Prayer points with Scriptures · 20 points
Prayer Points for the Month of January
These prayer points for the month of January are for anyone who wants to begin the year on their knees: individuals, families, prayer meetings and churches, many of which open January with a season of prayer and fasting. They cover seeking God first, prayer and fasting, a fresh devotion to God’s Word, plans and habits surrendered to Him, and the worth of every human life. Every point pairs a Bible verse with a short prayer drawn from it.
Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19 (BSB)
Pray one section a week through January, or one point a day. In a fasting season, pray a point at the hour you would usually eat. When a prayer group meets, let one person read the verse, pray the short prayer together, then leave a few minutes for open prayer before moving on. Come back to the plans section when February arrives.
Seeking God first
1His kingdom before everything else
Father, before the calendar fills up, we choose to seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. You know every need we carry into this month. Keep our worries in their place, and let our first thoughts each day be of You.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 (BSB) · Pray this verse →2A heart that seeks His face
LORD, our hearts tell us to seek Your face, and we answer that we will. Not only Your help or Your gifts, but You. Draw us near in these first weeks of the year, and keep us near when the newness wears off.
My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.
Psalm 27:8 (BSB) · Pray this verse →3His love heard in the morning
Lord, let us hear of Your loving devotion in the morning, before the news and the inbox. We have put our trust in You. Teach us the way we should walk this January, for to You we lift up our souls.
Let me hear Your loving devotion in the morning, for I have put my trust in You. Teach me the way I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul.
Psalm 143:8 (BSB) · Pray this verse →4New creations, not just new resolutions
Lord Jesus, a new year cannot make us new, but You can. Thank You that anyone in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed away. When we are tempted back toward old sins and old shame, remind us who we are in You.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (BSB)
Prayer and fasting
5Living on every word from God
Lord Jesus, when You were hungry in the wilderness, You answered with Scripture: we do not live on bread alone. As we fast this month, let every hunger pang send us to Your word and to prayer, not to irritation or pride.
But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4 (BSB)6Weeping and praying like Nehemiah
God of heaven, when Nehemiah heard that Jerusalem’s wall was broken down, he sat down and wept, fasting and praying for days. Break our hearts over what breaks Yours: the broken walls in our families, our church and our city. Then show us what to rebuild.
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:4 (BSB)7Heard from the first day
Father, Daniel’s words were heard from the first day he set his heart to understand and to humble himself before You. Give us humble, teachable hearts as we pray and fast, and patience when Your answers take longer than we hoped.
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
Daniel 10:12 (BSB)8The fast God has chosen
Lord, keep our fasting from being only about food. Let it break chains and lift burdens. Help us share our bread with the hungry, open our homes to those with nowhere to go, and never turn away from our own families this winter.
Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke? Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your home, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Isaiah 58:6-7 (BSB)
A fresh devotion to the Word
9Searching the Scriptures every day
Lord, as many of us start a Bible reading plan this January, give us the eagerness of the Bereans, who examined the Scriptures every day. When the reading gets hard and the weeks get busy, keep us opening Your word.
Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.
Acts 17:11 (BSB)10From duty to delight
LORD, the psalmist loved Your law and thought about it all day long. Turn our Bible reading from a duty into a delight, so that a verse from the morning keeps coming back to us at work, in the car and before we sleep.
Oh, how I love Your law! All day long it is my meditation.
Psalm 119:97 (BSB)11Hearers who become doers
God, You told Joshua to keep Your book on his lips and meditate on it day and night, so that he would do everything written in it. Help us not only to read Your word but to obey it, in the small choices of ordinary days.
This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
Joshua 1:8 (BSB)12Your words, our joy
LORD God of Hosts, when Jeremiah found Your words, he took them in, and they became his joy and his heart’s delight. Give us that appetite for Scripture this year. We bear Your name; let Your word fill us.
Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16 (BSB)
Plans, goals and habits
13Trusting Him more than our planning
LORD, we have goals for this year, but we choose to trust You with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways we acknowledge You. Make our paths straight, even where we cannot yet see the road.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (BSB) · Pray this verse →14He determines our steps
Lord, our hearts plan our course, but You determine our steps. Write what You want on our calendars, and give us grace when You change our plans. Keep us from holding any goal more tightly than we hold You.
A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
Proverbs 16:9 (BSB)15Counting the cost wisely
Lord Jesus, You said a wise builder sits down first and counts the cost. As we set budgets and make plans this month, give us honest numbers, contentment with what You have given, and the self-control to finish what we start.
Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it?
Luke 14:28 (BSB)16Training for godliness
Father, many of us start new routines for our bodies in January. Physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way. Help us build habits of prayer, Scripture and kindness with the same discipline we give to the gym.
But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
1 Timothy 4:7-8 (BSB)
Every life precious to God
17Every person made in His image
God our Creator, You made every person in Your image, male and female. Teach us to see that image in the unborn and the elderly, the disabled and the stranger, the neighbor who agrees with us and the one who does not.
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27 (BSB)18Children not yet born
Lord, David’s frame was not hidden from You when he was formed in secret; Your eyes saw his unformed body. You see every unborn child the same way. On Sanctity of Human Life Sunday and every day, we pray for these little ones and their mothers.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:15-16 (BSB) · Pray this verse →19A voice for those with no voice
Father, give us courage to open our mouths for those who have no voice. Bless pregnancy centers, foster families and everyone who stands beside a frightened mother, and help us speak up with truth and kindness together.
Open your mouth for those with no voice, for the cause of all the dispossessed.
Proverbs 31:8 (BSB)20Neighbors without warmth this winter
Lord, in the coldest weeks of the year some of our neighbors lack coats, heat or a meal. Keep us from wishing them well and walking away. Show us the shelter, food pantry or neighbor we can help this month, and move us to act.
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that?
James 2:15-16 (BSB)
A closing prayer
Father, we give You the month of January. Thank You for a new beginning in Christ. Teach us to seek You first, to love Your word, and to hold our plans with open hands. Meet us in our fasting and our prayers. Bless the unborn, the vulnerable and the cold, and make us quick to help them. Whatever this year holds, keep our hearts set on You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
How do I pray through prayer points for the month of January?
Choose a rhythm you can keep: one section a week, or one point each morning. Read the verse first, pray the short prayer, then add your own words about the people and needs on your mind. The points work for a church prayer meeting, a family table or your own quiet time, and alongside a January fast. If you plan to fast and are pregnant, diabetic or on medication, talk to your doctor first.
What is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday?
It is a Sunday in January when many evangelical churches give thanks for the value of every human life and pray for unborn children, their mothers and families, and those who serve them. It grew out of the National Sanctity of Human Life Day that President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed for January 22, 1984.
What Bible verses are good for January?
For a new beginning: Isaiah 43:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:17. For seeking God first: Matthew 6:33 and Psalm 27:8. For a January fast: Isaiah 58:6-7 and Matthew 4:4. For plans and goals: Proverbs 3:5-6 and Proverbs 16:9. For the Word: Acts 17:11 and Joshua 1:8. Every point on this page includes its verse in full.
More prayer points
Every verse on this page is quoted word for word from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which its publishers dedicated to the public domain. Copy, print and share these prayer points freely with your church.