To kick off 2026 at Living Hope Church, we are launching an intentional Month of Prayer. As people in the congregation face hardships, as the church grows, as we train leaders, as we reach our community for Christ, as we prepare to plant a church, as we send Gospel workers around the world – we need God to work in our midst! The elders humbly acknowledge that a culture and practice of prayer has not been a strength for our church community. And so, we are desperately seeking God to work among us. God, please hear our prayers!
This season of prayer will be focused on both growing communion with God and building the Kingdom of God. As Tim Keller explains, Communion Prayer grows our relationship with God in personal intimacy and Christlike maturity. Kingdom Prayer petitions God to work in people and circumstances to bring his Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This means we want to see God transform our hearts and his world.
We have Prayer Guides available as a resource to help you pray. It is filled with prayer points, a calendar, Scripture, practical advice, and space for you to journal. We want to encourage you to not just ask for stuff, but to offer praise and thanksgiving, confessing of sin, petitioning God for your personal needs, and interceding for our church and God’s work around the world.
With all of this in mind, the elders are asking everyone in the church – young and old – to make use of the following five Opportunities for Prayer:
- Household Prayer: We ask everyone in the church to commit to a daily focused time of prayer each day in January for 10 minutes or more. In the lobby of the worship center, you can mark how many minutes you are committed to pray each day on the poster board. This way, we can publicly give thanks for all the minutes of each day being covered in prayer. You can spend your daily time in prayer with your spouse, entire family, friends, or just you and the Lord.
- Prayer Gathering: Each Sunday in January, we’ll gather for prayer from 9:00-9:45 am in Studio A in the Y. This will be an encouraging time to pray with others in the church. Come for the whole time or stop in for a few minutes.
- Sunday Worship: During our Sunday worship service, the elders will lead the congregation in a dedicated time of prayer through the Mission Statement.
- Life Group Prayer: Each Life Group will be asked to set aside intentional times of prayer during the month of January to pray for God to work in our midst.
- Praise & Prayer Night: On Sunday, February 1 at 6pm, we’ll wrap up our Month of Prayer with a special evening service for worship songs and open prayer from the congregation. We will also have a time to share testimonies of how God has answered our prayers and worked in our hearts and in our circumstances.
As we pray, we’ll look at four areas of focus according to our Mission Statement:
Experience God in a personal, impacting, and Spirit-led relationship through a life of prayer, worship, and active faith.
- Increase our personal intimacy, prayer, and faith in Christ.
- God’s presence, peace, and power made known to us and our community.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” | Romans 15:13
Embrace Truth that is deep, relevant, and life-changing through reading, studying, and teaching God’s Word.
- Increase in a hunger for God’s Word and faithful obedience to live it out.
- God’s Word would spread with effectiveness to the community and world around us.
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” | Romans 15:4
Establish Community in the home and in the church through intentional, honest, and loving relationships.
- Health and healing in our marriages, children, and extended families.
- Growth in relationships, accountability, and trust within our church.
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” | Romans 15:5-6
Engage the World with the Gospel through respectful dialogue, sincere relationships, and accessible events.
- Opportunity and boldness to share the Gospel with friends and family.
- Multiplying the fruit of the church plants and missionaries we support around the world.
“Because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” | Romans 15:15-16
We hope you will pray with us, and take this month to grow in your dependence on God through an active prayer life.
For more resources and encouragement to pray, see this 4-part blog series on prayer.
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