Prayer Plan // January 2023

January 9th, 2023

What better thing to shape our prayer life than God’s own Word? When we engage God’s word, there are three key things we can do to get the most out of it. Read. Reflect. Respond. Read through the text. Reflect on what you just read. What stands out? What questions do you have? What did you learn about God? Yourself? And finally respond. God speaks to us through His Word. As we take in what He has given us, it is natural to reply back to Him in prayer. At times, we seek God’s wisdom about a specific need or concern. We will read this month’s scripture and reflect on Foster Care. This month we are looking at Proverbs 2: 1-10.

SCRIPTURE

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works — this person will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

REFLECT

In his letter, James holds no punches. He emphasizes the importance of working out our salvation we receive by faith through obedience and that we deceive ourselves if we are only consuming God’s word without putting it into practice in our lives. The good news is that blessing comes with that obedience.

At the end of chapter 1 he gives not a command but a description of what pure and undefiled religion is; in other words, what the most clear picture of God and the Gospel is. Taking care of orphans and widows. Stepping into the world of the most vulnerable.

Why is this described as pure and undefiled religion? Because God in His infinite goodness, sovereignty, and love cares for us, who are desperately in need because of sin, and cares for us by adopting us into His family.

So when we care for those who are in greatest need, who are the most vulnerable, we are imitating God.

PRAYER SPOTLIGHT

Pray for:

The 6,300+ children being impacted by the WV foster care crisis
Biological parents who are going through a challenging season apart from their children
Foster, kinship, and adoptive parents as they love and serve the children in their care.
New foster parents to step up and begin fostering
Individuals who volunteer their time to walk alongside foster, kinship, and adoptive families.
Grandparents and great-grandparents in WV who have primary custody of over 35,000 children
The child welfare professionals serving these kids and families
Our church and other churches in our state to step into the foster care world and make a difference by praying, giving, or acting

PRO TIP

Keep a prayer journal! Writing your prayers down will not only help you stay accountable to consistently communicate with God but will also provide you an easy way to see what God is doing in your life!

Posted in Prayer Plan