Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
James 5:13-18
“Let him pray.”
God wants to hear our prayers, especially in times of suffering, just as He wants to hear our songs in times of cheer. But in a time of pandemic, we want to lift our prayers up to our Lord. Recently some of the Evangel women gathered together in a video conference call to pray together for our needs. The Scriptures and prayer guide that we used is available here (tap the link to download the PDF and print). It is formatted so that you may print and fold the guide in half to tuck into your Bible if you wish.
If you prefer to read it on your phone or computer, you may read it here.
Praise & Adoration
First, we want to give praise and adoration to the Lord our God. We do this by acknowledging God and what is true about Him.
When Jesus prayed (Matthew 6:9) He began with:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
So we praise our Lord by praying back to Him what is true about Him—and at the same time declaring our own humble submission to His greatness.
Ps. 34:1-3
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
We bless your Name, O Lord, at all times. Whatever we face each day, let us continually praise you. May we only boast in You!
Let us lift your Name high! Let us encourage all we know and meet to look to You, O Lord.
Deut. 15:2
The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
You are our strength. You are our song. You are our salvation. We praise and exalt You.
Isaiah 6:3
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
You are holy! Your glory fills the earth, even in the midst of pandemic.
We see you at work, prompting many people to give thought to their spiritual condition.
We see your grace, enabling so many health professionals to care for the sick, to research treatments and vaccines. We see You working through human means, even in the middle of crisis.
We see your beauty filling the earth as springtime dawns. The grass is greening. The trees are budding. The flowers are pushing up from the ground. The earth is full of Your glory and proclaims Your greatness.
Psalm 150:2
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
We praise You for Your mighty deeds, O Lord. We think of the mighty works that You have shown us in Your Word, but we also think about the mighty works that you have done for each one of us.
[Praise God for the mighty works He has done in your life. In your marriage. In your immediate family. In our church.]
Confession: Consider Your Ways
Haggai 1:7
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.
Isaiah 6:5
5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Isaiah 53:6
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
When we consider our ways, especially when we consider them after reflecting on Your glory, we immediately are aware of our own unclean lips. Our sinful hearts.
Our stubborn ways, turning our own way and not Your way, O Lord.
Resenting your Sovereign plan.
Preferring to rely on human solutions to our problems rather than take them to You.
Romans 3:10-11
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
We do not naturally turn to you, Lord. We do not naturally do what is good and right.
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Lord, we are sinners. We are sadly guilty of these works of the flesh.
Have mercy on us. Forgive us for these sins and more that we are guilty of.
[Silently ask God’s forgiveness for your sins.
Think of ways you have gone your own way.
Confess to Him the sins in speech,
Sins in thought,
Sins in deed
That you are guilty of.]
Romans 3:22b-23
For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Indeed, Father God, we are no better than anyone else! We are all short of Your glory and Your righteousness.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our sin leads to death, but Your grace and mercy in Jesus Christ gives us life! We ask for your mercy and grace to pour over us.
Thanksgiving: Be Thankful
Isaiah 6:6
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
Thank you, Lord Almighty, for taking our guilt and atoning for our sin.
Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for justifying us by faith and giving us peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you that even though we are sinners, we can be saved. We can approach you in the Name of Jesus.
Isaiah 12:1
You will say in that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
We give you thanks for your mercy.
I Cor. 9:15
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
Thank You for Jesus.
1 Chron. 16:34
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
Thank you for Your goodness and steadfast love.
Ephesians 1:15-16
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Thank you for the faith of other believing Christians that reminds us of your great goodness and shows us how to walk in your ways.
[Thank the Lord right now for specific believers He has put in your life. Pray for those believers.]
Col. 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Lord, as we learn to live in this strange time, fill our hearts with thankfulness.
For many of us, it means we have to do more mundane serving—more cleaning up after others, more laundry, more cooking.
We are inconvenienced in countless ways, but even in the face of that, let us do everything in your name and in thankfulness!
Col 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Lord, we are thankful. Each of us is thankful for so many things. We want to tell you right now what we are thankful for.
[Thank the Lord for as many specific things as you can think of.]
Supplication: Requests Before Him
Phil 4:5-7
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let’s pray for our needs and requests.
We want to come to you and ask for mercy on us and all nations as we cope with this pandemic.
May people everywhere see You and know You and hear Your Gospel and be saved.
For the sick
Let us pray that God would heal those who are sick.
Let us pray that He would be near those sick and isolated.
Let us pray that He would give comfort to those who are suffering.
Let us pray for the sick and their families, that God would give them healing and comfort.
Let us pray for those who are currently in critical condition, on ventilators, in need of oxygen and breath. May God give them breath and may they know the peace of Jesus.
For those in the medical community
Let us pray for the doctors and nurses and medical researchers working hard to battle this pandemic.
May God give them protection and strength.
May God give them wisdom and understanding.
May God give them endurance.
May God strengthen their hearts.
May unbelieving doctors call out to God for help and salvation.
May believing doctors give care in the Name of Jesus and may God’s name be known by all, the sick and the caregivers.
For those in isolation and quarantine
For those in isolation and quarantine
May God give them comfort and may His presence overcome their loneliness.
May God give them protection from illness and harm.
For those considered at high-risk
For those considered high-risk
Let us pray by name for those that we know and love in this category.
For those with underlying health conditions.
For those in age categories that put them at greater risk.
O Lord, let this illness pass by them and may they not be harmed.
For those suffering financial strain
Let us pray for those who are losing income and wealth at this time—
May God fill them with the peace of His provision.
May God give them security in Him and not in their finances.
May God richly provide for them.
May God show those who have more than enough how to care for those in need.
For students
Let us pray for students in K-12 and their families.
May God give them patience, discipline, kindness.
May the Holy Spirit give them understanding and knowledge as they study and learn.
May families staying at home together be blessed with peace.
May God’s grace extinguish all strife.
May God protect children in homes that put their safety at risk.
May God work through His church—the body of Christ—to care for students and their families in this time of upheaval.
For college students and their families
May these displaced students put into place healthy and God-honoring routines as they establish new habits and schedules.
May God give the students flexibility to adjust to new ways of learning.
May they be free of anxiety and stress
May the Holy Spirit give them understanding and knowledge as they study and learn.
May they be a blessing to their families and may their families bless them.
Give them grace to be home again with parents; give parents grace to give their adult college students autonomy and honor.
For teachers
May the Holy Spirit give them understanding and knowledge as they study and learn.
May they be free of anxiety and stress.
May their technology tools help them connect and encourage their students.
May You guard against discouragement in their hearts.
May You help them adapt to new ways of teaching.
May You give them affection for their students.
For the churches, pastors, and other ministry leaders
May God give pastors the strength and insight they need to shepherd their people, especially in the time of a pandemic.
May the Gospel of Jesus Christ be proclaimed through His people and through His churches.
May the love of Jesus Christ shine through His people.
May pastors be filled with the Holy Spirit.
May God add to the number of believers.
May believers in Jesus be faithful in prayer and Bible reading.
For our leaders
May God give His wisdom and understanding to our leaders at all levels of government.
Our President and his staff and administration.
The Congress and their staff members.
The nation’s governors and legislators.
The CDC and WHO leaders and doctors.
Local mayors and councils.
Local law enforcement and first responders.
May God’s Will Be Done
Matthew 6 9-13
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.