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Side by Side Prayer Guide: Day One
By CRCC | February 19, 2006
Day 1 – Sunday, February 19
Prayer Focus for Today:
Catching a glimpse of God’s Dream for My Heart
Verses for Today:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 (niv)
18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Jesus, Luke 4:18-19 (niv)
Together, these verses lay the foundation for Side by Side as they frame the dream of transformation through two different vantage points. First, God does indeed dream that our hearts would soften toward the things that are important to Him; that we might be transformed from the inside out. As that happens, real-world transformations begin to take place, just as they did in Jesus’ ministry. This is the second half of his dream of transformation: That the world would become more and more like the one He longs for and for which Jesus gave His life.
A Few Minutes in Prayer:
Five Minutes:
Read and re-read today’s verses several times, slowly. Thank God for His word, then invite Him to speak to you about where He desires to begin softening your heart through Side by Side. After this, sit quietly and listen.
Three to Five Minutes:
When you have sensed God’s desire for you, speak with him as honestly as you can about what you have heard, no matter whether your response is positive or negative. It is essential that you are completely honest with God – don’t pull any punches. C.S. Lewis reminds us that in prayer we are to “lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.” God’s work of transformation begins there, as we come before our Loving Father, just as we really are.
One to Two Minutes:
Close your time of prayer by inviting God to take you from where you are now into a deeper trust in Him and commitment to His dream for you, your church, and your world. We can all pray this, no matter where we are beginning from. Thank Him for the day ahead and ask that He might guide you in a special way today.
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