20 Day Prayer Guide
LMBC Prayer Guide
This was written for the church where I pastor. I do however believe that it would bless you to read and pray through it as well. I would ask that you partner with us in praying that God would reach people where I minister in Liberty County Florida.
Introduction
In the next few weeks, we have some major outreaches planned. We will host a community Easter Cookout on the Saturday before Easter, hold a Women’s Gathering a few weeks later, and conclude the month with our annual community outreach, Love Liberty County. Having these events on the calendar is exciting, and all the work already poured into them is important. Yet we know that without the work of the Holy Spirit and a move of God, all our efforts are in vain. I encourage our members to take up the challenge and pray fervently for God to move. For those who are not members, I humbly invite you to join us in prayer, asking God to work in Liberty County.
How to Use This Prayer Guide
Each devotion contains a scripture, a brief devotion, and a prayer to guide you. There are 20 days of devotions intended to be read Monday through Friday starting Monday March 30th and then concluding on Friday April 24th.
Events to Pray and Prepare For
April 4th Eggstravaganza at LMBC Easter Cookout
April 5th Easter Sunrise Service/Easter Morning Worship
April 11th Woven Together
April 24th Love Liberty County Student Dodgeball Tournament
April 25th Love Liberty County Free Yard Sale
April 26th Love Liberty County First Responder Appreciation Breakfast and Service
Day 1 – Holy Monday
Read: Mark 11:17
And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
On Monday, Jesus cursed the fig tree, cleansed the temple, and declared that the temple should be a house of prayer. He was fulfilling the role of a prophet, showing how far the people had fallen from God’s design. As believers today, it is easy to fall into religious traditions and miss the heart of what God desires for us. We are not called simply to know God, but to be a people devoted to prayer. In cleansing the temple, Jesus revealed God’s heart for all people to be reconciled to Him. By the end of the week, the veil would be torn—no longer would a relationship with God depend on human mediators, but through Christ, anyone can come to Him.
Pray
Lord, help us recover Jesus’ heart for prayer and people, and move in a powerful way during our Easter services and community outreach this weekend.
Day 2 – Holy Tuesday
Read: Matthew 22:37–39
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
On Tuesday, Jesus confronted the Pharisees and religious leaders in the temple. He taught that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. He summarized the Law in this teaching. The law was not about making God happy with us but rather to express who God is by our actions. God desires us to show love in all that we do. Our love is the ultimate test of our obedience to God. If we lack love, we are not obeying God.
Pray
Lord, let our faith be alive and fruitful, and prepare hearts in our community to respond to the message of Christ during our Easter events.
Day 3 – Spy Wednesday
Read: Matthew 26:14-16
Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
On Wednesday, Jesus was betrayed by Judas. Judas walked with Jesus for three years, witnessed miracles, and heard His teaching—but he did not understand or believe the gospel. Your closeness to Christianity or involvement in church does not guarantee that you grasp or embrace the truth. Judas missed the heart of God’s message. Jesus was patient, kind, and loving ultimately to Judas even though he knew exactly where the story was going to end. Let us love like Jesus even those who ultimately reject us. Let us not deceive ourselves like Judas and know that our love is the ultimate test of our faith.
Pray
Lord, help us walk faithfully with you, understanding and embracing your truth, and guide us as we share the gospel with those attending our Easter outreach.
Day 4 – Maundy Thursday
Read: Luke 22:42
saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
On Thursday, Jesus gathered with His disciples for the Passover meal and instituted the Lord’s Supper. Later, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before His arrest, knowing the full weight of what He faced. “Not my will, but Yours, be done.” In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that love does not seek its own. Jesus perfectly embodied this, submitting His will to the Father and taking on the wrath of God for our sake.
Pray
Lord, help us follow Jesus’ example, laying down our own will to serve others in love, especially as we prepare to serve in our upcoming outreach events.
Day 5 – Good Friday
Read: Matthew 27:50–51
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Jesus went to the cross willingly and bore the full weight of human sin and suffering. When He breathed His last, the veil separating humanity from God was torn from top to bottom. We now have direct access to God through Christ’s death. Not only is the veil removed, but the dividing wall between us and others is broken. Through Christ, all can be redeemed and brought near to God.
Pray
Lord, let the message of the cross resonate in hearts this weekend, and prepare our Easter Cookout and services to be times of salvation and encounter with you.
Bonus – Holy Saturday
Read: Luke 23:53–54
Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.
Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb. His body rested while His spirit went to paradise. He accomplished the greatest work of all—the redemption of creation. In Genesis, God rested on the seventh day; Jesus, on the seventh day of Holy Week, rested in the tomb, fulfilling the Sabbath for us and completing the work required for our salvation.
Pray
Lord, help us rest in Christ’s finished work, and empower our hearts to love and serve those attending our Easter outreach.
Day 6- April 6th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4a
Love is patient
Love is the greatest gift given to us, and in 1 Corinthians 13 we find the description of what love looks like. The greatest example of love is that of Jesus Christ. To love is to be patient. Christ, in everything that He did, was a perfect example of patience. He was not short-tempered; He was instead long-suffering. His divine nature and holiness made being in the presence of sin torturous. Yet in all the accounts of His life and ministry, He responded to the fallen world around Him with patience and love. He healed, revealed Himself, He fellowshipped, and He showed love.
Pray
Lord, give us patience in ministry and outreach, and help our Easter services bear fruit for your kingdom.
Day 7- April 7th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4b
Love is patient and kind
While the idea of kindness in our day and age seems trite and childish, it is only seen so because we have belittled the great truth of the kindness of God and Jesus toward us. He is kind to us in the common grace that everyone receives. Every moment that we draw breath is a gift given out of kindness and love. He was ultimately kind to us in the great grace received at the cross. The gift of our salvation, that we are reconciled with God and have been adopted into the family of the king. It was a joy for Him to meet our needs in love. He sought not just to do so with indifference, but with joy and affection that draws us closer to Him.
Pray
Lord, let your kindness flow through us as we serve in our Love Liberty County Dodgeball tournament, helping students experience your love.
Day 8- April 8th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:4c–5a
it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
Jesus as he walked this earth was never arrogant or rude. He spoke the truth in love. He was kind and compassionate. When others stopped or interrupted his ministry, he was never mean spirited but responded with grace in the moment. God’s love works in humility and grace, seeking the good of others above self. As we prepare to serve at our upcoming Free Yard Sale, we must remember that love seeks the well-being of all people who come, regardless of background or need.
Pray
Lord, remove pride and selfishness from our hearts, teach us humility, and guide us to serve everyone who comes to our yard sale with genuine love.
Day 9- April 9th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:6
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
If we are to love our neighbor, we cannot do so by celebrating falsehood. We must acknowledge the truth of where they stand with God. We must acknowledge that it is only through Christ that they can be saved. We must not rejoice in false gospels that do not bring men and women to Christ. Love means speaking the truth in love. It means being willing to give that person the good news that Jesus made a way for them to be forgiven of their sins. Jesus did not affirm the woman at the well and say that everything was okay; He did not ignore the rich young ruler’s love of money, and He did not ignore the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, but instead spoke the truth in love, no matter the cost.
Pray
Lord, give us boldness to speak the truth in love and faithfulness to proclaim the gospel to everyone we encounter at our Free Yard Sale and beyond.
Day 10- April 10th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love carries burdens and endures on behalf of its object. Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” As believers living in a fallen world among fallen people, we are called to love by bearing their burdens, by believing that God is not finished with them, by hoping in the promises of God for His people, and by enduring suffering to see God’s promises brought to fruition.
Pray
Lord, strengthen us to bear burdens, remain hopeful, and endure in love for others, especially as we plan and execute our Appreciation Service for first responders.
Day 11 – April 13th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8
Love never ends.
When we show someone genuine love, we are etching a reality into eternity. True love is not something that fades or tarnishes, but an act of genuine love will have eternal ramifications. Jesus said in Matthew 24 that even the smallest act done in His name matters eternally. An act of simple love, connected to the truth of the gospel and done in the name of Jesus, is an eternal act. It will bear fruit and rewards for all of eternity, and on this side of heaven it enables us to see God more clearly and more beautifully.
Pray
Lord, help us to love in ways that have eternal impact and reflect your heart, and guide our efforts to genuinely love and serve those attending our student events.
Day 12- April 14th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:8b–10
As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When Christ returns, all the business of the church will pass away, but the worship of God and the love of the saints will endure forever. As John Piper writes, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” The work of the church will one day pass away, but the worship, adoration, and love of God will extend into infinite glory. We must share this love with our fellow believers and our neighbors, because our God is worthy of the love and affection of every human who has ever been created.
Pray
Lord, use us to spread your love in all our outreach efforts so that more people may worship you forever.
Day 13- April 15th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
The full maturity of a Christian is found not in their spiritual gifts, but in their capacity to love God, love their brothers and sisters in Christ, and love their lost neighbor. Putting away childish things does not mean we are to put away joy, but that we are to pursue true biblical maturity and live as God has called us. He created us to love Him and to love those made in His image.
Pray
Father, grow us into maturity marked by genuine love, and help us demonstrate that love in every outreach event.
Day 14- April 16th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
We now see in a mirror dimly. Like looking into a fogged mirror, we can make out the image but not the full clarity. In this fallen world, our vision is limited, but the closer we draw to God, the more clearly, we begin to see. The love of God is found in that we are fully known and fully loved by Him. One day, we will see Him clearly and know Him fully. We not only see God through a mirror dimly, but also our fellow man. As C.S. Lewis puts it there are “no ordinary people… but immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.” We shall one day see each other for who we truly are. We shall be truly known and be safe in the arms of our redeemer and perfecter.
Pray
Lord, help us trust you now and long for the day we will see You clearly, and guide us to serve with clarity and purpose in all of our upcoming outreaches.
Day 15- April 17th
Read: 1 Corinthians 13:13
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
This sentiment goes far beyond the coffee cup verse that it appears to be. Faith is eternal. Hope is eternal. Love is eternal. Faith secures us for all of eternity to the greatest reality. Faith leads us deeper and deeper into a relationship with God. Hope believes that God has something better and better for us each day. Yet love is the greatest of these. Love is the affection of God directed to us and directed through us and etches deeper and deeper glory into the reality of the world.
Pray
God, make love the defining mark of our lives as we follow you, and empower our community outreach to be a true reflection of your love.
Day 16- April 20th
Read: 1 John 3:16–17
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
The ultimate example of love is found in remembering that Christ laid down His life for us. This means that we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we have been given the Holy Spirit and are united with the Creator of the universe, if we have felt the joy of knowing that Jesus loved us in His sacrifice, if the Father willingly sent His Son to save us, why would we not be willing to sacrifice our small trifles to see our brothers and sisters thrive? Why would we not bring the good news to our lost neighbors?
Pray
Lord, move us to live sacrificially and to love others with the same love you have shown us, especially as we engage in Love Liberty County this month.
Day 17- April 21st
Read: 1 John 4:7–8
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God is love. The fullness and fountain of the greatest reality in this world flows from Him into our hearts as believers in Jesus. If we profess that Christ has redeemed us and that we now have a relationship with this God of all the universe, how could we not have a new love in our hearts? Love is the fulfillment of the law. Love is the full reflection of who God is, and we were created in His image to reflect this love to all of creation.
Pray
Father, let your love fill our hearts and overflow into the lives of those around us, especially in our student dodgeball tournament, that every student experiences genuine love and care.
Day 18- April 22nd
Read: 1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. That is a large theological word that means He took the wrath of God that we deserved. We deserved to be separated from God for all of eternity. Yet in the greatest act of love, He gave His life and took our place on the cross. If this is what love is and what love has done for us, how can we fail to love our neighbor in our much smaller sacrifices? How can we neglect to love and worship Him with our time, our resources, and our lives?
Pray
Lord, deepen our understanding of your love and lead us to respond with wholehearted devotion, helping us serve with joy and patience at our Free Yard Sale.
Day 19-April 23rd
Read: 1 John 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
This is simple and clear: if we have been loved, we ought to love. We are called to take the gift we have received and pass it on to others. God blesses us to be a blessing, and in doing so, we experience even greater joy. Love is not complete until it is shared. The love of God came to us so that it might flow through us to others.
Pray
God, help us to freely give the love we have received, blessing our first responders and community as we honor them in our Appreciation Service.
Day 20- April 24th
Read: 1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
We have seen the image of God in the person of Jesus, but we have not yet fully seen Him in all His glory. When we love, we do more than see Him—we experience His abiding presence in us. His love is being perfected in us, transforming us from the inside out. It began at the cross, came to us through faith, and now finds its expression as we love one another.
Pray
Lord, let your love be perfected in us as we live it out toward others, that every outreach, event, and ministry effort would be fruitful and glorifying to you.