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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Community Healing
We mark one year since Liza Fletcher lost her life this coming weekend. Hundreds, maybe thousands, will “Finish Liza’s Run.” It is a solemn occasion. Richie Fletcher was profiled in The Daily Memphian today because he wants folks to know about his bride in the way he wants her to be remembered. It is moving…
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We mark one year since Liza Fletcher lost her life this coming weekend. Hundreds, maybe thousands, will “Finish Liza’s Run.” It is a solemn occasion. Richie Fletcher was profiled in The Daily Memphian today because he wants folks to know about his bride in the way he wants her to be remembered. It is moving and full of grace.
Lord, comfort the Fletcher family. Watch over Richie as he raises his boys in a world that takes from us. Comfort them with your promises and assurance.
Lord, our city has not healed. We are still broken. We still mourn. The loss of Liza did not stop a downward trend. Each day we are confronted with the fall of man. But each day Lord, You provide moments of grace, moments of truth, that showcase Your love and power. May we, as neighbors, build on those moments. Stack them up Lord.
We pray for calm and we pray for reflection. We pray for the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the lost. We pray for the boldness to preach Christ, with love, to the lost. May this prayer and others being lifted up to You soften hard hearts.
Lord, we pray for a police force that serves and protects the community. We pray for city and county leadership that seek the betterment of all citizens and not self-promotion. We pray for encouragement for the over one million residents of the Mid-South that wake up each day and fulfill their roles, that better days are ahead.
Lord, stop the street-racing and retail theft, gun violence and intimidation. Do so by changing hearts. Protect the innocent. Open the hearts of Your children to the needs around them. We are Your hands and feet. In Christ’s name, amen.
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Peace and Prosperity for the City
7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. – Jeremiah 29:7 Lord, we pray for our city tonight. We lift up the new graduates of Baptist Nursing school to You. They will…
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7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. – Jeremiah 29:7
Lord, we pray for our city tonight. We lift up the new graduates of Baptist Nursing school to You. They will call on You during times of trouble and times of celebration. Guide their hands and surround them with loving and skilled mentors.
Lord, school is back in session. Protect our students form the physical and spiritual harms of this world. Guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Lord, we ask the same for the teachers and staff. We pray for the Holy Spirit to be present and moving among our school children and teachers as they carry out their faith in public life.
Lord, we pray for the peace and prosperity of our city, Memphis, across all sectors, in ways that bring glory to God. Lord, open our eyes to the sin of our choices and bring us to repentance. Lord, may we see our neighbor as one of God’s children and not someone to fear. Lord, rid the possessed minds of evil in Jesus’s name, that a new creation is formed in Christ.
Lord, we pray for light in the darkest places. We pray for miracles. We pray for release from spiritual bondage, enslavement to drugs and sex, and the corrupting influence of money and power. Lord, we pray for human flourishing. Work in our hearts Lord so that we are aligned with the Holy Spirit. May we see the need of our fellow man and, through Your provision, meet that need. Grant us the courage to live boldly, in love and with love, winning hearts for You.
In Christ’s name, amen.
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Fearless
A scared world needs a fearless church – A W Tozer Lord, call your believers together in Memphis to love this city. May the Cross be the aim. Protect us from evil and lies, divisions sown by the adversary. Lord, we pray for thriving community. We view the fight to love our neighbors, who see…
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A scared world needs a fearless church – A W Tozer
Lord, call your believers together in Memphis to love this city. May the Cross be the aim. Protect us from evil and lies, divisions sown by the adversary.
Lord, we pray for thriving community. We view the fight to love our neighbors, who see us with all of our baggage, who may be violent and dangerous, as risky, because we are scared. But Lord, if You are with us, who can defeat us. Open our hearts and minds to those who know You. Call us out to walk in our faith. Protect us as we do so.
Lord, equip church leaders to train their congregations. Break down divisions in the church and focus us on the hearts of our neighbors. Lord, Love first. May we be salt and light.
In Christ’s name, amen.
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The Rules
4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but…
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4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you. – Deuteronomy 4:1-2
Lord, we see videos of reckless and dangerous behavior, violent behavior in Memphis, and we react from home. Lord, help us to know our neighbor. We can’t change the culture behind a screen. Lord, it’s risky. We worry about the world’s reaction to us encroaching on its domain. But Lord, remind us, that You created the world and it was good. Man fell, not you. We are to take the land for You, just as you commanded the Israelites. Our battles, Lord, are won with You, a closeness to You. We must seek You. May we keep it simple Lord.
Forgive us Lord for straying. We pray for a return to You, a revival of the Holy Spirit that bears much fruit. We pray for protection and blessing of those trying to do good work, like the leaders and community-minded in Westwood. We pray for Melvin Cole and Youth Villages. We pray for moms and dads that are tired but still committed to raising their children and those that show up in their homes. Lord, we are not meant to live alone. Bless us with abundance that we may shower Your goodwill and treasure on those around us.
Lord, clean up Beale Street. Videos of lawlessness and shootings are too common now. Turn the hearts of those thinking this is youthful fun to you. We pray for our police officers, walking a line of authority and restraint. Protect them. Encourage them. Guide them.
Lord, we need You now always. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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Superintendent
1 Samuel 16:7 (New International Version) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Lord, open our eyes to the…
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1 Samuel 16:7 (New International Version)
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Lord, open our eyes to the needs of Your people. May we seek You first.
We lift up those who are encouraging our youth that are deemed at-risk, like PURE Academy and JIFF. With the first day of school for many in Shelby County, we lift up our schools, that they be places of learning and joy. We pray for protection for the students coming and going. We lift up teachers and administrators, that they are encouraged in their work, and seek the best in all of their students. Lord, equip them to be role models for our children. Lord, we lift up all of the support staff – security officers, cafeteria workers, custodians – as well. May they be a calming and protective presence. We lift up those who are encouraging our youth that are deemed at-risk, like PURE Academy and JIFF, among others.
We pray for the next superintendent of Memphis, that they come with the right heart and skills to lead a complex and, what seems to be from the outside, a dysfunctional school system. We pray for a leader that believes in all of our children and fights for the resources needed to provide them a quality education. We pray for the parents, that they partner with the schools and teachers to prepare their students for the world. Lord, we ask that the school board seek Your guiding hand in this search. May egos be set aside to bring about positive change. In Your name we pray, amen.