Prayer Initiative: Closer to Jesus Sample

Remember yourself as a child. One day you come home hungry and on the kitchen table, you find the tastiest bread, still hot out of the oven. Mom cuts the bread with a knife or, even better, breaks it with her hands and gives a big morsel to you. You devour it in a minute and ask for one more piece, then one more, until you are full. Bread is the king of the table, they say.

“I am the Bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” Jesus declares these words while standing in the middle of a large crowd of people fed by Him and waiting for more bread. They remember the miracle of manna in the wilderness but are oblivious to the greatest miracle of the Bread from heaven. Here is Jesus, standing in the center, ready to be broken, inviting to partake of Him. Eat. Drink. Have eternal life.

“No, thank you.” His words offend them. Even some of His disciples stop following Him, returning to their old sources of spiritual food. Only twelve stay. John among them, Peter among them too.

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Open your mouth to be fed by Jesus. Ask for your daily bread. Expect His miraculous provision. Ask Jesus: “What do You have in Your Word for me today?” Listen and pray.

INTERCESSION : The Lord is righteous in all His ways and faithful in all He does. The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries and saves them. (Psalm 145:17-19)

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. (Psalm 103:6)

PRAYER :

• Pray for refugees, orphans, and widows.
• Pray for countries that suffer from famine.
• Pray for countries that suffer from war.
• Pray for countries that are politically and economically oppressed.
• Pray for countries that suffer from ecological disasters.
• Pray for the governors and the officials in these countries to turn to God and rule with justice.
• Pray for believers to keep hope and put their trust in God.