Winter Pray Continually

Winter Pray Continually

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful…’ (Colossians 4:2)

‘When you fast…’  (Matthew 6:16)

Jesus’ assumption is that in some way and at various times all Christians will fast – the physical hunger generating a spiritual hunger for God and the physical feast that follows reminding us of the truly satisfying feast Jesus is.  Through the winter we are encouraging us as a church together to fast once on a month, on the 15^th for ourselves individually and for our church – that we might hunger for God.

1. Praise God as the great Creator: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being.’ (Revelation 4:11).  Praise Jesus as the great Rescuer: ‘You are worthy…because you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God people from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’ (Revelation 5:9-10).

2.  Pray for yourself and three other people you know on their ‘frontline’ of home, work and leisure that we may be ‘Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making his appeal through us.’ (2Corinthians 5:20)

3.  Pray for a growing readiness to love everyone and help all people find God as their Father through Jesus his Son.  Our value of loving people.  ‘I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.’  (Ephesians 1:17)

4.  Pray for marriages that surround you, and your own if you are married.  Pray that ‘marriage should be honoured by all’. (Hebrews 13:4) 

5.  Think of three people you know who do not trust Jesus.  Pray that ‘God who said let light shine out of darkness would shine into their hearts and reveal to them the glory of God in the face of Jesus.’  (2Corinthians 4:6)

6.  Pray for the Heart of England Baptist Association (HEBA) – our regional network of 177 churches.  Pray for Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) – our national network of a few thousand churches.  These are those who ‘partner in God’s grace with us.’  (Philippians 1:7)

7.  Pray for an ever-increasing readiness to be bold, courageous and risk-taking to spread the great good news of Jesus.  Our value of being courageous in mission.  Pray it for yourself and for the church.  Pray specifically for a brave step you need to take – ask God to ‘give you a spirit not of cowardice, but of power and love and self-discipline.’  (2 Timothy 1:7)

8.  As churches across our town gather together pray we would be ‘eager for the gifts of the Spirit’ but particularly ‘try to excel in those that build up the church’ so that people might ‘worship God, exclaiming God is really among you.’  (1Corinthians 14:12, 25)

9.  Pray for the opportunity we have through our conferencing and café businesses at Beacon International Centre to engage with 2500+ people a month.  Pray people might ‘taste and see that the Lord is good’ (Psalm 34:8).  Pray for our staff team of five and the many, many volunteers to run these projects.  Pray for Matt as our ‘evangelist’ working within this mid-week mission.

10.  Pray for two important courses we are running.  Through October and November 2015 the ‘Out of the Boat’ course, equipping people to step out into new ventures and with new faith.  And through January-March 2016 the Christianity Explored course helping people discover who Jesus is.  Pray for people from this course to be baptised in March/April 2016.  Pray that ‘the eyes of their heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.’  (Ephesians 1:18)

11.  Pray for a growing effectiveness to reach men in Stafford so that ‘men everywhere would pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.’  (1 Timothy 2:8)

12.  As a church we have the privilege and responsibility to employ in a paid capacity around 15 individuals.  This includes our pre-school and businesses, and often provides us opportunity to offer employment to those who otherwise might not be able to work.  Pray we would be releasing and empowering and professional in these responsibilities. 

13.  Pray for the leaders of the church you know by name that we might ‘strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in us.’  (Colossians 1:29)

14.  Pray for the centrality of the Bible is preaching, living and speaking for Jesus.  Our core value of being Bible saturated.  Pray for those responsible in all sorts of ways to teach it.  Pray that we might be a ‘pillar and buttress of truth’ and therefore a ‘living church’.  (1 Timothy 3:15)

15. FAST DAY.  Identify one area important to you and use time today, as you fast, to pray to God for his intervention.

16.  Pray for yourself – how does your living or your speaking need to change to better represent Jesus?  What should you change?  Ask God to help you.  Pray you would be ‘mindful of God’s unfailing love and live in reliance on his faithfulness.’  (Psalm 26:3)

17.  List ten things you are thankful for.  Thank God for each of them.  ‘Cry out ‘Save us God our Savour…that we might give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise.’  (1 Chronicles 16:35)

18.  Pray for our Sandon Road site.  Pray for the thriving mid-week activities including pre-school, toddler groups, retired activities, and lots of youth work through the Brigades.  Pray we would be clearly making Jesus known in appropriate ways.  Pray for our gospel ambition to initiate an afternoon Sunday service to effectively reach people there.

19.  Pray that the women of Stafford would be effectively reached with the good news of Jesus, living ‘as women who profess to worship God.’  (1 Timothy 2:10)

20.  Who will you see today?  Pray you would live and speak of Jesus in small and big ways to those people.  Pray for them by name.  Pray for the action or word you could make that would point toward Jesus.

21.  Pray for a growing reliance on God’s Spirit – both individually and as a church.  Our value of being Spirit dependent.  ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’  (Galatians 5:22-23)

22.  Slowly, clause by clause, pray through: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to you be the glory for your love and faithfulness.’  (Psalm 115:1)

23.  Pray for yourself and three other people you know on their ‘frontline’ of home, work and leisure that we may be ‘Christ’s ambassadors, as though God was making his appeal through us.’ (2Corinthians 5:20)

24.  Pray for the Highfields Christian Centre as we seek to rejuvenate a vibrant gospel mission for the Highfields estate – a beacon of God’s love and power.

25.  Pray for God’s hand and guiding to led us as we pursue a vision of one church growing from four locations – Sandon Road, Beacon International Centre, Marston Grange and Highfields.  Pray that we might release mission in significant and impactful ways through this model.  Pray for the releasing of evangelists to lead our four locations out in serving the community.  Pray for Alex and the elders as they seek to teach, steer and care for our one church in those four locations.  Pray in it all we would be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit and speak the word of God boldly.’ (Acts 4:31)

26.  Thank God for his provision for you, and for us as a church.  Pray you might ‘excel in the grace of giving’.  (2 Corinthians 8:7)

27.  Pray for Smile Orphanage in Nepal and Anusuran in India which we support in various ways.  ‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…’ (James 1:27).  Pray for Alex’s trip to Nepal in early December and a potential trip at Easter 2016.

28.  Pray for our mission at Marston Grange.  Thank God for securing a good house.  Pray now for the right appointment of an evangelist to led serving and reaching that new community. 

29.  We want to be a church that loves one another with real and true bonds of commitment and care.  Pray for this.  Pray for your part in this.  ‘As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ (John 13:34-35)

30.  Pray we would pray.  We would ‘devote ourselves to prayer’ (Colossians 4:2) and ‘pray continually’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  Ask God to continually renew your heart that pray is not a duty but a joy; not something we must do but something we may do!