Prayer Starters: April 2022

Prayer Guide

We gather on Saturday, April 2 to pray very specific prayers over a 3-hour period. Following the extended prayer meeting, we shall be praying throughout the month of April using these prayer points. Please add to them as the Spirit of God lays things to pray for in your heart.

Remember that these thanksgiving and prayer requests continue through the month. You are to pray every morning or anytime you set aside for prayer.

There are 6 sessions that can take you an hour to pray. Attempt praying for 1 hour if you can create the time. You will be glad you did. If daily is not realistic for you at this point attempt a whole hour of prayer once a week using these prayer points and any other ones that well up in your spirit.

If you can, please come fasting on the first Saturday of the month that would be great. Prayer is from 12-3 pm. As the Lord helps us we may finish before 3 pm.

1. Prayer of Thanksgiving

Psalm 136:1-3, Psalm 107:1

The Psalmist writes about how he will enter God’s gates with thanksgiving in his heart and then proceed further into His courts with praise. Begin each session of prayer with thanksgiving and praise. When we choose to be thankful there’s always a surprising list of things we may have taken for granted which come to our attention as we meditate. Praise for these things God has done, as well as praise for who He is as God over our lives brings us to a place of readiness to receive from Him. It is in His courts that He delivers judgments. And He has chosen to have mercy on us. Amen!

Take a moment to think about things you should be thankful for. Give thanks and praise Him.

• Give thanks for knowing Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Psalm 136:1-3
• Give thanks for things you are waiting on God to do for you
• Give thanks for the grace to pray
• Give thanks in advance for all the surprises He is bringing your way

2. Prayer of Repentance

Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9

•  As people, we sin and go against the will of God. Sometimes we are not even aware that we may have sinned. There are sins of commission and sins of omission. Commission are things we do that are sinful and sins of omission are things we should do that are left undone. Let us pray a prayer of repentance seeking the Lord for a refreshing.
• After praying repentance let us ask for a refreshing of the Spirit to help us in prayer today. Invite the presence of God by His Spirit. Ask for the help of angels as we pray.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. 

Acts 3:19 NKJV

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.”

Mark 1:14-15 NKJV

3. Prayer for Open Doors

Acts 14:27

If God does not open a door we will waste our time and precious efforts and accomplish little or nothing as we seek to help people come into a saving and growing knowledge of Jesus. The Apostle Paul in reporting about his first missionary trip stated that God had opened “a door of faith” for the gentiles to believe the gospel. In the same manner, God can open doors today for many in our city to believe the gospel and be saved.

Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 

Acts 14:27 NKJV

• Pray that our love for Jesus will grow and that we will become passionate about the gospel. John 14:23, Mark 16:15-18
• Boldness to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in power. Ephesians 6:18-19
• Ask for the grace to seize divinely arranged opportunities to help people meet Jesus
• A new anointing of the Holy Spirit on everyone that calls Joy Fountain home including the children.
• Jesus open the door of faith for salvation for many people in our city
• Ask for wisdom to have and implement a solid discipleship structure at JFC. Matthew 28:18-20

4. Asking for 10 New Families Added to JFC

Isaiah 43:6

God wants to grow the church. Prophecy speaks of an ever-increasing Kingdom. These are all absolutely clear from the scriptures.

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth—

Isaiah 43:6 NKJV

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:47 NKJV

Using the verses above and other verses of scripture let us pray the following requests

• Lord Jesus give us the grace to CONTINUE in fellowship like the early church in Jerusalem.
• Grant us FAVOUR with all people.
• Like you ADDED to the church in Jerusalem in Acts 2, Lord Jesus, add to us at Joy Fountain many New Families with many children (youth and teens) who want to know God and grow in relationship with you.
• Continue to work in us to become a people of Prayer, Purpose, and Power.

5. Prayer for Financial Provision

Luke 5:1-11

With Kingdom initiatives, people always come first. As we see in the book of Acts, on the day of Pentecost when 3,000 souls were saved there was no mention of building facilities or money for projects. Financial need and provision came much later as the church continued to grow and multiply. In Acts 4:36. we are told that some of the people, in order to provide for God’s advancing work, sold their landed property and brought the proceeds of sale to the apostle’s feet.

Peter and his colleagues had fished all night and caught nothing until Jesus intervened. Imagine how much they’d have made selling all that fish in the open market.

And Joses who was also named Barnabas by the apostles… a levite of the country of Cyprus having land sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet

Acts 4:36-37 NKJV

The silver is mine and the gold is mine says the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greateer than the former says the Lord of hosts and in this place I will give peace

Acts 2:8-9 NKJV

Using the verses of scripture above and other verses let us pray the following prayer requests:

• Father in heaven thank you for providing for us financially to carry out your will on earth. Matthew 17:24-27
• Call out all the finances that are needed for God’s work to be done through Joy Fountain Church and everywhere.
• Pray for churches that are threatened as a result of failing finances all over Canada to seek the Lord and receive breakthroughs in every area.
• Pray for the hearts of believers to be softened in the area of giving to God as He prospers us

6. Prayer for the Defeat of Territorial Sorcery

Acts 8:9-13, Acts 13:6-12

Sorcery is the use of power gained from the assistance or control of evil spirits (Merriam Webster). Sorcerers exist today everywhere and hate the gospel and those who follow Jesus. The church is the only agency on earth with the power through Jesus’ name to overcome sorcery. When we pray against these dark spirits we will begin to see results in these areas as people’s eyes open to the truth.

• Use the authority granted us in Jesus’ name over the spirits of sorcery and sorcerers operating like Elymas in high places of authority and government. Cast them out.
• Use the authority granted us in Jesus’ name over the spirits of sorcery and sorcerers operating like Simon in our neighborhood for the release of those whose minds are held captive. 1 Corinthians 4:4