SCRIPTURE. REFLECTION. PRAYER FOR OUR CITY.
Let’s pray
for Memphis.
join us in lifting up the city we love, block by block.
THE PRAYER JOURNAL
Prayers for Memphis
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Human Flourishing
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] Matthew 22:37-39 The metaphor of most aid provided our neighbor is fixing the flat tire. When…
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37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] Matthew 22:37-39
The metaphor of most aid provided our neighbor is fixing the flat tire. When the tire is flat, we help change it. But when the time comes to buy and replace the tire, often we have moved on. We address trauma, which is needed, but we stop short of preparing our neighbor for the next pothole.
The metaphor is a work in progress. The good news is that Tennessee, through the Governor’s Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives is piloting the The Human Flourishing Initiative in Memphis, with Agape Child and Family Services serving as the general contractor. It’s goal is to identify needs for individuals and cut through the confusion of programs to provide resources quickly and effectively to those in need.
Reneice Stevenson is overseeing the rollout and implementation. HopeHub is providing the technology. We are to provide the hope and support for our neighbors. It’s a worthy cause.
Father, forgive me for not spending regular time with You. I choose comfort, rest, and distraction over praying for my neighbor and seeking Your will.
Tonight we lift up the work being done through Agape and the Governor’s office because we believe it worthy. We know that help is needed and we know that we are the ones who shall answer the call. Bless the work of Agape and The Human Flourishing Initiative. May we be humble enough to know that lives cannot be changed without You, and that Lord, without You, we cannot help change lives.
We pray for our neighbors that are in need tonight. Hear their cries. Comfort and sustain them. Then Lord, place on our hearts the conviction to act and not turn away. Protect the laborers and draw more to the work of Your heart. Bless Reniece and the organizations participating, that the glory of the Lord be seen in the work. Form a hedge around the work, that the adversary is kept at bay. Lord, may pride and chaos not come close. May love and grace, generosity of time and talent, be seen growing each day. In Christ’s name, amen.
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We can be the Army of Normal Folks
“When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help…
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“When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
Matthew 6:3 – The Message Bible
For as much as we hear about the bad, Memphis has so much good. Her people, personified, and now highlighted by Bill Courtney locally and kindred spirits nationally, care for their neighbor. It’s not for promotion or grandstanding. Often, it’s a need seen and responded to. He calls those bringing light to the darkness “an army of normal folks” because they are housewives, social workers, real estate folks, non-profit leaders, grandparents, teachers, ex-cons, accountants and more. Most will never know their name or the impact that individual made on the world around them.
““Our country’s problems will never be solved by a bunch of fancy people in nice suits talking big words on CNN and Fox, but by An Army of Normal Folks just deciding ‘hey, I can help’” – Bill Courtney, from his website.
Tonight Lord, we lift up the Normal Folks doing good deeds to those around them. We thank you for their patience and persistence. We thank you for their faithfulness. We thank you for their qualities that cannot be measured. And Lord, we pray for more of them. We pray for this Army to find recruits and for the service clubs to be a sense of loving community that helps build, grow, and maintain thriving community.
We confess that we have ignored the marginalized and downtrodden. Lord, we repent. Open our eyes to the needs of the Kingdom and charge our souls with the conviction of the Holy Spirit to be Your Hands and Feet. Bless Mr. Courtney’s work to promote good in this world and inspire others to selflessness. Lord, may our desire to help not be overcome by our temptation to not. Forgive us for those times in the past where our calendar was deemed ours, forgetting that you grant us each day, and that each day has the potential for Holy redemption. Lord, may we not waste the small amount of time we have on this earth only on ourselves, but by finding true joy through loving our neighbor. In Christ’s name, Amen.
https://wreg.com/on-air/live-at-9/army-of-normal-folks-shines-a-light-on-whats-right-in-memphis
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Keep Praying for Memphis
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;” Psalm 34:15 We have prayed for years for peace in Memphis. We have prayed for a thriving community. We have prayed for an end to the violence. We have prayed for mothers and fathers who are grieving. We have…
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“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;” Psalm 34:15We have prayed for years for peace in Memphis. We have prayed for a thriving community. We have prayed for an end to the violence. We have prayed for mothers and fathers who are grieving. We have prayed for the young people caught up in the streets to turn from a life of death and destruction to one of light. We have prayed for those shepherds and brave disciples going into the dark places to bring the good news of Jesus to be protected and hearts to be open to their message. We continue to pray for all of these things, but tonight, I want to lift up the work that has been done in Memphis over the past 6 months and the resulting decline in criminal activity. It’s wonderful. It’s a blessing. See the chart after the link to the dashboard.
This is showing a week to week comparison from the same time period of 2025 and 2026 and then you can see the continued decline starting mid-way through last year and accelerating in a decreasing trend.
Here’s motor vehicle theft, which has larger numbers but you can see how much it has fallen off on this year-to-date chart.
The city feels safer to me. This is not a post to get into the nuances of policing policy, enforcement, and the use or tactics of federal resources and agencies. It is a post to celebrate that there are less victims of crime today than there were at this time last year. For this, I am thankful. There is still work to be done.
Lord, tonight we thank you for the work being done to protect our community by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the judicial system. We pray for those on the front lines identifying and arresting criminals, that you may protect them. We pray that those who have committed crimes know that their is forgiveness and redemption in You, and that they cast down their sins before You and repent. Lord, we know you care for all of Your children. We pray for calm in tense situations and we pray for those with authority to respect the dignity of the individual. We pray for life to be preserved. We pray for wisdom in sentencing and interactions with unstable individuals. May we continue to seek You Lord and share the love of Jesus with all who need to hear it. Lord, forgive us of our sins and may we turn to You. In Christ’s name, amen.
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After the Snow Comes the Thaw
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] Psalm 46:1 Weather forecasts have up to 2 feet of snow falling across the Southeast this…
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God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]Psalm 46:1
Weather forecasts have up to 2 feet of snow falling across the Southeast this weekend and Memphis is in the middle of the path. We are not built for the snow, much less the 4+ days of freezing temperatures that come with it. I’m thinking about power outages and dangerous conditions on the roads.
Lord, we pray for the road crews and government workers tasked with keeping the roads open. We pray for a weakened storm. We pray that those without shelter find open doors, and those without heat, warmth offered by others. We thank you for the time of preparation and the blessing of the precipitation in dry parts of the country, but we ask that You care for those impacted by these unfamiliar conditions.
We also pray for hearts to be thawed in 2026. May we as children of God, be Your hands and feet in 2026. Unite the body of Christ in Memphis and beyond. May we be a light and witness to the power and glory of God’s kingdom. Favor us Lord, as we share Gospel truth, in love, with our neighbor. Bless this community. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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Christmas Treats
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him Psalm 34:8 I pray the body of Christ can come together and share this message with our neighbors here in Memphis. It’s a recognition and celebration of the Father’s love for us. As sinners, we know the fall, but…
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Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in himPsalm 34:8
I pray the body of Christ can come together and share this message with our neighbors here in Memphis. It’s a recognition and celebration of the Father’s love for us. As sinners, we know the fall, but we know the sweetness of salvation as well.
Lord, in this Christmas season, may we be intentional in sharing the joy and love we have in Jesus with those you place in our paths. May our hearts be attuned to the rhythms of the Holy Spirit. May we open our eyes to the needs of our neighbors, and not only the material needs. Lord, You have called us to love each other as we love ourselves. You have commanded us to look out for the poor and the marginalized. May we be laborers in the harvest. Forgive us our sins, our selfishness, our idolatry, and point us back to You. In Your name, Amen.