E.M. Bounds in his book ,The Reality of Prayer, speaks of the Lord’s concern for us to pray. Bounds says, “God is vitally concerned that men should pray. Men are bettered by prayer, and the world is bettered by praying. God does his best work for the world through prayer. God’s greatest glory and man’s highest good are secured by prayer. Prayer forms the godliest men and makes the godliest world. God’s promises lie like giant corpses without life, only for decay and dust unless men appropriate and vitalize these promises by earnest and prevailing prayer.”
Let’s once again, together, commit ourselves to pray as we look to this next week ‘s prayer guide. Let’s get in touch with God’s promises. Let’s claim and activate those through “earnest and prevailing prayer.”
As we unite in earnest prayer and seek the Lord with all our hearts He will be found, our prayers will be heard and the world will be “bettered,” thus securing God’s greatest glory and our highest good for the church. How good our God is.
Let’s unite in prayer to “appropriate and vitalize” the promises for GC’11.
March 28 – April 3
The bishops have stated that General Conference should be “a resourcing event to bring about revival and renewal for the church.” Plenary sessions and ministry groups focus on four goals for which we must seek the Lord. The last two weeks we prayed for the first ministry group and its focus: Every Person—Empowerment of the Whole Church. For the next two weeks we will pray for the second ministry group and their focus: Every Church—Whole and Complete.
In order for us to be whole and complete we must have the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence to obey the Word. As you approach these times of prayer ask the Holy Spirit to:
- Help us have a heart that yearns to be whole and complete—“being filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).
- Build faith, belief and desire for the Free Methodist church to be filled and enabled to follow in the footsteps of our predecessors and go outside our “comfort zones” under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
- Help us not fear what the Lord asks of His church but to believe and be confident, that he who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6).
- That the Spirit would work His boldness in us as he did when the first believers asked Him to do the same (Acts 4:29).
PLEASE NOTE: “Action Prayer”
On occasion there will be an action cue. This is intended to help us as a church incorporate prayer in different ways throughout our day.
Monday, March 28th Prayer Task: “Be Imitators of God”
Scriptural Call for the Church: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Gratitude: Take time to thank the Lord that you/we are dearly loved children. Think of specific ways you have felt the Lord’s love and thank Him for those expressions.
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about ways your local church needs to be “imitators of God.” Pray that everyone in the church will take time to be in the Word and know what it is to be a church that lives a life of love, imitating our Lord.
Tuesday, March 29th Prayer Task: “Strengthened and Encouraged by the Holy Spirit”
Scriptural Call for the Church: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord (Act 9:31).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that He strengthens and encourages the church through His Holy Spirit. Think about what ways you have seen this in your church. Thank Him.
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about your own needs to be strengthened and encouraged by His Holy Spirit. Now think about how the church needs strengthening and encouragement. Ask the Lord for those things that the church will grow in grace, faith and strength.
Wednesday, March 30th Prayer Task: “Devotion to the Word”
Scriptural Call for the Church: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God (Colossians 3:16).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that the word of Christ can dwell in us richly. Think of biblical exhortations that made an impact on your life at just the right time in just the right way. Thank the Lord for His living and active Word.
Pray: As you consider how you must cooperate with the Spirit in order for God’s Word to “dwell in you richly” consider how the same principles apply to the church as a whole. Ask the Lord to make our churches places where our teaching offers more than biblical information. Instead let them be places where we seek out and speak out “living” words.
Action Cue: Write down (or enter them into your phone) some of the words of Jesus that have strengthened and encouraged you. Refer to them throughout the day – letting your heart be filled with gratitude. “Fix your mind on Him” as an act of worship.
Thursday, March 31st Prayer Task: “The Church Holy and Blameless”
Scriptural Call for the Church: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her … to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Eph 5:25, 27).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that He is preparing the church to be presented holy and blameless. Thank Him for specific ways He has removed stains, wrinkles and blemishes from your life.
Pray: Since the church is first a collection of individuals, start by asking the Spirit to convict and convince all our people of the need for personal holiness. However, the church as a whole makes up one body. Even with holy individuals the church collective can miss the mark. Ask the Lord to cleanse ways we may be stained by our culture of consumerism, wrinkled by materialism, or blemished by an inward focus.
Friday, April 1st Prayer Task: “Edifying Worship”
Scriptural Call for the Church: What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church (1Corinthians 14:26).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that He will speak through each of us as we live in relationship with Him and the body of Christ. Thank Him that His full message is brought through the body.
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about how each member of the church body needs to be functioning in the gifts of the Spirit. What would it look like and what would it take for our churches and members to function like the verse above describes? Pray those things for our church.
Saturday, April 2nd Prayer Task: “Wrestling in Prayer”
Scriptural Call for the Church: He [Epaphras] is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured (Colossians 4:12).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that He allows us to intercede for the spiritual maturity of others and that He accomplishes His purposes in others because of our prayers.
Pray: Ask the Spirit to guide you in thinking about what it means to be part of a church whose members were wrestling in prayer for the spiritual integrity of their brothers and sisters. Pray for those things to be true in you and your church body.
Sunday, April 3rd Prayer Task: “His Power at Work in Us”
Scriptural Call for the Church: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Gratitude: Thank the Lord that His power is at work in us. That we can pray large prayers. Think of the large prayers He has answered for you or others. Thank Him for those answers.
Pray: Think about what we have prayed for the church so far. Imagine what the church could look like if it were whole and complete, living in healthy, restored community. Ask the Lord to make those things so.
Giving the Lord more of your Sabbath: Today is a very “fitting” day to spend praying for the body of Christ. If you have a church directory use it to pray Colossians 4:12 “over” each person in the directory.
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