#MeetAtHisFeet Prayer Prompts

​Some who have said they want to pray with us tomorrow on the one-week anniversary of the shootings in Parkland, Florida, aren’t on Facebook or for some other reasons will not receive the hourly prayer prompts I have prepared. So here they are for your convenience. Feel free to share. Please address any comments to God, not to me. The point is to bring our concerns to him.

​Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 6 AM 
Is anything too hard for the LORD? Gen 18:14a
 
No, Lord, nothing is too difficult for you. Right now our nation is broken. We scream at one another when we should be weeping together. Some of us fear guns; others of us fear losing our guns. May we all take our fears to you. May we lay them at your feet where we can hear your still small voice over the voices that shout at us from the media. Calm our hearts. Give us strength to trust you to lead us out of this mess.
 

Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 7 AM
He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
 
Lord, so many in this country are hurting. We think right now of the families in Parkland who lost loved ones last week as well as their friends and classmates. And those in Newtown and Virginia and Orlando and Los Vegas and Ferguson, and all the other communities whose names we may have forgotten because violent loss of life has become all too common. Terrible holes have been torn in the fabric of these communities and in a nation that knows it could easily be us. Heavenly Father, wrap your strong arms around those in pain. Bind up our wounds; don’t let them fester into further rounds of violence. Heal our broken hearts.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 8 AM
I waited patiently for the Lord:
            He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit
            Out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:2
 
Almighty God, our nation has sunk into a slimy pit. All our efforts to get out have only churned the mud and mire. O Lord, hear our cry. Turn to us. Lift us above this mess of our own creating and set us on the rock of your salvation. Give us a firm place to stand where we can again know hope.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 9 AM
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. Gen 1:26a
 
I praise you, Lord God, King of the Universe, because you made each of us in your image—the students who died, and those who lived, the teachers who gave their lives, and even the young man who took them. How it must break your heart to see your image so twisted, not only in Nicholas Cruz, but in me. Lord, have mercy on us, your creatures. Show us yourself in this time of trouble and remake our hearts to better reflect your goodness.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 10 AM
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
 
Lord, the world has become so dark that it is hard to trust your plans right now. Is it our children’s future to go to school with armed guards, as some suggest? You say your plans are to prosper us and not to harm us, yet we die in movie theaters and churches, in schools and at concerts. The perpetrators of this violence have lost all hope. Show us the way to your hope and your future.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 11 AM
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
 
Faithful and just Father, we have sinned as individuals and as a society when we steep our minds in make-believe violence; when we put self-interest and politics ahead of protecting children; when we ignore young people falling through the cracks.
Forgive us.
Cleanse us.
Purify us from all unrighteousness.
Strengthen our determination to resist such violence in our own lives. Give us wisdom to see the most effective ways to protect our communities. Open our hearts with compassion for those who are teetering on the brink emotionally.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, noon
For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus], and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-20
 
Lord Jesus, we praise you for making it possible for us to live in peace with God and with our fellow human beings. How desperately we need your reconciliation! We are at war with ourselves. We will not know peace until we come together at your cross, and on our knees submit to your view of our sin and of our circumstances. Give us the courage to look to you instead of to our favorite news sources to determine our response to the events around us. Give us the love to listen to the concerns of our neighbors as we want our concerns to be heard.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 1 PM
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.
A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. Proverbs 17:3
 
Lord, am I wicked if I listen to ‘deceitful lips’ and pay attention to ‘a destructive tongue’? Am I morally responsible for the garbage on social media that I see influencing my thinking? We know that enemies are planting division among us. Give me discernment to perceive what is factual and what is merely manipulating my emotions. Give me discipline to reject deceitful and destructive posts that appear on my feed. I know this won’t be easy—you compare your testing to melting silver and gold in a furnace—but what comes out is precious and enduring. That’s what I want for my life.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 2 PM
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way. Psalm 25:8-9
 
Lord, we acknowledge that you are good and upright. We aren’t. We are sinners in need of instruction, but too proud and stubborn to listen. We don’t like to be told what to do even when it is clear that we have gotten ourselves into deep trouble. Humble us. Guide us. Teach us your way out of this mess.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 3 PM
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13
 
Lord, we can’t pretend with you. You see our hearts; you know our motives; you call us to account. We ask that you expose those who are concerned only about political expediency or personal gain, those who put out fake news and manipulate our emotions to keep us from recognizing the truth. Reveal them as hypocrites. May no one be deceived by their lies. Take the blinders from our eyes so that we see evil for what it is and have the courage to name it.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 4 PM
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7
 
Lord, we are asking for a new spirit of unity to move in this country; we are seeking solutions that work for all of us, and not just for some; we are knocking on the doors of our elected officials, asking them to pay attention to the cries of their constituents and stop shrugging their shoulders and insisting there is nothing to be done. You have promised that if we ask, we will receive; if we seek, we will find; if we knock, doors will be open. Now keep your promise and glorify your name.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 5 PM
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze. Isaiah 43:2
 
We as a nation are passing through deep floods right now. The currents are tearing us apart and sweeping us into opposing factions. The flames of violence threaten to consume our cities and destroy a generation. You, God, have promised to be with us. You never said we wouldn’t pass through the water or the fire; you only promised to be there when we do. Some of us will choose to do difficult things in the coming days. Some of us will make unpopular choices for conscience sake. Help us to take your hand and move forward with confidence that you go with us. You are the Lord our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior.
 
 
Meet at His Feet; a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, 6 PM
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21
 
Thank you, Lord, for your power that is at work within us. Thank you for what you are doing in this nation even when we find it hard to see. Glorify your name in your people! May your church shine as light in the darkness and work good in this country for generations to come. We have confidence that what you do in answer to our prayers this day will be more than we have asked, more than we have even imagined. We will give you the credit, not ourselves.
 
[The survivors of last Wednesday’s shooting are asking for a protest March for Our Lives on March 14, the one month anniversary of the Parkland shooting. Whether you choose to join them or not, let’s make that another day of fasting and prayer for our country.]