***Please note – at this point, we have prayed for each House and Senate district in Tennessee. On Friday, we will begin to pray through the districts for the second time.***

Thursday, June 28. Day 33 of 67 Days of Prayer

Today we are praying for the following districts:

• Tennessee State House District 97 – currently represented by Jim Coley
• Tennessee State House District 98 – currently represented by Antonio Parkinson
• Tennessee State House District 98 – currently represented by Ron Lollar
• Tennessee State Senate District 33 – currently represented by Reginald Tate

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Proverbs 29.18 KJV

I recently drove through Meridian, MS. On a whim, I drove downtown looking for a place to eat and soon drove by a courthouse that looked like it had seen better days. There were monuments on the grounds and I was curious to see what I could find. Prominently displayed above the main entrance were two scripture verses. One was high overhead, and the other immediately over the door.

The first verse was straight out of the New Testament – words from Christ: “WHATSOEVER A MAN SOWETH THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP.”

The second verse was the 9th Commandment (Exodus 20.16): “YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.”

The builders of this courthouse – whatever flaws they may have had – recognized one thing: that our judicial system was founded on scripture. It was refreshing to see these words on a courthouse, far from Tennessee.

In Shelby County, we have fallen far away from the Lord. Your house might be serving the Lord. You’re probably doing a better job of it than I am. You may be doing a better job serving the Lord than even the best of our elected officials.

One thing is certain: even with the kindest analysis of Shelby County, there is no clear vision. Many of our youth grow up with zero aim. We have leaders who in many cases perpetuate problems to ensure their voter base – built on identity politics – stay with them.

Without the word of God in our schools, our children are being raised with a moral standard that changes more frequently than the paint on the walls in our schools’ cafeterias.

Zero vision. Much breaking of the law. Unhappy people.

Lord, please – send us vision. Help us to love Your law.

Our call to Prayer

⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6.9-13

 

A Prayer for Day 33of 67 Days of Prayer

Lord, Your name is known in Shelby County. Your name has been known here for generations, and yet we have seen generations rise up that increasingly don’t know you.  Thank You for the strong Christian heritage You have given to Your people in these areas. We ask that You would remember the cries of Your people, and that You would visit us again once more. 

Father, may your will be done in these districts. May your will be done in Shelby County. Help us to understand that this starts in our homes, and from this understanding, help us to desire to seek Your face. 

Lord, we ask that you would make us a people who keep the law. We ask that you would make those in authority law-keepers and visionaries. Please, father, give us wise, Christian leaders, scrupulous followers of You.

Once more we ask: Father, would You cause a spirit of prayer to well up within the citizenry of Tennessee? Would You cause our state to once more seek Your face? Would you cause us to seek Your will as we vote – but not just in voting Lord, but in our daily lives? Would You move on our hearts and make our homes places of spiritual accountability?

Amen.

Please click here to download a printable guide of when to pray for each district. Please feel free to email this to other praying Christians, to insert this in your church bulletin, or to post it on your church bulletin board. Make sure you put a copy on your refrigerator or in another prominent place in your home. This guide may be freely reproduced as long as it is not modified.