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90 for 9

90 for 9: 90 Days of Prayer for Others

What | Why | How | Share Your Story | Stories | FAQ

At LSQ, we believe in the power of prayer. We also believe that our vision and mission must be rooted in prayer, so as we continue in this new year, we want to commit ourselves to praying specifically for those in our lives who don't yet know the hope we have in Christ.

“We must talk to God about people before we talk to people about God.” – D.L. Moody

What is it?

Praying for 90 seconds a day for 90 days for 9 people in your life who do not know the hope found in Jesus Christ. In 2021, this took place from February 14 to March 14. 

Why do it?

Are there people in your life who are hurting or need Jesus? Because of the realities of COVID, social strife, and political upheaval, most of us are more aware today of our own frailty and mortality than we were a year ago. This is true for many of the people in our lives, who are struggling to find hope in these difficult times. There is no greater hope we can offer, either in this life or the one to come, than the hope Jesus offers us: that we may have life, and life in abundance (Jn 10:10).

90 for 9 is born out of our twin beliefs that God longs for people to know him and to experience the hope and life found only in him, and that he uses us—and specifically our prayers—to bring this about.

How do I participate?

Read a Story

You aren’t the first one to do this. Read a story of how God has used prayer to bring people to himself.

Identify Your 9

Who are 9 people (work, family, friends, neighbors) whom God has placed in your life to love and care for by praying for them?

My 9
  • Use this PDF to write down the names of your 9. It includes a digital and printable form and some tips on how to pray.
  • Can’t think of 9? No problem. Pray for the blank spaces, that God will show you who they are.

Join the Morning Prayer Call

Our Prayer team hosts a regular time of prayer on Zoom. It takes place on Sunday at 9 a.m. and on Monday through Friday from 8 to 8:30 a.m. On Wednesday mornings, participants spend time specifically praying for revival and salvation. Register for the Zoom link.

Share Your Stories

Here’s the funny thing about prayer: when we pray, God does things. Did you unexpectedly reconnect with an old friend? Have an unusually meaningful conversation? Get the chance to tell what Jesus has done in your life? Share your stories below of God’s answers, big and small, to your prayers.

Prayer Stories

What | Why | How | Share Your Story | FAQ

“A few days ago, out of the blue – late at night and in a panic – he called”

For the past 6 months I've been praying that J would come to know Christ. He's very far away from him—a secular Jewish man whose identity is all about power and status. A few days ago, out of the blue–late at night and in a panic–he called me asking where my sense of peace came from. He didn't become a Christian that night, but clearly God is at work!

“She agreed to come listen”

My husband and I have been praying for our son's girlfriend, who is a non-practicing but cultural Jew, to come to Christ. Over Christmas she agreed to come listen to the LSQ Christmas Eve service, and though she didn't pay full attention she was there!

“She enjoyed putting all Christians in a box labeled ‘bigots.’”

I have been praying Romans 1:16-19 over a friend who would call herself a Christian but resents Orthodox beliefs, and she has enjoyed putting all Christians in a box labeled “bigots." Over the past few months, she has worked with me on a project interviewing Christians who have maintained their joy and hope in very difficult situations. She has been deeply moved by each of the stories she has heard, to the point where it seems clear that God is working on her heart.

“He was a philosophy major at Harvard...he considers himself an ‘apathetic-ist’”

I’ve been praying for my dear friend and writing partner for years now. He was a philosophy major at Harvard and claims Søren Kierkegaard as his favorite philosopher. He’s extremely open to conversations about God, faith, life etc., and extremely respectful. But he considers himself an “apathetic-ist.” He likes exploring and considering the ideas; he just doesn’t care enough to do anything with the ideas.

About nine years ago, his cousin was carjacked and shot in the head and wasn’t expected to live. I, along with some other friends, prayed for her. And thank God--she made a full recovery and is living a fairly normal life now. He was grateful for the prayers--and even acknowledged that they had some effect.

Around the same time, we were both unemployed and would go on a lot of interviews. I started including him in my prayer request emails. Then one day, he asked me to pray for him before an interview. He didn’t believe in God, but he did offer to “pine and yearn” on my behalf, since he wanted to help me too. RW still doesn’t profess faith, but I’d say he’s grown in whatever faith he has. He’s become a pretty faithful “piner and yearner,” and I believe that God is using that to continue to draw him in.

“The frightening experience of being alone in a hospital”

While my extended family is deeply religious, they grew up in a church that did not make the gospel central to the teaching but rather based it more on tradition and the roots of the country and culture our ancestors emigrated from. I placed my 90-year-old grandmother, my aunt, and my cousins (who all live together) on the salvation prayer list. Then my grandmother spent 6 months alone in the hospital and subsequent recovery. We were bracing ourselves for the end, but the Lord mercifully allowed her to go home and she is even walking! More significantly, the frightening experience of being alone in a hospital thinking “this is the end” has opened her up to talking about Jesus and praying with us in His name. My aunt–her caretaker–has also started reading the Bible after previously saying she didn’t believe it. God is at work!

“We used to argue incessantly over religion”

My best friend was an atheist and we used to argue incessantly over religion in general and Christianity in particular. This went on for years. Then I decided I'd just stop arguing and pray for him instead. After not seeing him in about a year, he came for a visit. "Just wanted you to know," he said, "I gave my life to Christ." "Whaat!?!?," I exclaimed. "Yeah, Eric, (a fellow believer and friend) just shared the Gospel one night and it clicked." God at work!

Back to How

FAQ

Am I supposed to include only non-Christians in My 9?

First, pray for the people whom God puts on your heart. That’s the most important thing. But remember, you can always pray for people who aren’t on your list! We’re using My 9 to encourage us to remember to pray for people who don’t know the same hope we have in the Gospel. So, I would encourage you to privilege your prayer for people who are a little "further away" from Jesus.

Can you really pray for 9 people in 90 seconds? That’s just 10 seconds per person!

You don't have to pray for only 10 seconds per person! But often the biggest challenge in prayer is just getting ourselves to do it consistently, and sometimes we don't ever get around to praying on a given day because we don't "have the time to do it right." However, we know God doesn't hear us "because of our many words," so we're just trying to be faithful and consistent in prayer, even if very short!

Okay, but how do you pray for someone in just 10 seconds?

If you think about your 9 people, you can often boil down your prayer to one central thing to ask God for—what's their primary obstacle, concern, need, etc? That is usually something you can ask for that in just 10 seconds. Some general guidelines are given in the tutorial video, but here are a few real-life examples:

  • "Lord, keep his past experiences and hurts by the Church from preventing him to see how beautiful you are."
  • "Lord, help him to see his need for you despite all his success and comfort in this life."
  • "Lord, I don't even know what to pray for her now. She thinks she has it all figured out and has closed herself off to you and to me. Please reach into her life and rescue her."
  • "Lord, help him see that his reason and intellect, though good, are insufficient. Help him to learn how to trust in You, someone greater than himself."

What | Why | Stories | Share Your Story | FAQ