Forty days prior to the national elections we sent out this prayer guide and call to prayer for our nation:
The United States is at a crossroad where right and wrong have been skewed and religious freedom and biblical values are hanging in the balance. Where does our nation stand on important issues that affect us today? Christians of every denomination are recognizing the serious moral and spiritual decay that is overtaking our land. This isn’t your usual invitation to “pray for the elections”, this is a call for ernest, fervent prayer and fasting. It’s not too late, we can make a difference. Won’t you join this holy cause and set aside the 40 days prior to the November 6th elections to pray, fast and cry out to the Lord on behalf of our nation? It’s time to lift up our voices in prayer and be heard by the Lord and influence the world.
A note about fasting: Fasting is a powerful tool that can transform lives, set captives free, bring revival and change the direction of our nation. Not everyone is called to a prolonged water and juice fast, a partial fast is also very effective. Ask the Lord what fast he has chosen for you, and check with your doctor before starting any fast.
Standing guard with you,
Judy Sullivan
About the author: For over 30 years Judy has trained intercessors and led prayer efforts across the United States. Her continuing focus is to raise up and equip prayer teams to shift the culture of a state and make a way for the end time harvest. In her role as Vice President and Director of Intercession for Sozo Services, Judy also intercedes for marketplace leaders.
40 Day Prayer Guide
This prayer guide is divided into topics followed by daily scriptures that will give direction and focus to our prayers. Choose a time and place that works with your lifestyle to be with the Lord in prayer every day. Then remember to keep your appointment with Him for the next 40 days. If you do your part, He will do His!
Repent – From the first steps of faith to the final moments of life, we maintain a pure and holy life by repenting for participation in actions that separate us from the love of the Father. Repentance starts by removing the plank from our own eye before removing the speck in our brother’s eye (Luke 6:42). We would do well to check the level of oil in our lamps daily to be sure our candles are burning brightly. (see Rev 2:5 below).
Day 1 – Revelation 2:5, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place – unless you repent.”
Day 2 – 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
Forgive – In the battle against good and evil, one weapon prevails over all the lies, sin and corruption in this world. The power of three simple words, “I forgive you”, can disarm the mightiest foe. When we forgive we dismantle strongholds of anger, bitterness and hatred. Once these strongholds are removed, love can take over and we will have the keys to set the captives free.
Day 3 – Matthew 6:14,15 – “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Day 4 – Colossians 3:12&13, ” Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
Day 5 – Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”
Bless – To be blessed means to be favored by God. So when we bless someone, we are saying, “May you be favored by God”. Pray blessings over your family and loved ones, speak blessings over your city, declare blessings over people in authority. Bless and do not curse (Rom 12:14).
Day 6 – Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”
Day 7 – Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
Day 8 – Psalm 41:1-2, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; you will sustain him on his bed of illness; you will sustain him on his sickbed.”
Day 9 – Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Love – One word, “love”, is the sum total of all things good. God IS love. He perfects love in us and it is completed as we love one another (Mark 12:30 & 31). That’s our purpose in life! Do you want to be a world changer? Ask the Father to give you His love for mankind. You will be completely changed and you will have the ability to completely change your world.
Day 10 – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Day 11 – 1 Peter 4:8, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
Day 12 – 1 John 4:18&19, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
Day 13 – John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Day 14 – The world longs for it, people kill for it, sin is rampant because of it, or the lack of it. But to Christians, it is a gift freely received and to be freely given. Extend peace everywhere you go. Pray for peace at the office, in your home, in your church, in your neighborhoods and you will rattle the very gates of hell.
Day 15 – James 3:17, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
Day 16 – John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Day 17- Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Contend – We must remember that our battle is not with people, we are contending with rulers and principalities, evil forces that have stolen what rightfully belongs to us. We must contend for what is ours. God fearing people who sit back and do nothing will only reap greater loss.
Day 18 – Jude 1:3, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
Day 19 – Psalm 35:1,”Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation.”
Day 20 – Isaiah 49:25, “But thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will save your children.”
Run the race – Hidden strength is discovered by those who run. Through training and discipline, they learn to push past the wall of exhaustion and the desire to give up. Against great physical and mental challenges they discover a will to win that, for a select few, will land them in the winner’s circle. That’s the comparison the Lord is giving us through these scriptures. We have within us the ability to win the race and take it all for King and Kingdom, but it will take great discipline and mountain moving faith (Matthew 17:20).
Day 21 – Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Day 22 – 1 Corinthians 9:24 & 25, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”
Day 23 – Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.”
Day 24 – 2 Timothy 4:7 & 8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Take a stand – There comes a time when evil has had its day and good people finally say, I’ve had enough. When we arrive at the place when fear no longer controls our decisions or interferes with the Holy Spirit’s call to fight for what is right, we will finally take a stand. That’s when we draw a line in the sand and say to all that is evil, “No more, you shall not cross this line”.
Day 25 – Ephesians 6:13 & 14, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore…”
Day 26 – 1 Corinthians 16:13, ” Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
Day 27 – 2 Samuel 10:12, “Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The LORD will do what is good in his sight.”
Day 28 – Hebrews 11:32 & 33, “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions.”
Day 29 – Nehemiah 4:14 – “And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.'”
Day 30 – Deut: 31:6, “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Day 31 – Exodus 14:13, “And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.'”
God’s Change Agents – Some people are born to be change agents, they come into the Faith understanding that we are in a contest between good and evil and they fearlessly defend the truth. Others are emerging quietly with solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. These are God’s secret change agents and they are beginning to come into view now. They are the Moseses, Davids and Joshuas of our time. Look for them, pray for them and when possible join their cause.
Day 32 – Exodus 5:1, “Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let my people go…'”
Day 33 – Matthew 16:19, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Day 34 – Mark 16:15 & 16, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
Day 35 – 1 Samuel 17:45, “Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a a spear, and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts …”
Day 36 Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Day 37 – Jonah 3:1 – 2, “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you’. So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.”
Day 38 – 1 Thessalonians 5:5 – 8, “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.”
Take it back! – When David returned to Ziklag and saw that all that belonged to him and his army had been burned or taken captive they wept until there was no more power to weep. Then David strengthened himself in the Lord, inquired of Him, and set out in pursuit to overtake and recover all that had been stolen (1 Samuel 30). That is the biblical strategy for recovering our godly heritage, religious freedoms and moral foundations that once defined our nation.
Day 39 – 1 Samuel 30:8, “So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?” and He answered him, “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
Day 40 – 1 Samuel 30: 18 – 19, “So David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away… And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they and taken from them; David recovered all.”
For over 30 years Judy has trained intercessors and led prayer efforts across the United States. Her continuing focus is to raise up and equip prayer teams to shift the culture of the nation and make a way for the end time harvest. She co-founded a ministry in the early 80’s and taught principles of spiritual warfare and pioneered prayer walking efforts. She and her late husband organized and led community-wide concerts of prayer, youth prayer breakfasts and early morning prayer watches which resulted in dramatic changes in their city and many people turning their hearts to the Lord.