Prayer Guide

May 3, 2024

Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you” (Mark 11:23–24).

God has called us to be people of faith and prayer. Faith is not just an idea; faith is an action. In Hebrews 11 we repeatedly see faith doing something—“By faith Noah built”; “By faith Abraham obeyed”; “By faith Moses chose.”

Howard Hendricks said, “Faith is the hand of God that turns promises into performance.” Faith takes God at His word. Perhaps in no other area of life is that more necessary than in praying. Do you really believe that your heavenly Father is listening to your every word? Is He waiting to move heaven and Earth because you ask?

There are two ways you can know if you truly believe. One way is by what you feel when you pray. If you get bored when you pray, you do not really believe that God is listening. Second, are your prayers so general that it is almost like you are daydreaming? If you do not grasp the power of believing prayer, you will pray vague prayers.



In Mark, Jesus challenges us with a monumental facet of prayer: addressing mountains. Mountains are obstacles, problems too big for you to overcome on your own, circumstances that are keeping you from the will of God. There are times when God calls us to talk to Him about mountains, and there are times when God calls us to talk to the mountains about God. Faith declares to the mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea” (Mark 11:23).

As you pray today (and in the days to come), talk to God about mountains that you and others face. And when you have faith, talk to the mountain about God.

Pray for Pastor Steve

Pray for God’s healing

• “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are my praise.” Jeremiah 17:14
• “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me.” Psalm 30:1–2

Pray we will be a catalyst for spiritual awakening in Memphis and beyond

• Pray God will revive His people. “Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6).
• Pray we will walk in the fear of God and in faith that God will respond to believing prayer. “LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear. O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).
• Pray God will both revive present leaders and raise up new spiritual leaders, men and women who know that the living God is the only answer. “Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. Then we shall not turn back from You; revive us, and we will call upon Your name. O LORD God of hosts, restore us; cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved” (Psalm 80:17–19).

Pray for revival and renewal in our churches

Pray for God’s people to live in holiness so we might experience the blessing and protection that God alone can give

Pray demonic strongholds will be broken

In the prayer for Memphis that we include in the prayer guide every month, we specifically pray these words: “Demolish every stronghold of pride, violence, racism, poverty, crime, sexual immorality, drug abuse, sickness, religious formalism, fanaticism, legalism, liberalism, and traditionalism.” Strongholds are developed in lives, families, churches, and cultures where the truth of God is ignored or rebelled against and sin is not forsaken.

• Pray we will realize that problems and the solutions to what we face are spiritual. Drugs, violence, poverty, pornography, and intolerance all have their root in rebelling against God. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV).
• Pray we will engage in spiritual warfare. Resisting the enemy does not mean to ignore him. Resisting the enemy means to stand against him. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:7–8).
• Pray we will clothe ourselves with the armor of God. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:13–17).

Prayer for America

By Pastor Steve Gaines

Let us pray for America on this day after the National Day of Prayer.

Heavenly Father, I lift up to You the United States of America. I humbly ask You to open the heavens that You might come down and send revival to the Christians in America so our nation will turn back to You. I pray You will raise up prayer warriors across America who will fervently call on Your name and seek Your face for an outpouring of Your Spirit. I pray you will raise up pastors who will preach the Word of God with conviction and without compromise. I pray You will raise up soul winners who will share Jesus and lead people to faith in Him. I pray You will raise up disciple makers who will help new believers grow in grace and become more like Jesus. I pray for godly politicians, from the President to every mayor, who will love Jesus and uphold His Word. I pray for godly judges who will rule in righteousness. I pray You will bind Satan from dividing our nation with racial prejudice. I pray whites, Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and others will understand there is really only one race—the human race. Please forgive us for abortion, homosexual “marriage,” sexual immorality, racial prejudice, greed, and prayerlessness. Help every Christian be humble in spirit, hungry for revival, and holy in thought and deed. We pray and agree with the psalmist—“Will You not Yourself revive us again, that your people may rejoice in You?” (Psalm 85:6). In Jesus’ holy name, amen.

Pray for Memphis

Heavenly Father, thank You for Memphis. Thank You for strategically locating our city in the middle of this nation so we can be a catalyst for revival and spiritual awakening. Please pour out Your Spirit on Memphis, Shelby County, the Mid-South, and beyond. Help every Christian and every Bible-believing, Jesus-loving, Gospel-preaching church to love God, love people, share Jesus, and make disciples. Demolish every demonic stronghold of pride, violence, racism, poverty, crime, sexual immorality, drug abuse, sickness, religious formalism, fanaticism, legalism, liberalism, and traditionalism. Replace those with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, blessing, mercy, grace, hope, healing, liberty, and freedom. Destroy the stronghold of religion in Memphis that has a form of godliness but denies the power thereof. Give us churches that believe in the Bible and preach salvation only in Jesus Christ. Let Your Kingdom come and Your will be done in Memphis on Earth as it is in Heaven. Bring pastors, lay leaders, and congregations together as we pray for this city. Bless our governmental leaders, schools, and economy. Please send good jobs to Memphis. Keep casinos, strip clubs, and occult activity out of Memphis. Do a work of revival in Memphis that can only be explained by Your presence and power, and do it all for Your glory. Call Your people to fervent, united, visible, extraordinary prayer. May the latter glory of Your Kingdom in Memphis be greater than the former, and please grant Memphis Your peace. Do exceedingly and abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Pray for government officials

We have been commanded to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:2).

President of the United States:
Joe Biden

Vice President of the United States:
Kamala Harris

Supreme Court Justices:
John G. Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States
Clarence Thomas
Samuel A. Alito
Sonia Sotomayer
Elena Kagan
Neil M. Gorsuch
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Amy Coney Barrett
Ketanji Brown Jackson

Governor of Tennessee:
Bill Lee

Tennessee Senators:
Marsha Blackburn
Bill Hagerty

West Tennessee Congressmen:
Steve Cohen
David Kustoff

Memphis/Shelby County Elected Officials

City Council:

Shelby County Commissioners: