PRAYER REQUESTS FOR 40 DAYS OF PRAYER ACROSS PUGET SOUND for intercessors of Shoreline, WA

(In conjunction with many other local communities and prayer groups) April 30 June 8, 2014 (Pentecost Sunday) This will be our May prayer list in effect that may continue into June. BASIS OF OUR PETITIONS THIS TIME: Prayer leaders from 30 communities around Greater Seattle have taken time to interview key city leaders to prepare a prayer list more closely aligned with their responses to several questions. So we are not organizing it this time according to the SPHERES of SOCIETY, but simply arranging it in a logical sequence from our interviews. We have also added some of our own petitions at the bottom that we feel are appropriate at this time. Lets thank the Union Gospel Mission that has been used of God to bring our prayer groups and leaders together and to give oversight to this special focus of prayer seeking to answer, Whats Gods heart for the city? The essence of this prayer list can be found also on the website: www.lightupthecity.org. Through all of this we hope to get GODS HEART FOR THE CITY. KEY VERSE: JER.29:7 Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. (NASB) POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SHORELINE THAT WE SHOULD GIVE THANKS FOR:
Schools and valued children Long term residents, neighborhoods, family and community connections Safe, beautiful and friendly community, great for families Not too big for citizens to be involved in its government Great location in proximity to Seattle You do get responses to address problems These organizations were recognized by our leaders as making a difference in the city: o Hope Link o School foundations o Center for Human Services o YMCA o Neighborhood organizations o Schools and civic clubs o Ronald United Methodist Church (working to help provide affordable housing) o International Center for Health Services (new building on Aurora) PRAY that Shoreline, being the north gate to Seattle, will be a wonderful gate in every way.

CHALLENGES AND NEEDS TO BE PRAYED FOR:

Resistance to change as our community becomes more diverse Healing of divisions as the city grows Citizens need to give more grace in dealing with differences and mistakes Developing a collective consciousness is hard to do Need better health care (good health helps kids stay in schools) People are too busy to spend time in community Land use issues and the conflict it arouses between interests Need more stability among our families, as families build our community Need better communication with our citizens and other groups Need time to get leaders together Need training to help non-profits grow income and work with businesses Lack of adequate resources

We need more communications to build trust and ownership Every child need a caring adult Need to better address the growing problem of homeless students Pray to help our businesses become successful Pray for more awareness of Gods involvement today The police department would like to have more neighborhood meetings PRAY that some of these challenges will be resolved and needs met.

TOP PRIORITIES OF OUR CITY LEADERS TO BE PRAYED FOR:

Serving the city to make this a great place to live City of Shoreline goals: o Aurora project o Light rail o Sustainability o Utility unification o Safe neighborhoods Make people feel safe and reduce property crimes Success in deescalating problems with the mentally ill Help with quality of life issues Children graduating from high school need a post secondary plan Businesses focusing on the family and giving back to the community Desire to get business leaders together Support the kids in school to close the achievement gap (need intervention) Help school kids get ready for a job or career planning after graduation PRAY that city leaders will sense that progress is being made in these areas.

KEY INDICATORS THAT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE:

Lower burglaries and property crimes Higher percentage of kids graduating from high school (presently at 88%) Higher percentage of high school grads going to college (presently 71-75%) Better credit scores Less unemployment and a stable workforce Lower poverty rates Less drug use Lower rates of teenage depression Improvement on the Citizen Satisfaction Survey results (taken every two years) More employees with good work ethics Increase in contribution levels More affordable housing People having real conversations about whats going on PRAY that we can see some change in each of these areas.

GENERAL PETITIONS FROM OUR HEART:

PRAY that there will be a marked improvement in community awareness and involvement through more effective COMMUNICATION, leading to problems solved more effectively, more ownership and a good spirit. PRAY that the CHURCH will become more visible and active in blessing our community, and that our members who dont live in Shoreline will still support their congregations local outreach. You cant read the list above and not notice that from the responses of these five leaders, only one church was recognized as making a difference. Certainly we are all making a difference, but its just not on the forefront of city leaders minds yet. PRAY that we will grow in LOVE and UNITY, and that we will be seen more and more as a single body. PRAY for REVIVAL and AWAKENING. Since many of the local problems are driven by CHARACTER ISSUES, we believe that only God can effectively change our character. Revival starts with us, believers. When the Church gets revived, then the Spirits influence in the community through us brings about an AWAKENING, with many, many more people becoming followers of Christ. This will take care of lots of our problems. PRAY that we will, in the process, get a much better understanding of GODS HEART FOR THE CITY!