that there must be an increase in the number of people who are actively sharing their faith and making disciples in our church. Research shows that somewhere around 60% of Christians rarely, if ever, share their faith with someone else. Many believe it is the job of the church staff or pastors to do so. But Jesus invites you into this, too!
We reproduce what we are. Followers of Jesus should, by nature, reproduce other followers of Jesus. There is so much death, hurt, and pain out there. We believe people finding real life in Jesus is the way our world gets better. And God is inviting you to share the life of Jesus with specific people over the next five years.
Today, pray that God will raise up 1,825 disciple-makers in our church who will share their faith with at least one other person. Pray that The Hills Church will be a people who consistently and compassionately share their faith with friends, neighbors, and family members who do not know Jesus yet. And pray that God will lead you to one person you can share your faith with. Father, make us a community of disciples who make disciples!
One of the reasons we are asking for nations & generations is because the nations are Jesus’ inheritance. We get to partner with God in bringing the nations to Jesus as a gift because they rightfully belong to him. The nations reflect the beauty and goodness of God. They make up the Kingdom Jesus came to build. The book of Revelation speaks of a day when all nations, tribes and tongues will be gathered around God’s throne, praising him forever. It is a scene that moves God’s heart. Jesus died so the nations could live. It is a vision that he is determined to see come to pass.
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Psalm 86:9)
Today, we pray that God will use The Hills Church to bring the nations to Jesus. We pray that our church will be a place where all peoples are welcomed and loved. We pray that our church will go to the nations to proclaim that Jesus’ Kingdom has come and that people from all over the world will follow him. We pray that our lives, resources, and talents will be invested in reaching the nations so that Jesus will enjoy the goodness of his inheritance.
Father, please send us to the nations. Send the nations to us. May we be a people worthy to receive them in Jesus’ name.
Did you know that almost 21 million Americans battle an addiction of some kind? The truth is, there are many people battling addictions in our church, and countless more are fighting for their lives in our cities and neighborhoods. Our lives are full of hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We know Satan is good at what he does. He comes to kill, steal, and destroy. He gives the gifts of chains and broken dreams.
But Satan doesn’t have the final say. We are launching a Celebrate Recovery program and a Freedom Ministry because we believe that Jesus is capable of breaking chains, giving freedom, and restoring people to the wholeness we were all born to experience. So we will compassionately meet people in the midst of their mess. The journey is not easy. It’s littered with trouble and hurt. But we will not back away. Jesus’ Kingdom is full of people who used to be dead, who aren’t any longer, and who testify that Jesus gave them new life.
Today, pray for Celebrate Recovery and for our Freedom Ministry. Pray that those who come to these communities will experience freedom and wholeness. Pray that God will break chains and set people free from addiction, from broken relationships and from shame and guilt. Pray that these ministries will be established in power and compassion and that many will come to Jesus through them.
Our battles on earth are often a result of what is happening in the heavenly realms. Spiritual warfare is real. It’s a part of our existence whether we have the eyes to see it or not. Every time someone comes to Celebrate Recovery and our Freedom Ministry, there is going to be a spiritual battle that will ensue for their heart and life. Satan is relentless in keeping people bound. He hates our freedom. He will fight to keep people from it.
The Celebrate Recovery and Freedom Ministry teams need our prayer coverage. So today, pray over these teams. Ask God to protect them. Pray that he will use them to show love and compassion, and that the evil one will have no power in that community. Pray that God will protect their marriages, their faith, and that he will fill them with power and discernment as they work with people who are really hurting.
Our prayers for these ministries matter. Fight for our friends in the spiritual realms today. Pray that God will use them in mighty ways to participate in the freedom of others. Pray that they have tremendous amounts of compassion and wisdom as they step into the darkness and do battle for God’s beautiful children who have been hurt and suffering for too long. Father, protect our teams and protect these ministries in the name of Jesus! Use them to bring light and hope into this world!
Today, we pray for the Bhil people who live in central India. A people group of almost 17 million, the Bhil are almost completely unreached. Almost all of the Bhil practice ethnic religions that have been highly influenced by Hinduism. Ancestor worship is common. Shamans (priests) are also called upon to offer sacrifices to the many gods and mud idols.
Despite these traditional beliefs, there has been an interesting in-breaking of God’s Spirit among some of the Bhil. At the turn of the century, one guru (a Hindu religious teacher) warned his disciples that there would be a great famine, after which they should look for teachers from the North and West who would teach them the true way of salvation from a book, free of cost. They would teach about the true God, and about a sinless Incarnation who was born of a virgin. The guru also said that they should worship this sinless, invisible God, turn away from stones and idols, and live blameless lives. A famine occurred in 1899-1900, soon after the guru’s death.
Even without the presence of missionaries, God is revealing himself to these people!
Would you pray for the Bhil people today? Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to go and share Christ with the Bhil. Ask God to provide open doors for Bhil believers to share the Gospel with their own people. Ask the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.net)
Ours is a world marked by division. It’s an old, tired tactic of the evil one. He has convinced people that we are too different to occupy the same space. But this is a lie, friends. Jesus made possible something different, something new. Through the cross, Christ ushered in the age of unity.
Christians now have the power to overcome division through humility and compassion. As God’s people, we no longer have to play by the world’s rules. Instead, the church can extend to a divided world the uniting love revealed through Jesus Christ on the cross.
The great invitation of the cross is that you and I can be one. Period. It is God’s dream. It now must become our reality. Our hearts desire is for The Hills Church to look more like the communities we’ve been entrusted to serve. Today, we pray that The Hills Church will be a place where every person is welcome, every voice matters, and every difference brings us closer together instead of pushing us further apart. We pray that our church will be a place where all peoples can belong, connect, serve, lead, and flourish. Pray that God’s dream will come to pass in our church in the next five years. Pray that God makes all who come to our church one through the cross of Jesus.
Jesus’ prayer in John 17 draws a line between our unity in the church and our witness in the world. A united church is a powerful witness. But division weakens our testimony.
Today, we continue our prayers to become a multi-cultural expression of God’s kingdom. We pray that our church will pursue unity with great passion. We pray that the sins of division from the past will not bear fruit in our future. We pray for the humility to apologize when we hurt each other and the grace to forgive.
We pray that God would make us a church who looks like our community. Holy Spirit, create in us a culture of honor so that people of many backgrounds are welcome to use their voice, gifts, and perspectives to build our church in new and different ways.
We pray that people of all tribes and tongues will be recognized in our public worship, invited to serve on our staff and leadership team, and lead in our eldership. We pray for deep and meaningful relationships to be established among people of all ethnicities so that the Spirit cultivates a diverse community of beloved disciples.
May Jesus’ prayer for unity be answered in our midst. May we live as those who believe Jesus is alive and he has done away with the ugliness and pain of division. Jesus, may you live out your life through The Hills Church. Make us one, Jesus. Make us a multi-ethnic church.
There are over 15,000 children in foster care in Texas. In March of 2021, 237 children slept in foster care offices because there were not enough foster families to house them. That must move the heart of Jesus. And because it moves him, it’s got to move us.
Jesus always leads his disciples to love people who are outside traditional boundary lines. As God grows our hearts, he grows our Kingdom family, too. And one of the most tangible ways we demonstrate the Kingdom here on earth is by inviting the forgotten into our lives, our hearts, and our homes.
Today, let’s pray that God will so move us that he will raise up 25 new foster families from our church who will partner with God to end the cycles of homelessness, abuse, and struggle so many children are burdened with from the very beginning of their lives. Pray that these families will have great courage, deep love, and persevering compassion as they alter the trajectory of children who are often not seen. Father, raise them up! We ask that you reduce the numbers of children who have to sleep in government offices through the love and compassion of The Hills Church.
Sometimes when you run a race you need refreshment. A chance to catch your breath, to rest for just a moment before stepping back in your lane to keep going. It might only be a moment, but it can make a world of difference. This is certainly true for foster families who serve abused or neglected children. A little help goes a long way.
One of the ways we can help foster families is by providing respite care. Respite care provides an opportunity for foster families to pause, catch their breath, and rest before stepping back in to love the children God has brought into their lives. Our goal is for 100 members of our church to be trained to provide this respite care for foster families.
Today, pray that God will raise up 100 of our members to love and bless the next generation of children who have started from a place of extreme difficulty. Pray that these members will be refreshed as they refresh others. Pray that cycles of broken families will be stopped because of the courage of our church and that new generations will come to faith because God’s people showed up in the hard places.
In Genesis 12, God made a covenant with a man named Abram (later called Abraham). He told Abram to leave his home, his people, and his family and go to a land he had never seen before. God told him he would bless him, make him into a great nation, and because of his obedience, every family on earth would be blessed.
God invited one person to follow him. That person said yes. The world changed.
It was through Abram’s family that the savior Jesus would come. Abram couldn’t see that far into the future, but he believed God. And because of his faith every generation after him has been blessed.
Church, how many generations after us will be blessed by our faith and obedience? God has called us to make and grow followers of Jesus. He has invited us into this new vision of asking for nations & generations. What could happen if we all said yes? How could the world change through our simple acts of obedience? Like Abram, we can’t see that far into the future, but we believe God can use what happens today to bless generations to come.
Today, we pray that God will continue the legacy of Abram through The Hills Church. We pray that every generation that is present in our church will be blessed and that the blessing will continue for generations to come.
In the Kingdom of Jesus, everything multiplies. Disciples make disciples. Churches plant churches. Life produces life. This has always been the way God has chosen to change the world. This is why the multiplication of our campuses matters. For every healthy church of Christians in the Metroplex, there just as many people who are far from God. Multiplying campuses is part of how we feel called to reach the lost among us. The neighborhood gets better when Jesus moves in.
Today, we pray that God will show us the neighborhoods, places, and peoples He is sending us to serve. We ask him as a church: Jesus, where are you ready to go? Where would you like us to plant our fourth and fifth campuses? Jesus, give us the courage, wisdom, and discernment to go where you send us. May we hear your voice and follow your leading. The Hills Church is ready to move into the neighborhood. Show us where, Lord. May your Kingdom come, and may our city come to faith because of the new campuses you will plant.
We are prayerfully looking for the places where God will plant our next two campuses. We are also praying over the campus teams who will lead the ministry in those places and who will help establish the Kingdom of Jesus there. Today, please pray that God will already be preparing the campus pastors, worship teams, kids and student ministers, involvement and outreach teams, and so many others who will play significant roles in serving the people in the new communities where we are sent.
Pray also for the people in the neighborhoods where we will be planted. Pray that many thousands will come to faith at those campuses. Pray that those campuses will make disciples who make disciples. Pray that disciple making will spread into those new communities and the businesses, restaurants, schools, and streets will be different because God does a mighty thing there.
Today, we pray for the unreached people in the country of Laos in Asia. There are 3.5 million people in Laos, the majority of whom have never heard of Jesus. More than half of the Lao are Buddhists. The Lao Buddhists believe that right thinking, ritual sacrifices, and self-denial will enable the soul to reach nirvana (a state of eternal bliss) at death. They live in fear of their gods and constantly strive to appease them with religious chants, rituals, and sacrifices. They also believe that existence is a continuous cycle of death and rebirth, a process known as reincarnation.
The Lao have been greatly affected by fighting and bloodshed in the past. They are in desperate need of inner healing and true spiritual hope. Only the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to break through the barriers that are keeping them bound.
Ask the Lord to call people who are willing to go to Laos and share Christ. Pray that the Lord will give missions agencies new strategies for effectively evangelizing the Lao. Ask God to use Lao believers to share the love of Jesus with their own people. Ask the Holy Spirit to soften the hearts of the Lao towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel. Pray that God will open the hearts of Laotian governmental leaders to the Gospel. Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Lao.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.org)
We pass on what we love to others. When we love or enjoy something, we want others to know about it. Just look at social media. Whether it’s their most recent meal or a special memory, people love to share things that are important to them. God wired us that way. That’s why, all throughout Scripture, we see God teaching people over and over again to pass on their faith to new generations. Church, did you know that two thirds of people who follow Jesus come to faith before they turn eighteen? Serving our kids and students is one of the most missional things you can do.
Today, we pray that God will raise up 2,000 people in our church who will recognize the power of developing the next Kingdom generation. We are praying for 2,000 disciple makers who will pass their faith on to the next generation. And may that new generation pass on the faith when it is their turn. Father, multiply the faith of our generation so that it will reach four generations into the future. Pray that God will establish His Kingdom through the children who will be reached in our church in the next five years.
Blessing is the language of the Kingdom of Jesus. He started one of his greatest sermons by saying, “Blessed are…” Blessing is also the nature of our relationship with God. Blessing is about calling out someone’s identity and purpose. Blessing is not about performance. It is about our God-given identity.
As we continue to pray that God will raise up 2,000 people in our church to invest in the next generation, pray today that our church will first receive our blessing so we can pass it on to our children. We cannot give what we do not possess. If we are to bless kids and students, the 2,000 who will serve must know they are the beloved of God. Today, you must know you are a beloved child of God.
Pray that our children and students will receive the blessing they long to hear. Pray that they will know that they are the beloved of God. Pray that as we pass on faith and blessing to them, they will be rooted in the Gospel. Pray that this culture of blessing would be attractive to prodigals far from the Father. Pray that these young people will learn from us how to call out the good in the people they meet.
Today, we pray for Tunisian Arabs. Of the 11 million people who live in the North African country of Tunisia, 99% consider themselves Muslim. While many are nominal Muslims, Islam heavily influences Tunisian culture. Their religious practices include various ceremonies and festivals. They believe in jinn (spirits according to Muslim legend) capable of exercising influence over people. Witchcraft and worship at shrines are practiced and produce bondage and strong spiritual darkness.
There are currently a few hundred believers in the country. However, most Tunisian Christians experience significant persecution from family and friends. They risk losing their jobs, their place in society, and they face pressure from the authorities. Recently, Christian websites, TV, and radio programs have generated interest in Christianity in Tunisia. In addition, testimonies have been shared where Jesus appeared to people through dreams and visions. Unprecedented access to the Gospel has produced a great need for more workers to meet with curious Tunisians seeking to know more about Jesus.
Today, pray for the people of Tunisia. Ask God to strengthen, encourage, and protect the small number of Tunisian Arab believers. Pray for completion of Bible translation in this people group’s primary language. Pray for strong national leaders to emerge and for these people to plant churches in every city and village in the nation. Pray for the missionaries serving there, that God would protect them and give them faith and courage.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.net)
“Welcome” is a powerful word. It is a word of invitation, connection and kindness. Jesus constantly challenged the religious leaders of his day because their faith was all devotion and no inclusion. They made no room for anyone who was marginalized or outcast. But Jesus painted a different picture of God. The Kingdom is a place where outsiders hear the Father say, “Welcome.”
In 2018, over 63,000 people from different countries came to the United States seeking asylum. An asylum-seeker is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution or other human rights violations. Almost half of all asylum-seekers are children. They have fled war, religious persecution, and grievous abuse in their homelands. These people have come to the US to go through the legal, recognized process of becoming citizens in our country. Sometimes they find welcome here. Often, they don’t.
Today, we pray that asylum-seekers will find welcome in our church. We pray that we will be a people who make room to include the foreigners who have had flee their homes to save their lives. We pray that our church will be a place where foreigners are loved, cared for, and seen. We pray that the revolutionary idea of welcome will be experienced by people from all tribes and tongues and that they will add to the diversity and beauty of the multi-ethnic community God is building at The Hills Church.
Have you ever been the new person somewhere? Most of us have had that experience. Being new is hard. But imagine being forced to flee to a new country with no choice but to navigate a new culture. Imagine having to submit critical paperwork for a complicated legal system in a language you might not speak, all the while not being able to legally work to support and take care of your family. What would you do?
This is the reality of many asylum seekers. So we praise God that there are organizations and ministries who have stepped up to serve asylum-seeking families in our country. At The Hills Church, we are excited to partner with DASH Network as they serve asylum-seekers who live in our city.
Today, we continue praying for our church to be a place where asylum-seekers find welcome among us. Specifically, we are asking God to raise up 25 advocates within our church to welcome, bless and guide asylum-seeking families while they are getting started on their journey here in the United States. Through our partnership with DASH, we are asking God to lead us to 25 asylum-seeking families whom we can serve and bless in the next five years. Pray that God will lead us to these 25 families and that they will know how loved they are by their Father and by our church.
The Holy Spirit has been looking to bring order to the chaos of this world from the very beginning (Gen. 1:2). The Spirit formed the nations. Now the Spirit wants to fill the nations. From the birth of God’s church in the book of Acts, the Spirit was active in making it possible for people from every nation to hear the story of Jesus. The Spirit’s role in the mission of God is to give power to the people of Jesus to reveal his Kingdom. In fact, the church cannot engage the mission of God without the Spirit of God.
Church, let us not pursue this vision under the illusion that if we try hard enough or strategize well enough, we can pull this off. We can’t. We must listen for the Spirit’s voice and follow the Spirit’s leading. Because so much is possible through the Holy Spirit of God! Nations can hear the story of Jesus. Generations can pass down faith that changes the world. Our city can change. Our world can look different.
Today, we pray that God will fill The Hills Church with the Holy Spirit. We pray that he will pour out from heaven the Spirit that will lead us, protect us, comfort us, and use us to bring his Kingdom to earth. Father, send us your spirit so we can impact nations & generations.
Your life should be about more than you. Jesus made that clear in his life and ministry. As a result, we want to be a church focused on more than ourselves. We believe God is calling us to raise up new leaders in God’s Kingdom through a residency program. We want to train men and women who may never work at The Hills Church – but who will be sent out equipped to bear fruit in other churches around our nation and around the world.
Today, please pray that God will lead us to at least 10 individuals we can train in the next five years. Pray that God will begin preparing them even now to know that this opportunity is for them. Pray that we will have the eyes to see those that God is raising up, and perhaps those we need to tap on the shoulder and say, “Hey, maybe this is for you.” Pray that we as a church do an extraordinary job of caring for and mentoring the 10 that will come and that they will be blessed because of their experience with us here at The Hills Church.
Today, we continue our prayers for the ministry residency program God is calling us to pursue in the next 5 years as a church. Specifically, we want to pray for the churches, ministries, and organizations these 10 leaders will engage in the future. Developing healthy and spiritually connected leaders is a way we invest in the Kingdom of God for generations to come. Who knows how many different people groups, cities, communities, neighborhoods, marriages, social issues and lives these leaders will impact?
We pray together, and we ask God to guide these future leaders to the places and peoples he is already preparing for them to serve. We pray that our cities, our nation, and our world will be blessed by the leaders who are developed here. We pray that God will protect their marriages, their children, their churches, their ministries, and their legacies. We pray that they will multiply more leaders and they will pour into others as we have had the blessed opportunity to pour into them.
May the future generations come to know you, Jesus, because you allowed us to invest in these men and women. May they bring great glory to your name and may your Kingdom come because of the ministry residency program here at The Hills Church.
Today we pray over the Fulani people of Sudan. With a population of 225,000, the Fulani are almost 100 % Muslim. Most of them are still nomadic shepherds who travel with their flocks in search of better grazing land.
The Fulani are a proud people who teach their children to have tribal dignity. Fulani children are required to love their mothers and respect their elders. They are also taught to strictly hold on to important values such as generosity, honesty, and modesty.
In terms of spiritual beliefs, the Fulani are almost entirely Sunni Muslim with many animistic beliefs blended in. The Fulani in Sudan need reliable sources of water for their livestock and for their families.
Please pray for the Fulani to encounter Holy Spirit-led believers in Sudan and South Sudan. Pray that this community of shepherds come to know the Good Shepherd. Pray for the Holy Spirit to do a new work among Fulani leaders that will open doors for a movement to Christ. Pray for faithful teams to regularly pray for the Fulani people.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.org)
The Hills Church has a deep desire to plant other churches. It’s core to our mission and our identity as followers of Jesus. There are roughly 330,000 churches in the United States. Best estimates show that only 20-30% of Americans attend any kind of church each week. A March 2021 poll from Gallup found that fewer than half (47%) of Americans say they belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque, down from more than 70% in 2000. Churches are closing faster than they are being planted.
We should lament these statistics, but we shouldn’t stop there. We must respond.
We have an extraordinary opportunity to do something our country desperately needs. We get to plant more churches! We get to be a part of the new things God wants to do in our cities and communities. So today, we pray that God will lead us to new cities where he wants to plant churches. We pray that he will prepare the hearts of the people there. We pray that the church will become a light in the darkness for those communities.
Show us where to go, Lord. We are ready. We are not afraid of statistics or shy about taking on challenges. We trust you are with us. Jesus, plant your church!
Jesus is the one who builds his church. And he promises that not even the gates of Hell will be able to stand against it. But in his grace, he invites us to participate in the building! What an amazing invitation, that we can be a part of what God is doing here on earth!
Being a church planter is a specific calling he gives to some of his children. Today, we pray that God will raise up 15 church planters to go into the darkness of lost communities and plant God’s Kingdom where it is needed most. We pray that when he calls them, they will be able to listen and respond with great obedience and deep faith. Pray that God will give them vision, courage, and faithfulness to do face the challenges that come with a new church. Pray that God will give them great teams to work with and that they will equip and empower others well as God makes the church grow. Pray that these multi-ethnic churches will reflect the beauty and diversity of all of God’s children. Pray that at least one of these 15 church planters will come from within The Hills Church and that we will be a community that sends church planters all over the world.
The mission of our church is to make and grow followers of Jesus. A follower of Jesus is neither made nor grown on their own. We all need to have a group of people who are helping grow us into Christlike maturity. In the next five years, our church is going to engage a small group experience called Rooted to help further develop a culture of discipleship in our church.
Rooted isn’t simply a bible study or a curriculum. It is a community experience, where people practice seven rhythms essential to a healthy relationship with Jesus. Individuals establish firm roots in the truth of God’s Word through personal study and then come together to discuss what they’re learning in a space where they are safe and known.
Today, please pray for the 3,000 people who will participate in Rooted. Pray that this will help our church to make and grow followers of Jesus. Pray that people will grow deep roots in the Gospel. Pray that people will know and love Jesus more because of their experience. Pray that new community groups will be formed out of Rooted and that our church will be changed by people who have been changed by Jesus through this experience.
We know that any time we push towards community, the enemy is going to push back. Satan hates community. He knows that God made us to live in connection to him and one another so he will stop at nothing to keep us a part. That’s why unity is so important. Unity is a gift from God and an assault on the broken rhythms of the kingdom of darkness. As God begins to form Rooted groups in our church, Satan is going to work to pull them apart.
So we pray over all of the Rooted leaders today. We pray for their protection in the name of Jesus. We pray that God will watch over their personal lives, that they will live in holiness and truth. We pray that God will protect their marriages and their friendships and their relationships with their children. We pray that God will protect the groups that are formed, that they will be safe spaces where people can grow in their faith and that the groups will be free from division, anger, and mistrust. Please use these groups to make disciples who will make disciples. Send us 3,000 people, Father, who will grow in their faith, love, and obedience to you through Rooted. Jesus, grow our church!
Remembering what God did yesterday can inspire faith for tomorrow. Our memory is a gift rich in hope. Psalm 77:11 says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.”
Today we pause to remember what God has done among us as a church. Think of all the things he has done in us, through us, and around us. Let your mind remember testimonies you’ve heard, stories you’ve participated in, worship experiences that have brought you deeply into God’s presence.
As we remember, our faith grows. Remembrance kindles hope that once again the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will lead The Hills Church to do difficult things with great faith. By faith, we believe we will see the vision of reaching nations & generations come to pass. We know it is possible because God has done it before, and we believe he will do it again.
Today Father, help us to remember all that you have done in our church. Help us to remember how you’ve saved us and blessed us and led us and challenged us. Help us to remember the times when we watched you do what we thought was impossible. Give us faith to believe that tomorrow can be different. Do it again, Lord. Do it again.
The Hills Church helped start Livingstone International University (LIU) in Mbale, Uganda as part of our last vision. Since then, LIU has been able to reach students and communities in Africa for nearly a decade. We are so blessed to be a part of the story God is writing there! With over 200 students from 9 different nations, LIU is developing into a strong university that is partnering with God to shape the course of African communities across the continent.
Today, we pray that God will provide for all that LIU needs during this season. Operating a university during a pandemic is a challenge, to say the least. Pray that God will continue to provide for LIU and the school will be able to resume classes in person as soon as it is legally possible. Pray that God will continue to develop a culture of disciple-making on campus and that every student who comes to the university will leave with a fantastic education and a deep love for Jesus. Pray that the faculty and leadership of the school will be blessed with wisdom, discernment, and passion for leading and growing students in the grace of God. Pray that the university will influence every nation in Africa and that its impact will be felt for many generations to come.
Every person has a gift that they can share, and every gift ultimately highlights the real giver – God. Now, you may think that what you have to offer isn’t much. Jesus invites you to take your eyes off of your gift and look at him. In his hands, it is enough. In fact, it’s more than enough! So be ready, because we’re going to be putting out the call for mechanics, nurses, computer programmers, Godly men and women who are ready to visit our friends at LIU. Through sharing our gifts and skills, we pray God is glorified, LIU is edified, and Christlike love is put on display.
Today we pray that God will raise up 20 of our members to go to LIU. We pray that there will be great connection between our groups and the students and faculty. We pray meaningful and reciprocal relationships will be formed. We pray that our small efforts will strengthen what God is doing there and that we can receive from our friends in Africa just as much as we are able to give. Father, prepare our teams even now to go. Thank you for LIU and the opportunity to be partnered with that beautiful community.
Today we pray for the Persian people of Iran. There are over 38 million Persians living in Iran. The Persians have a rich history full of poetry, art and advances in math and science. In the late 1970s, Islamic revolutionists took power. Now Iran is an Islamic nation under the ayatollah, or religious leader. The revolution is still fresh in many of their memories, and the current government asserts control over many aspects of their life.
Although 96% of Persians in Iran profess to being Muslim, it is speculated less than 10 percent of their population strictly follows the practice of Islam. Because of many disappointments with their current government and other hardships, their hearts are surprisingly open to other religions. However, it is illegal to evangelize in the country of Iran and conversion is punishable by death. Despite this, many are coming to faith in Christ through supernatural encounters with Jesus. The church is growing faster in Iran than in any other place on the earth.
Please pray for the salvation of the Persian people. Pray for a way for churches to meet legally and for religious freedom in their country. Pray for the believers in Iran, that they would be safe and grow in their relationship with Jesus. Pray the Lord would meet them in supernatural ways where missionaries cannot go.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.org)
Marriages matter to God. One of the ways God describes his relationship to the church is by calling the church his bride. There is a holiness and beauty in that picture. It is the idea of one man and one woman choosing to love and bless and care for one another for the rest of their lives. It is a place where sacrifice is required and forgiveness is an imperative. It is a teaching ground for how we are to live in our relationship with Jesus.
One of the single greatest gifts we can give to the next generation is to invest in marriages. Solid marriages are the level ground for our children to stand on as they learn to navigate this world. They provide solidity, peace, and confidence. And as our children watch those who are married in our church live out their oneness, they begin to see living testimony to how Christ loves us. It’s not a perfect picture. All marriages are messy sometimes. But there is truth found in the goodness of two people committed to loving one another no matter what.
So, we pray for the marriages in our church to be strengthened and for husbands and wives to love one another the way Christ loves us. We pray that God will encourage and transform 250 marriages in our church in the next 5 years. Jesus, teach your church to love one another well!
When you’ve never been down a certain road, there is great comfort in being able to walk with someone who has been that way before. The generations before us possess wisdom we need for the roads we are walking. This is especially true for our marriages.
We continue our prayers for the marriages in our church and we ask that God will raise up relationship champions who will be able to encourage, bless, and share wisdom with 250 couples. Many of the people who are best equipped to be guides and encouragers on this journey may be the ones who would quickly say, “Oh, I don’t have much to offer.” But their experience and wisdom matters! We are praying that God will impart a firm and deep calling in these relationship champions who will walk with 250 couples. The couples we’re praying for won’t say, “We have it all figured out,” but rather, “We’ve been this way before. Let us share our journey.”
Father, raise up relationship champions to bless the next generation of marriages in our church. Thank you for their faithfulness, witness, and courage. May they know you are inviting them into a journey of blessing for the good of marriages and the good of our community. Raise them up, Father!
There are 7,407 unreached people groups in the world. An unreached people is a group who have little to no Christian presence and who will not be able to share Jesus with their people unless there is outside assistance. Those 7,407 people groups make up approximately 3.23 billion men, women and children who have never even heard of Jesus. We have work to do.
But know this: we are not asking for 5 churches. We are asking for 5 church planting movements. We are asking God to raise up disciples who can’t help but multiply themselves because of the power of Jesus alive in them.
The only territories that Satan is sure to possess are the ones we decide aren’t worth fighting for. As 1st John 4:14 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
So today we ask God to show us which unreached peoples to engage. We pray that he will raise up disciple makers and church planters from all over the world who will have the courage to go. We are praying that missionaries will be raised up from within our own church who will go to some of these places. And we are praying that God will launch church planting movements all over the world. Father, in the name of Jesus may it be so!
Imagine you had never seen a Bible. Imagine never having heard the phrase, “Jesus loves you” in your own language. We have had access to God’s Word our whole lives. But that experience is not true for many people in the world.
There are 180 million people in more than 2,000 languages who are Bibleless. No Scripture exists in a language they can understand. We believe that God is calling us to do something about that.
We are going to partner with Bible translation teams around the world to translate God’s Word for unreached people groups. This is an exciting time in Bible translation history. There is still much work to do, but current projections say that the task of translating the Bible in all languages could happen by 2050. We get to join the global church in finally making God’s Word available to everyone everywhere.
Pray that God will lead us to the people groups and translation projects he wants us to engage. Pray that many thousands will come to faith because of these translation projects. Jesus, we want partner with you so that your Word can go out to those who are ready to hear it!
Today we pray for a unique unreached people group in the country of Bangladesh. We are interceding for the deaf community there. Bangladesh has a population of 165 million people. Almost 90% of people in Bangladesh are Muslim.
The needs among the 1.5 million Bangladeshi deaf are extensive. 40% are unemployed. 99.9% don’t know the Lord. They do not have a Bible in their mother-tongue. On top of that, 97% don’t know sign language, and less than one percent have received an education. These factors make the Bangladeshi Deaf an oppressed and desperate people group.
Many Deaf are receptive to the gospel’s message of hope and love. However, the risk of converting is subject to intense pressure from their hearing families to not stray from traditional religious values.
Please pray for the Bangladesh Government to establish more schools for the Deaf. Pray for workers among the Deaf to learn sign language. Pray for resources for the Deaf and a Bible in their own language. Pray that missionaries will go and find the deaf populations in Bangladesh and other places in the world to share the good news of Jesus with them.
(Source: www.joshuaproject.org)
One of the single greatest gifts one generation can give to another is through relationships marked by wisdom and encouragement. Unfortunately, new generations trying to find their way in the world are often met with judgment instead of the support they most often need. At The Hills Church, we believe in the power of equipping and developing new generations of Kingdom influencers. In the next five years, our goal is to intentionally pour into 300 men and women who will shape and change the world because someone took the time to invest their lives in them.
We find this principle all throughout Scripture. Moses mentored Joshua. Elijah mentored Elisha. Paul mentored Timothy. Priscilla and Aquilla mentored Apollos. We see time and again the principle of older, experienced followers of God pouring into and developing the next generation of leaders and Kingdom influencers.
We want the same for our church. Today, we are praying that God would move the hearts of older, experienced followers of Jesus who have a passion to develop and grow new Kingdom influencers. We pray that God would raise them up to invest in the next generation and that because of the mentoring and leading they provide, our church and our world will be transformed.
The Kingdom of God is often subtle; it breaks into spaces with little immediate notice. Jesus likened it to a seed planted in the ground and yeast working through dough. In a similar way, Jesus said his Kingdom followers are like light and salt. They add flavor to the world and they illuminate the shadows.
We believe that God is growing followers of Jesus at The Hills Church who will influence every level of our society for His Kingdom. Every line of work is an avenue for the Kingdom to break in. If you are a teacher, you are a Kingdom influencer. If you are a businessman or woman, you are a Kingdom influencer. If you are a scientist or lawyer or bookkeeper or accountant or stay at home mom, you are in exactly the right place to bring Kingdom influence into this world.
We pray today that God would bring mentoring relationships into the lives of our younger generations to help them grow. We pray that God would connect the next generation of leaders with a powerful generation of mentors. Father, we want to develop 300 men and women in our church who will be used in by you in big and small ways to bring your Kingdom to this earth. Please, may it be so.
We are so grateful you have taken this prayer journey with us. Thank you for faithfully praying over the things God will use our church to do in the next five years.
It is no accident that you are here at The Hills Church for this season. God has you here to be a part of what it is that he wants to do. Now is the time for all of us to decide how we are going to partner with God in the vision to ask for nations & generations. Which goals stood out to you the last 40 days? Which ones grabbed your heart? Which ones seemed too big and caused you to think, “I could never do that!” (Pay attention to those…God may have that exact piece of the vision in mind for you!)
Each of us has a next step. Maybe you need more information. Maybe you’re ready to sign up and get started. Sign up here
May the Lord bless you and may the Lord bless our church as we ask for nations & generations. Jesus, we are ready. May your Kingdom come. May the nations & generations know that you love them. We will give you our very best to see this vision born. In the name of Jesus…let’s go!