Easter has always been special to me. When I was a young girl, I would get a new dress to wear on Easter Sunday. Plus, my mother always gave me a basket overflowing with plastic eggs, chocolate bunnies, and fun little gifts.
But my fondest memory of Easter wasn’t the new dress, the basket, or the candy. It was attending our church’s sunrise service.
I loved gathering with other believers at dawn to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection. Sometimes, if the weather was warm enough, we’d have service outside. I could almost feel God’s presence as the sun peeked out over the horizon, and I felt its warmth on my face.
Easter is still one of my favorite holidays.
On Easter weekend, churches will be filled with people who don’t know the Lord. Men and women who maybe only attend two times a year, Christmas and Easter. They will be there, singing worship songs. Listening to prayers. Hearing the gospel. What a wonderful opportunity we have to partner with the purposes of God! The Lord is working all around us, and it’s vital that we intercede.
Following is a Holy Week Prayer Guide to get you started:
Monday
Unsaved members in your family; pray for the Lord to stir their hearts this week and that they would realize their need for Jesus.
Tuesday
Divine appointments to share Christ; ask God to open your eyes to see hurting people he brings across your path; ask for boldness to speak truth to others.
Wednesday
Unsaved friends; pray for opportunities to invite them to church this Sunday; ask God to break down the walls in their hearts.
Thursday
Missionaries around the world; pray for specific ones you know by name; strength and protection as they reach the lost; ask God to give them a great harvest; pray for the people groups they;re working with, that the Lord will do a mighty work and many would be saved.
Friday
Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as we reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins; that we will spend time meditating on God’s great love for us and that this time of reflection would result in thanksgiving and praise to the Lord; we will be fervent in prayer over the next three days and ready to share Christ’s truth and love with those around us.
Saturday
Your pastor and leadership team; pray for the Holy Spirit’s anointing over your pastor, that the Lord will go before him and give him the words to share; pray for the Holy Spirit to move powerfully in the Easter services.
Sunday
Unsaved men, women, and children in your community; that the lost will be found and brought into God’s kingdom; that people will respond to God’s invitation for salvation; that nothing will prevent people from going to church if the Spirit is drawing them.
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1, 3-4).
May God pour out his Spirit in powerful ways as we pray!