Praise God for being our ever present help in trouble. Ask God to guard and protect us during times of strife and uncertainty. Pray for us all to rest in the confidence we have because of who God is and all He has done for us.

This week as we kick off our Magi Trees Christmas Outreach efforts to support Iglesia La Conexion and Oak Tree Ministries, we are praying for various Christmas outreach efforts across our city. The Christmas season offers a unique opportunity to go strong to our city with our witness to others as we celebrate the true gift of Christmas, the free gift of eternal life made possible through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are also praying for Immanuel Church and Pastor Austin Baker.

DAY 1: Pray for our own Faith Family that we will find intentional ways to engage the lost in our rhythms of life, show hospitality to neighbors and international friends, and serve the needy during this Christmas season. Pray personally for opportunities to serve, ways to give sacrificially, new friendships, and boldness to have gospel conversations.

DAY 2: Pray for the many partners helping provide gifts this Christmas for vulnerable families in our city, especially for those we support. Pray for Christmas in the Village led by Oak Tree Ministries, Iglesia la Conexion’s Christmas Shoppe and outreach event, Thrive Christmas Shop by Serving You Ministries, Lovelady Christmas Store by Lovelady Ministries, New Rising Star’s Community Christmas Shop by NRS Community Support Program, Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree outreach, and Olivia’s House Christmas emphasis led by Brook Hills members. Pray the families served would know Jesus’ incarnation and sacrificial death is the greatest gift of all.

DAY 3: Pray for safety and protection this Christmas for all of our partners, their volunteers, and our neighbors as they navigate the Christmas season. Pray the love of Christ will be felt through the gifts and services provided this Christmas.

DAY 4: Pray for our many partner ministries and other Christian organizations in the Birmingham community as they seek to exalt Christ and serve the city through various avenues this Christmas. Pray they will have an abundance of volunteers and resources to support their outreach initiatives.

DAY 5: Pray many from our Faith Family will have opportunities to invite unbelieving neighbors, internationals, and family members into their homes and to our Christmas Eve gatherings during the holidays to witness the hope and joy that Christmas brings to those who are trusting in Christ.

DAY 6: Pray that many across our city will personally consider the gift of Christ and will receive forgiveness and eternal life through repentance and faith during this season.

Today is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Fellow believers in places like the Middle East, Africa, North Korea, China, and India face worship restrictions, public humiliation, and social isolation. Many of our brothers and sisters encounter violence. Some face death. Church buildings are vandalized and sometimes destroyed. The need for prayer and intercession for our brothers and sisters is great. This week we want to pray for those who are suffering and enduring persecution because of their love and faith in Jesus.

DAY 1: Pray for brothers and sisters in places in the world where they are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. Ask God to give them strength and deliverance. Ask Him to uphold them with His righteous right hand. 

DAY 2:  Ask the Lord to give persecuted brothers and sisters boldness to follow Christ and proclaim the gospel, even at great costs. Pray for God to protect them and guard them from those seeking to do them harm. 

DAY 3: Pray for our brothers and sisters who are in prison for proclaiming faith in Christ. Pray they would sense God’s presence. Pray they would know other brothers and sisters are interceding for them and they are not alone. Ask the Father to enable the gospel to spread through them, even in prison, and pray for them to continue to proclaim Christ with boldness as they did in Acts 16.

DAY 4: Pray for the salvation of those who are persecuting believers. Ask the Lord to open their eyes to the truth of the gospel. Pray their hearts would be softened and ultimately transformed by the gospel. Ask the Lord to radically convert them from persecutors of Christians to proclaimers of the gospel. 

DAY 5: Pray for the families of those being persecuted. Ask the Lord to give them grace and mercy. Ask the Lord to provide for their every need and for the Holy Spirit to comfort them in their affliction. Pray they would continue to trust the Lord and fearlessly share the gospel.

DAY 6: Pray for the church to continue to flourish and be strengthened in spite of persecution. Pray even in the face of costly discipleship, more and more people will come to believe in and follow Jesus and grow the Church.