Jesus told us the greatest command is to “Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30). In other words, we are to love God with our head, heart, and hands. The following prayers reveal our earnest desire and hope for our body with regard to this command.
Head
Romans 12:2 tells us that transformation comes as we renew our minds. We desire for our church body to submit our minds to the Lordship of Jesus: setting them on what is worthy, true, and pure.
- Pray that the Spirit would give us discernment to sift through our thoughts and know what is from God and what is not (1 Cor. 2:14-16).
- Pray for healing from damage done as a result of following the world’s way of thinking (Col. 2:8).
- Pray that we would not be influenced by the world, our flesh, or the Enemy’s attempts to control the way we think (Eph. 2:2-3), but that we would dwell on God and allow Him to shape our thinking (Phil. 4:8).
- Pray that the Spirit would reveal thoughts that would damage our intimacy with God and enable us to take those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).
- Pray that we would be reminded daily of God’s love and the beauty of Christ (Heb. 3:1).
Heart
Proverb 4:23 implores us, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Pray that we would be diligent to build a fence around our hearts so that only the things of God enter.
- Pray that the Spirit would reveal the temptations that lure our hearts away from God and give us the courage to confess and flee from those temptations (James 4:7-8, 2 Tim. 2:22).
- Pray that we would have the strength to rid our behavior of unhealthy habits and replace them with spiritual disciplines that help mature our devotion to Christ (Heb. 6:1).
- Pray that the Spirit would give us a desire to pursue the Lord daily and inform our hearts with the truth of His Word as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33).
- Pray that our hearts would be increasingly filled with the fruit of the Spirit so that helpful, life-giving words would overflow from our mouths, building others up in Christ (Gal. 5:22, Matt. 12:34 and Eph. 4:29).
Hands
Romans 12:3-8 exhorts believers to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ. We desire for each person at Watermark to be fully deployed within
the Church—using his or her gifts to the fullest extent God intends. We believe saved people will serve people.
- Pray for humility among our members rather than pride concerning the gifts God has uniquely given each person (Rom. 12:3).
- Pray for willingness and faithfulness to take opportunities to use the gifts God has entrusted to us for His glory alone (Rom. 12:4-8).
- Pray for unity among the body and that no gift would be considered less important. Rather, pray that each gift would be celebrated and used to love and serve the church (1 Cor. 12:4-26,
Eph. 4:7-16). - Pray for the individuals hoping to find a place to serve within Watermark. Pray they would be patient, trusting, and humble as God is orchestrating where He would like for him or her to serve (Gal. 5:22-26).
- Pray we would seek God first before agreeing to serve, trusting that God has created beforehand the works He wants us to do (Eph. 2:10).
- Pray our service would be the result of an overflow of a renewed mind (Rom. 12:1-2) and a pure heart (Matt. 6:33).
- Pray that those who are faithfully serving would do so with joyful hearts and not grow weary in doing good (Gal. 6:9).