Praise God for the new life He grants us in Christ. Ask Him to help us all live lives worthy of the gospel. Pray for strength to endure in obedience and to persevere through adversity.

This week we are praying for reconciliation and unity in the Body of Christ in Birmingham for the sake of effectively proclaiming and portraying the power of the gospel together. We are particularly praying that each of us will be instruments in the Redeemer’s hand pursuing unity in His Body as He reconciles all things in Christ (Colossians 1:19-20; Ephesians 2: 14-16). We are also praying for 16th Street Baptist Church and Pastor Arthur Price.

DAY 1: Pray for all of our members to reflect the love of Christ across all ethnic, racial, socio-economic, and man-made barriers in our city. Pray especially for those intentionally serving alongside our city partners such as Serving You Ministries, Oak Tree Ministries, Oliver Elementary School, Iglesia La Conexión, and Birmingham Cross Cultural Connections. Pray we would be aware of the painful past experiences of others and pursue peace in our city through gospel-centered relationships.

DAY 2: Pray for all believers across Birmingham to pursue unity with believers of other ethnicities and cultures showing love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, and humility in a way that displays Christ’s character to the entire city.

DAY 3: Ask God to make us aware of any of our own sin, prejudices, ignorance, ethno-centric attitudes, or apathy keeping us from displaying the power of the gospel through the unity of His Body.

DAY 4: Pray for all evangelical church leaders in Birmingham to humbly reflect the unity of the Spirit by initiating partnerships and friendships with one another to display, demonstrate, and declare the gospel across our city.

DAY 5: Ask the Spirit to lead Christians of all ethnicities to walk in forgiveness toward one another, extending grace to those who have caused division or have acted unjustly intentionally or unintentionally.

DAY 6: Pray evangelical church leaders across the city would especially be willing to mobilize their people to make disciples in low-income urban areas and among ethnicities isolated from the Church.

This week we are praying for least-reached peoples around the world. It is estimated over 3 billion people in the world are currently considered least-reached. These are people who don’t know who Christ is and where there is no church or the church is insufficient to make the gospel known without help. We encourage you to set aside time this week to pray for our missionaries who have gone to the least-reached and for those who have no hope, who have not heard the Good News, and who desperately need to know and turn to Christ. 

DAY 1: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37). This is particularly true when it comes to least reached peoples and places, where there are few, if any, workers. Pray for the Lord to “send out laborers into his harvest” (v. 38).

DAY 2: Pray for God to open the minds and hearts of the least-reached to the light of the gospel. Only by God’s grace and power do people see the beauty of Christ and their need for Him. Ask the Lord to shine in the hearts of the least-reached to give “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

DAY 3: The long-term goal in sending missionaries to the least-reached is to see disciples made and churches established. Planting biblically-sound churches is the best way for the gospel to take root and spread within a people group. Pray for healthy churches and faithful pastors to be raised up among the least-reached. Pray for Christ to continue to build His church and for them to be bold to share the gospel with those who have not yet heard.

DAY 4: There are many barriers to the spread of the gospel among the least-reached, including persecution and other physical difficulties. Pray for God to sustain the faith of missionaries and new believers through trials, persecution, and pressure. Pray for our missionaries tol have endurance to persevere in the faith and bear witness to Christ, regardless of the barriers they face. Ask God to preserve them by His power and sustain their hope according to His promises in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:35, 37–39).

DAY 5: While God can and does use persecution for the spread of the gospel, it remains a significant barrier in many parts of the world. Pray for God to work in the lives of those who persecute the church. Pray for their salvation and for their efforts to suppress the gospel to be hindered or stopped. Regardless of how God chooses to work, we can trust that all earthly rulers are under the sovereign control of Christ’s lordship (Psalm 2:1–12).

DAY 6: Having access to Scripture is crucial for the life and health of believers and the church. Ask the Lord to provide the resources for Scripture to be translated into more and more languages among the least-reached. Ask God to bless this slow and often painstaking work.