This prayer diary is for members of the Maranatha Community. We believe the Lord has prepared us, as a Community, over 40 years for such time as this. God birthed this Community to pray and work for the unity, healing and renewal of the Church.
(printable version available here)
At this time, we believe the Lord is calling us to ‘ASCEND’ and ‘ADVANCE’, as ONE people, to engage in prayer, with fasting, for Christ’s Body in the midst of significant spiritual battle. We declare our love for the whole Church as we offer ourselves for this commission.
In addition to the daily prayers and readings, everyone is encouraged to pray Psalm 91 and Ephesians 6.10-18 for the whole Community each day.
Saturday, October 11th – A DAY OF CORPORATE PRAYER AND FASTING
We begin our 40 days of prayer and fasting with a focus on UNITY in the Body of Christ. As Maranatha members we affirm our oneness in Christ. Just as Jesus’ arms reach out to encircle us and draw us into His love, so we reach out to every part of the Body of Christ in loving prayer. We declare the ONENESS of God and of the Church. We resist every attempt to divide and destroy.
Daily prayer: Psalm 24
There are many references to gates in the Bible. Just as there are physical gates to cities, there are gates in the spiritual realms ranging from the gates of our human senses, to gates associated with places or organisations. Gates represent a position of authority and power. We have been led to pray for a restoration of the ‘gates’ of the Church, which have been neglected and, in many place, broken down. We pray too for a re-positioning of God’s people to stand in the gates.
Sunday, October 12th Read John 10.1-4. The Lord calls us to possess the gates (the entry points) of the Church, in all its expressions in our nation. We possess the gates in His authority merely by standing in the gateway and declaring the Lord’s ownership of His Church. For the whole Church, for each denomination and for your own fellowship, take your stand today and make your declarations to all dominions and powers that Jesus is the Lord of His Church.
Monday, October 13th Read John 10.3. The gatekeeper controls access to the flock and opens the gate for the Good Shepherd, so that He might ‘come in’ to be with them, to tend to their hurts, to prepare them for going out. Gatekeeping can be done by the humblest of people, filled with the Holy Spirit; today, spend your day opening the gate of the Church and your denomination to the Lord.
Tuesday, October 14th The gatekeeper has a second role: to close the gate when any harmful person or animal threatens to harm the sheep or scatter them. Please ask the Lord to show you what or who these harmful forces are and – on behalf of the Church, and particularly your denomination or fellowship – resist them and deny them access to the flock.
Wednesday, October 15th Read Ezekiel 22.30. Where the sheep pen has been broken in the past, it remains vulnerable to the raids of the enemy. The Lord calls us to stand in the gap to resist all such attacks. We declare our authority from Jesus to stand in the gap; the Lord’s victory over our enemy; the defeat of all such enemies.
Thursday, October 16th Read Ezekiel 22.30. Those who stand in the gap are also called to rebuild the damaged defences. Today we focus on repairing damage by speaking healing and forgiveness in the name of Jesus; be specific in praying about the issues the Lord shows you for the Church and your denomination or fellowship.
Friday, October 17th Read Nehemiah 3. For the next few days we focus on some of the gates identified by Nehemiah as he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. There was a Fountain Gate and a Water Gate – water for the thirsty, water for washing. Water is a symbol of the word of God. Stand in these gates and proclaim the authority of the Word of God for the Church. As you stand, pray these gates be kept open for the people of God to drink living water and receive cleansing.
Saturday, October 18th The dung gate was used to remove refuse from Jerusalem. All living organisms need to get rid of rubbish, which would otherwise poison their systems; how much more does the Church need to relieve herself of all moral filth and the rubbish associated with sin? Stand in the dung gate for the Church; keep it open; name the issues which need to be excreted; refuse them return to the Body of Christ.
Sunday, October 19th The Old Gate speaks of an original design which has been hidden but not superseded. Read Isaiah 51.1 and Jeremiah 6.16. What are the ‘old paths’ of our faith? What is our inheritance from past saints? Stand in the Old Gate and speak the ancient truths of faith to the Church. Deny access to the new ‘truths’ of the world system.
Monday, October 20th Read Gen 3.22-24. The Lord banned Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed a cherubim with a flaming sword at the entrance to prevent them returning. Seek the Lord for angels to stand in the gates of the Church to continue control of access to the people of God.
Tuesday, October 21st – A DAY OF CORPORATE PRAYER AND FASTING
A day in which all Maranatha members join together, as ONE, in LOVE for God, for one another and the whole Church of Christ, to offer repentance on behalf of the Church for all past and present divisions, unforgiveness, bitterness, party spirit, critical judgement, lack of love.
Daily prayer: John 17.20-26
Wednesday, October 22nd Read John 13.31-34. We proclaim the Lordship of Jesus over His Church and praise God that we can know Him as our loving Father. We affirm there is ONE family of God and pray for a fresh revelation and embracing of loving relationships between all Family members, as seen in the relationship between Jesus and the Father.
Thursday, October 23rd Read John 15.9-17. We affirm the oneness and connectedness of all the branches of Jesus, the Vine, and pray for a new awareness of those suffering persecution with a recognition that their sacrifice brings forth lasting fruit for the whole Church.
Friday, October 24th Read 1Pet 2.4-12. We align ourselves with the Cornerstone, Jesus, and pray every element of the Church into alignment with Him, so that relationships between the living stones will be marked by holiness – different in quality to the relationships of the world – and the manifestation of God’s presence.
Saturday, October 25th Read John 10.4. We pray especially for those with the responsibility of leadership in the Church, that they would hear the voice of our Good Shepherd clearly and receive a new confidence and relationship with the Holy Spirit, enabling them to lead as Jesus did. Pray for your church leader(s) in love to know the loving support of the congregation and for unity and between leaders of different denominations in your area.
Sunday, October 26th Read 1Cor 12. We exalt Jesus, the Head of His Body and praise Him for all the gifts that enable His Church to be His living presence in the world. We repent, on behalf of the Church, for choosing the ways of the world rather than depending on the gifts of God’s Spirit and pray for a fresh anointing of the whole Church, with a release of all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, to reveal Jesus in His Body.
Monday, October 27th Read Mal 4.6. We praise God for His anointing of the younger generations in the Church and pray for oneness across the generations with mutual love and honouring of one another. We affirm that we are one with the whole living Body of Christ, throughout all generations.
Tuesday, October 28th Read Matthew 7.1-2 & 1Corinthians 4.5. Much of the division within the Church arises from judgement in our hearts. In these days, the spirit of the age encourages individuals to elevate their personal opinion to a level of authority superior to all others, including Biblical Truth. We repent, on behalf of ourselves and the Church of the idolatry of opinion. We repent of pride and arrogance, for ourselves and our church tradition, in believing we are right and others are wrong. We ask the Lord for Mercy and Grace in great measure, as we humble ourselves and pray for deep healing of all divisions between His people and the different parts of His Body.
Wednesday, October 29th Read Ephesians 4.1-16. We pray for ONENESS between those with different ministries, gifts and callings in the Body of Christ, so that the whole vision and mind of Christ may be revealed enabling the Church to grow to maturity, and attain to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ.
Thursday, October 30th Read 1Corinthians 1.10. With the authority of our Lord Jesus, we demolish all strongholds of division as we speak healing and reconciliation to those locked in opposition to one another with release of forgiveness for past injustices and hurts.
Friday, October 31st – A DAY OF CORPORATE PRAYER AND FASTING
A day in which all Maranatha members join together as ONE to speak UNITY to the Church, in all its expressions. Use the picture of the body given by Paul in 1Corinthians 12:12-28 to speak connectedness and significance to every part (member) of the living Body of Christ in our nations.
Daily prayer: Ephesians 3.10-21
Saturday, November 1st Read Ephesians 6:10-18. The Lord is calling His Church to govern the world in His authority; for the next 9 days we seek the Lord’s equipping and empowering for this role. We begin today by praying the whole defensive armour of God onto the whole Church of Christ.
Sunday, November 2nd Read Ezekiel 37.1-14. Today we speak the Breath of God into the Church, believing that the Lord seeks to bring a vast army to life from the dry bones.
Monday, November 3rd Read Hebrews 4.12. We seek the Lord for the sword of the Spirit to be placed into the hands of this army – the Word of God alive and active in all hearts.
Tuesday, November 4th Read Matthew 28:18. Jesus says that all authority has been given to Him. We seek the Lord for the revelation of this truth; for His people to stand in unity as His Body, in His authority, and to oppose the enemy from this position.
Wednesday, November 5th Read Genesis 28.10-14 & John 1.51. Ascended, in the heavenly realms, in Christ, we call the Church to arise; to gain a heavenly perspective; to join with angelic forces to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.
Thursday, November 6th Read 1Corinthians 2.4. Needing God’s power to witness and do His work, we wait on the Lord and pray for the outpouring an infilling of His Spirit for the Church.
Friday, November 7th Read Ephesians 1.16-23. We look to God for wisdom and revelation for the Church; to receive direction and to be led by the Lord only. We oppose all demonic deception and all merely human wisdom, especially in leadership, and we pray for prophetic insight for every decision.
Saturday, November 8th Read Philippians 2.1-11. We humble ourselves before the Lord, who humbled Himself for our sakes, and pray for a fresh humility to come upon the Body of Christ; that the power and authority of Jesus may be realised and manifest in the earth.
Sunday, November 9th Read 1Corinthians 13. We pray for the empowering of the whole Church in and through the Love of God.
Monday, November 10th – A DAY OF CORPORATE PRAYER AND FASTING
A day in which all Maranatha members join together as ONE to speak UNITY to the Church, in all its expressions. We repent on behalf of the Church for the way in which we have fallen from our first love for Christ; for the way we have failed to love God with all our heart, soul and mind.
Daily prayer: Deuteronomy 6.4-7
Tuesday, November 11th Read Ezekiel 36.25-27. For the next few days we focus on the heart. Today we speak healing to our hearts and to the heart of the Church, that it may receive and reflect the love of God. We pray the Bride will be made whole in her relationship to the Lord, prepared for intimacy with Him.
Wednesday, November 12th Read Galatians 2.20. For the Bride to be healthy, her heart must pump all the goodness of Christ through her body. We participate in this action for the Church, joining our hearts to God’s heart.
Thursday, November 13th Read John 10.14-15. When two human hearts are close together, their heartbeats synchronise. We pray this into being for the Church and God’s heart, that the two might become truly one, beating together in love and agreement.
Friday, November 14th Read 1Corinthians 2.7-16. We pray for the Bride’s ability to hear Her Loved One’s voice and respond to Him. We ask that she may learn to listen well and understand her Beloved’s thoughts and feelings, being sensitive to each word. We ask the Lord to give the Church continuing revelation of Jesus.
Saturday, November 15th Ephesians 5.15-27. On behalf of the Church we submit ourselves to Christ for His cleansing and pray that His whole Church would be washed with water through the Word, so that together we may be presented to Him as a holy, blameless, radiant Church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.
Sunday, November 16th Read Colossians 3.12-17. We pray the wedding garments onto the Bride; righteousness, good works, faithfulness, devotion, praise……
Monday, November 17th Read Isaiah 61.1-3. We seek the Spirit of praise and worship to fill the Bride; to ready Her to engage with her Beloved.
Tuesday, November 18th Read Matthew 25.1-13. We pray that the Lord will alert us to keep our lamps burning, always ensuring that we have plenty of oil, so that the whole Church will be ready when He comes.
Wednesday, November 19th Read Revelation 22.12-21. On a day of great celebration, we come to the end of our 40 days with worship and praise for the Bridegroom. In faith we look ahead to bring the completed Bride down the aisle to the wedding feast of the Lamb. We present the Church to Him – to be loved and led out. As we wait, our prayer is, “Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!”.