WEEK THREE: DRAW OUR COMMUNITY TO YOU

God told His people to seek the peace and prosperity of the place where He had placed them and to pray for it.

Our schools are a significant part of our community.

Today, pray specifically for students, teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, bus drivers, support staff, and families.

Pray for safety. Pray for wisdom. Pray for teachers who are tired before the year even begins. Pray for students who are anxious, lonely, or struggling. Pray for Christian students and educators to live their faith with courage, humility, and love.

Our schools need more than our opinions about them. They need our prayers and our faithful presence.

Reflect: Is there a specific school, student, or teacher I can commit to praying for this year?
Pray: Lord, bless and protect our schools. Give wisdom to leaders, strength to teachers, and peace and courage to students.

Families face enormous pressure.

Schedules are full. Parents are tired. Marriages can become strained. Children and students are being shaped by countless voices competing for their attention.

Today, pray for the families in our church and community.

Pray for strong marriages. Pray for single parents. Pray for grandparents raising grandchildren. Pray for foster and adoptive families. Pray for homes experiencing conflict or financial pressure. Pray for parents who are worried about their children.

Ask God to make our homes places where grace is practiced, forgiveness is offered, Scripture is valued, prayer is normal, and Jesus is first.

Reflect: What is one way I can intentionally bring Jesus into the rhythm of my home?
Pray: God, strengthen our families. Heal what is hurting, restore what is broken, and help our homes reflect Your love and grace.

Most of us know someone who has wandered away.

A son. A daughter. A friend. A spouse. Someone who once walked closely with God but has become distant.

The story Jesus told in Luke 15 reminds us of the heart of the Father. The father watched for his son, ran toward him, embraced him, and welcomed him home.

Today, pray by name for people who have walked away from God.

Do not give up praying.

You may not see what God is doing in their story. You may not know how He is working through circumstances, conversations, memories, or other people.

Keep praying. Keep loving. Keep the door open.

Reflect: Who is the person God has placed on my heart to pray for today?
Pray: Father, draw those who have wandered back to You. Bring prodigals home and help us welcome them with grace.

Jesus saw crowds differently.

Where others might have seen interruptions, problems, or strangers, Jesus saw people who were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

And He had compassion.

We can become so familiar with our routines that we stop truly seeing the people around us.

Today, ask God to open your eyes.

See the neighbor you rarely speak to. See the coworker who is struggling. See the parent sitting alone at practice. See the student who feels invisible. See the person who walks through the doors of our church uncertain whether they belong.

The harvest is plentiful.

Reflect: Who around me might God be asking me to truly see?
Pray: Jesus, give me Your eyes for people. Replace indifference with compassion and help me recognize the opportunities You place before me.

We cannot change another person’s heart.

We cannot argue someone into the kingdom of God. We cannot manufacture repentance or force faith.

But God draws people.

That truth should lead us to pray with hope.

Today, pray for people in our community who do not know Jesus. Pray for the person who has never entered a church. Pray for those who have been hurt by the church. Pray for the skeptical, the disappointed, the angry, the lonely, and the searching.

Ask God to draw them to Jesus.

Then ask God if He wants to use you as part of the answer to that prayer.

Reflect: Who are three people I can consistently pray for who need to know Jesus?
Pray: Father, draw people in our community to Jesus. Prepare hearts, open doors, and give us courage to share Your love.

God has entrusted us with the message of reconciliation.

We are Christ’s ambassadors.

That means we represent Jesus wherever we go. We carry the message that through Christ, people can be reconciled to God.

The church does not exist only for those already inside it. We have been sent into the world with good news.

Today, pray that God would use Gateway in our community. Pray for every ministry, partnership, group, volunteer, and opportunity to serve. Pray that people would experience the love of Jesus through His people.

Then pray something more personal:

God, use me.

Reflect: Am I willing to be an answer to the prayers I have been praying for my community?
Pray: Lord, use our church to bring hope and healing to our community. Use my words, my time, my gifts, and my relationships for Your purposes.

For 21 days, we have prayed and fasted together.

We have prayed for God to begin with us.

We have prayed for Him to awaken His church.

We have prayed for Him to draw our community to Jesus.

But the end of a fast is not the end of our surrender.

Paul calls us to offer our entire lives to God as living sacrifices. That means our worship continues in the way we live, love, serve, forgive, give, speak, work, and follow Jesus.

As this fast comes to an end, do not simply return to normal without asking what God wants you to carry forward.

What new rhythm needs to continue?

What distraction needs to remain in its proper place?

Whom will you continue praying for?

Where is God asking you to serve?

Who is He asking you to disciple?

How is He asking you to live differently?

These 21 days were never only about what we gave up.

They were about giving ourselves more fully to God.

Reflect: What has God shown me during these 21 days, and what will I do in response?
Pray: Lord, here we are. Our lives belong to You. Continue the work You have begun in us. Awaken Your church. Draw our community to Jesus. Use us to lead everyone to be more like Jesus. Amen.