The January 2024 month of prayer, fasting and abstinence is focussed on Spiritual Renewal. The prayers below can be used as a guide to help focus our prayers throughout the month.

Jan 8 – Ephesians 1:3 CSB, ‘Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.’

Everything that is needed for life, ministry/service and worship has been provided by the Father in and through Christ. Paul blesses Father God for all He has provided in Jesus. It is not just some of the things needed for the spiritual life, but everything needed.

Father, we bless You for all You have provided and done for us in and through Christ. Lord Jesus, we confess You as our Lord, Saviour and Messiah. You are the Anointed One who saves, keeps and renews us.

All that we need for the spiritual life is found in You. We ask for the infilling of Your Spirit so that we can step into and experience every spiritual blessing that we need in order to walk this life of faith and obedience You call us to.

We ask that many more people will step into this abundant life, through Jesus, because of the Spirit-filled witness, ministries and people of Telford Elim. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan 9 – 2 Corinthians 9:12 CSB, ‘For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Amen.’

Paul could state that the giving by the Corinthian believers was supplying the needs of the Jerusalem believers, but also resulted in fresh thanksgiving being given to God for their generous giving.

Father, we pray into the ministry of giving. Spiritual renewal impacts all aspects of our lives, including our giving to Your work, ministry and church.

As we think of our Kingdom Building focus of acquiring a larger venue for church, and paying more for ministry, we ask that Your Spirit would inspire us to give in response to Your call and prompting.

We ask that any trapped in a poverty mind set will be set free, and that we all will give of our time, talents and treasure in ways that reflect the grace and love You are pouring into us in Christ. We ask for that larger venue in 2024. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan 10 – Father, as I consider how best to live – I recognise the power of hope in the spiritual walk. I bring my ‘hope reservoir’ to You. I ask that You may fill me afresh with hope.

I acknowledge that there are many things that I need to do in order to allow hope to flourish in my life. I repent of bad attitudes which bring nothing but negativity and defeat into my life; I also acknowledge the times when I have allowed circumstances or challenges to rob me of my hope. Forgive me Lord, I pray.

Help me to fix some of the leaky points in my life so that instead of hope steadily draining away, it becomes an overflowing source of spiritual life for both me and the others that I influence by my presence being near and among them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan 11 – Father, Your Son set the perfect example of living in a complete and open relationship with You and thus overflowing with a living hope. He was also able to get the balance right between preparing His Disciples for the future while living in the present with them in their humanness each day.

As I look up to You, I have to acknowledge how my relationship with You is often very unlike Your Son’s – I hold back, I allow time to slip away without truly communing with You. I often see more clearly the seen world around me, and relatively rarely the unseen realities, a spiritual sight that the spiritually mature have.

I pray for all in our church, in person and online during this month of prayer, fasting and abstinence, and all true believers in our town and county, for the blessing of clear spiritual sight, a good balance between preparing for the future and living day by day in victory and faith, and an ever more complete and open relationship with You. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Jan 12 – Father, I know that without biblically inspired plans, tomorrow can end up exactly like today with little true sanctification; in other words, no spiritual movement forward from where we are at present in our lives.

We pray that any plans that are rigidly tied to worldly principles will be rethought and renewed by Your word and Spirit’s help. Instead of ending up stifling the spiritual creativity of Your Spirit within, and thus preventing further evidential personal spiritual development – we pray for spiritual breakthrough.

Holy Spirit, lead us forward in spiritual breakthrough so that we really get the balance right thus preparing, planning and setting goals under Your direction and inspiration.

As believers, and a church in 2024, we pray that we will be effective, hope-filled disciples giving us a pathway to a better, more fulfilling and rewarding future. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan 13 – Father, Your word is clear that underpinning our plans for the present and future must be godly vision – without vision or revelation there are no up-to-date spiritual boundaries or guardrails: ‘Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction’ (Proverbs 29:18, NIV).

In order to have an abundance of Living Hope, Your people need to be following Your pathway closely and allowing Your Spirit to impart Your righteousness. I pray that each of us will follow this pathway under the guidance of Your word and Spirit, and receive a filling of Your righteousness each and every day.

Redemption also has the power to sanctify and impact our personality type, and transform our perception of past experiences. If these have up to now provided poor guardrails – as it were allowing hope to fall away – thank You that a change is coming as Your Spirit works across our church creating a new season when biblical hope will flourish and Your truth abound. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Jan 14 – Father, an ability to see, or not, good possibilities for tomorrow, really affects our outlook on life. Some see vision as the special preserve of gifted leaders; others that it is something that we all can have.

Thank You that You tailor the amount of vision You give according to Your purposes for us, and the gift of faith within us. Some see huge possibilities for companies, churches or communities where there are no actual observable things yet; others see things on a much smaller scale, but all can be touched by Your power to transform.

No matter which end of the spectrum of vision I am on, I know that as I walk in step with Your Spirit – then my capacity for a growing, enlarging vision also develops. I pray for this enlargement of vision in me and among us as we move forward throughout 2024.

I pray that our living hope will grow and develop as we learn more of who You really are, and how You enjoy heaping Your spiritual blessings on me, and us. Thank You in Jesus’ name and for His glory. Amen.