4 Prayers for Seeking God’s Righteousness

The Prophet Hosea, whose name means Salvation, has given us an amazing outline for prayer:

“Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).

Use these prayer points to pray for yourself, your family, church, community and nation:

• Sow righteousness for yourselves
2 Corinthians 9:6 – “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”

Galatians 6:7-8 – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Pray: Father, my heart longs to move from sinfulness to righteousness. I know that I am made righteous by Jesus, but I also know that in the economy of Your Kingdom, I will reap what I sow – emotionally and spiritually. Please help me to sow good things generously. Use me to sow what please the Holy Spirit and not myself.

May my church be known in the community as a generous body of believers who care for others passionately, and who demonstrate the life of Christ with our words and our actions.

Help our nation to return to righteousness in the powerful Name of Jesus! Lord, You will not be mocked by those who malign You and who do not call upon Your Name. Restore integrity and uprightness and wisdom and kindness to our culture so that You will be glorified in the midst of Your people. Turn the hearts of those who will not bow before You so that many will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

• Reap the fruit of unfailing love

1 Corinthians 13:8 – “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

Psalm 33:5 – “The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

Holy God, when we sow the righteousness of Jesus, Your Word says we will reap the fruit of unfailing love. We know that Your love never fails even when other spiritual things cease to exist. May my heart be focused upon sowing Your righteousness so that I continually reap the benefits of being Your child with an eternal purpose in a Kingdom that never ends.

Your unfailing love needs to be seen in and through my church, Lord. Create a deep desire for the righteousness of Jesus to flow into our hearts and then out through our words and deeds so that You are glorified in our midst, and so that the fruit of Your unfailing love is a deeper intimacy with You and so that Your glory is made known!

Father, I ask You to have mercy upon this nation as Your people cry out for Your unfailing love to be poured out into our culture. May Your people, Your Church, be known for the righteousness that brings the fruit of such love to every community and state across our land.

• Break up your unplowed ground
Jeremiah 4:3 – “The Lord is saying to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Plow up the hardness of your hearts; otherwise the good seed will be wasted among the thorns.’”

Father, I bow before You in repentance! forgive me for the hardness of my heart, where the goodness and love of Your Spirit lies dormant and sits in the midst of thorns. Show me how to love the hard to love people in my life…even those I consider to be my “enemies.” You have said that our enemies are not flesh and blood; therefore, I am called to love everyone, no matter what they believe, say or do…no matter what they look like or how they live. Soften my heart to embrace the love of Jesus that You have so freely given me as a gift and allow me to sow it into the hearts of others.

Lord, may my church/our church, have such fertile soil that only love can grow there. May the righteousness of Christ that we sow result in a crop that overflows with love into our community. Protect us from hardened hearts, the unplowed ground that cannot possibly bear any fruit for the sake of Your Kingdom.

Grace-filled Savior, turn our nation back to Your heart. Replace hatred and ugliness and anger with love, beauty and peace. Use Your people to lead the way towards sowing righteousness in our land so that we are able to reap Your unfailing love in our broken culture. May the hard ground of unbelieving hearts become soft and pliable in Your hands so that our nation becomes a light for the rest of the nations.

• Seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness upon you

1 Chronicles 16:10 – “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.”

Deuteronomy 4:29 – “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Isaiah 55:6 – “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near.”

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Lord Jesus, I glory in Your holy name! I want to be one who seeks You continually so that my heart will rejoice always. Your Word says that if I seek You with all of my heart and soul that I will find You. Help me to know what that looks like. Show me how to avoid distractions that keep me looking at and interacting with things that are less than all that You are!

Father, You are near! You live IN me. Your kingdom is here and now and I want to be in the center of what You desire me to be and to do so that You receive the most glory!

Holy Spirit, give me the wisdom to seek the Kingdom of God and the righteousness of God! All of the things I need in life should pale in comparison to Your goodness and greatness and glory! Thank You for the promise that if I seek You first, you will add what is needed.

Lord, I ask for the desire to seek You until You shower righteousness upon me. Help me to learn to love You so completely that I will continue to seek You for the rest of my days here on earth.

© Harvest Prayer Ministries