Invitation to Prayer (remember the Lord delights to be with you)
“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.”
Psalm 100:1-2
Praying with Paul:
“9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
Have you ever noticed that Paul’s prayers are intense, joyful, believing God will answer them? We can learn from his prayer that they aren’t to have hard circumstances change. Paul’s prayers are that Christians would have “a more vivid sense of the reality of God’s presence and of shared life with him.” (Tim Keller, Prayer pg. 21) As we pray with and for others, what is the most critical request we make? Is it for life to be easier or for a bigger vision of God’s work in them?
While there are many different ways to pray, let us not ignore the pattern Paul shows for praying for the spiritual growth of believers until the day of Christ’s return. Let us pray for our congregation, our community and our leaders in our church, that the love of God may increase in their hearts producing depth of insight and wise decisions in ways of living.
Philippians 1:9-11
Prayer prompts:
- As we pray for the work of God’s Spirit in our congregation to awaken and refresh, may we pray for our own hearts to expand with God’s love.
- May we pray for our congregation to grow in numbers, not that we take pride in numbers, but that God loves people and we do too, and we desire more members of God’s family worshipping the Lord with us.
- Is God bringing some idea to your heart as you pray – don’t ignore it, explore why He is prompting you.
- The Lord is going to return. May His kingdom grow deeper and wider as he tarries.
Praying with you,
Pastor Tom