Mainstreet | Daily Prayer Guide

A woman named Beth was driving her husband Jim’s pride and joy, a little green MG. He had labored over this car for hours every Saturday for four years. He had wanted a car like this for almost all of his life. As Beth was driving, she saw a boy on a bicycle and swerved to avoid him. She heard the little car being crunched, scraped, and the glass breaking. Another driver stopped to help her out of the car. She was dazed but not hurt when the police officer approached her and asked for her insurance papers.

She did not so much fear the wrath of her husband, for he was gentle and nice, but she feared the great disappointment he would have. She dreaded the hurt and anguish she would see on his face.

As she went to the glove compartment to get the insurance papers, she found them in a plastic package. To her surprise on top of all the documents was a white envelope with her name on it. She opened it and began to read: “Dear Beth, if you are reading this, you have probably been in an accident. Don’t worry. I pray that you are all right, and just remember it is you that I love. Jim”

But the cross is God’s statement to us that no matter what mistakes are made, He says, “Remember it is you I love.”

Prayer Focus:
Spend time in prayer adoring God for His love. Pray that as we move forward as a church, we will always cultivate a loving relationship with God and each other. Ask the Lord to reveal ways to show your Christian love within our church family.

A Prayer from Esther Ortiz:
Heavenly Father, transform and guide me that my hands may be Your hands and my words may be Your words. Humble my spirit and destroy all in me that is not of You. Open my heart and mind to more ways that honor and serve You. May all that I do and say each day bring glory to You. I pray this in your precious name, Amen.

In his devotional Morning and Evening, Charles Spurgeon comments that because they feared that the Israelites would make weapons rather than tools, the Philistines refused to allow them to have their own blacksmiths. Yet, God’s people trusted that all of their tools would be usable as weapons, if they were kept sharp.

Whenever we have work to do, every tool within our reach needs to be ready for use in varied capacities—flexibility and ingenuity can bring nearly anything into service. In our Christian lives as well, preaching, teaching, praying, giving, all must be brought into actions, and talents which may have been thought to be unremarkable must all be employed. Each moment of time, in season or out of season; each fragment of ability, educated or untutored; each opportunity, must be used.

Unfortunately, Spurgeon also observes that most of our tools need sharpening. How many of us pray well, read Scripture enough, spend enough time with Christians who challenge us to think about our faith? It is likely that the more we use the “tools of our faith” we will be more than ready to further God’s work in the future days of our church.

Prayer Focus:
Pray that we will be ready to transform all of the tools we have into whatever they need to be in order for God’s will to be done.

A Prayer from Robert Comeaux:
Father God, as we seek Your face we ask that You would give us a spirit of freedom in the midst of this endeavor. We pray 2 Corinthians 3:17 today, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom.” We pray that You would bring a sweet spirit of freedom over our congregation. We pray that any past hurts or regrets that may find their way into our conversations would be released, and that we would see Your clear vision for a bright future for Dunwoody Baptist Church. We pray that the plans You put on our hearts for our church would be plans that would bring about freedom and clarity in the lives of people who need Your love. Thank You for the privilege of walking in Your Spirit, Amen.

In Mark, chapter five, we have three important incidents in the life of the Lord Jesus. It is within the context of these events that Jesus revealed Himself as the powerful Son of God. In the first event, Jesus revealed Himself as more powerful than demons. He went along with His disciples to the most demon-possessed man in all the country. When Jesus showed up, the demons immediately began to beg for mercy. With one word the demons left this man, never to return. We also see Jesus revealed as more powerful than death in this passage. When Jairus’ daughter fell ill, he sought Jesus out to come and heal her. But before they could arrive, the girl had died. Jesus, nevertheless, restored her life by the power of His word. Between these two great revelations, there is a rather small incident where Jesus showed Himself more powerful than disease. However, there are still some important truths about the touch of faith.

This healing event shows us that in addition to spiritual life, we should have spiritual health individually and in our corporate church body. Many have received salvation and have spiritual life, but are not well. Jesus says in John 10:10, “... I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The way to spiritual health is the same way we experience spiritual life—that is to come into contact with Jesus.

Prayer Focus:
Today is the halfway point in our 40 days of prayer. Ask God to give spiritual health to our corporate church body and to you as an individual.

A Prayer from Angela Rodda:
Lord God, We want to make Your name known to the children at Dunwoody Baptist Church. I am grateful for those who pour into the hearts and minds of my children every time they are on this campus. They are truly excited to come to church! I am encouraged that I don’t have to parent alone. Help every truth that is planted in the hearts of our children become a part of them forever and cause them to declare Your marvelous deeds outside our church and homes. May the little ones remain humble examples of what we adults need to become, in the Kingdom. We ask that You use Project Mainstreet as a tangible example of Dunwoody Baptist’s investment in the future of the church and our desire to declare Your love in our community, Amen.