Ann Graham Lotz Prayer for First Day of Nine Days of Prayer and Fasting

Anne Graham Lotz has issued a call to prayer and fasting for our nation to come back to God, before He sends judgment upon us for denying Him and His teachings.

Here is an excerpt from her email received this morning explaining why she is being led to ask Christians to pray. Below this excerpt is a prayer for today’s prayer. Please join her  in asking God for forgiveness and healing, for ourselves and for our country.

Early this Spring, in my devotional reading from 1 Timothy 2:8, God clearly confirmed to me this initiative when He said, I want men [people] everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer… I am deeply convinced that now is the time to pray.

It was only as I began to write the prayers that I was led into the theme and the pattern for them, which is what I want to share with you.  The theme is taken from our Lord’s own prayer in John 17:11 when He intercedes for us: Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name… Each prayer is centered on one of God’s names.¹ Each day, I will give the name in the header, along with the Scripture verse where it can be found.

The nine days are divided into three sets of prayers.  The first two sets, or the first six days, will prepare you for the last three days.  The pattern of the prayers is as follows:

• Days one through three – praise and worship

• Days four through six – confession and repentance for our own sin, the sin of the church, and for the sin of our nation

• Day seven – spiritual warfare

• Days eight and nine – intercession for our nation, then the church, and lastly for ourselves

Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name…¹

ELOHIM:  THE STRONG ONE
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…²

We worship You, great God of Creation, as Elohim, the Strong One. You were in the beginning. You will be at The End. You always have been and You always will be. You are the Creator who brings forth something out of nothing, who formed man from dust, who turns darkness into light, who makes the world turn, who sustains all things by Your powerful word.³

When the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing…
When the rulers take a stand and gather together against the Lord…⁴
When the earth gives way…
When the mountains fall into the midst of the sea…
When the waters roar and foam…
When nations are in uproar and kingdoms fall…⁵
When everything that is familiar unravels,
You are the Rock on which we stand!
You are our Stronghold.
We take refuge in You.⁶

We worship You alone.
As we plunge into spiritual and moral darkness, You are our Light.
As political, social, racial, financial, and environmental storms break out all around us, You are our Anchor.
As we face terrorism’s threat and vows of annihilation from our enemies, You are our Shield.
When there are wars and rumors of wars—when nations rise against nations and there is rioting in our streets, You are our Peace.
In our weakness, You are our Strength.
As we grieve over lost freedoms and lost futures and lost values and lost loved ones, You are our Comfort.
In our despair over our lack of moral leadership, You are our Hope.
In our confusion when truth is spun and exchanged for a lie, You are our Wisdom.
In these days of desperation and confusion, we look to You, and You alone.

I look to You as _________________

O God our Help in ages past,
This is not just a distress call for prayer. This is a distress call to You!
For one hour each day for nine days we choose to turn away from everything else and seek Your face. We turn to You—run to You—cling to You—hide in You.

We believe You will hear and answer our distress call because…
…We come to You in the name of the One by whom “all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”⁷
…We come to You in the name of the Creator who became our Savior and who has ascended into Heaven to sit at Your right hand, with all authority placed under His feet.⁸
…We come to You humbly, yet boldly, because we have been invited to come.⁹
…We come to You with confidence because the way has been opened for us by the blood of Your Son who sits at Your right hand, who is in authority over all.¹⁰
…We come to You with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith that You will receive us, You will listen to us, and You will answer us.¹¹

I come to You_________

Hear our prayers as we come to You in the name of Jesus.

For the glory of Your name.
Amen.