Over the past several months, we often met as a church community on a Wednesday to pray together. As meetups have started, and many of us are now meeting regularly to study Ephesians together, we are no longer meeting together as a church to pray. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to stop praying! So over here on the blog we’re starting a new series on Wednesdays, giving you a few ideas of what you could be praying for today and for the rest of this week.
Today we’re praying for…..
The Lockdown
I know! It’s an obvious choice, but it seems silly that something would be dominating our conversations with one another and yet not our conversations with God!
So let’s join together in prayer today, focusing on the next 4 weeks, and fixing our eyes on the one who will be unchanging through it all, and who has plans to continue to bless us and help us grow in our faith during this time.
Some key prayer points to help you are listed below.
Worship God! It is always crucial to begin times of prayer by reminding ourselves just who it is that we are coming to! We pray to a God who is mighty and more powerful than anything in the universe, he is our creator, our Father, our protector, our peace, our firm foundation. He is greatly to be praised! Before you start to present your requests to God, make sure you first and foremost give him the glory he is worthy of, and in the process stir your faith for what he might do over the coming weeks.
Pray for God to grow your personal faith during this time. Pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work in you, to help you establish disciplines of prayer and reading scripture over lockdown. Pray that God would continue to speak to you as you join us for our online services.
Pray for your fellow members of the Redeemer family. Pray that God would continue to sustain them during this difficult time. Pray especially for those who might be dealing with loneliness. Pray for opportunities to build community with others in the Redeemer family, be that through one on one outdoor exercise, or calling, texting and meeting together on Zoom. Pray that God continues to move powerfully in our midweek Ephesians meetups! Pray for protection for the vulnerable and healing and rapid recovery for those who contract the virus
Pray for those around you that don’t yet have a personal relationship with God. Pray that this time might stir them to ask questions and begin to seek God. Pray for opportunities for gospel conversations with your neighbours and colleagues over the coming weeks. We believe that Jesus will continue to build his church, regardless of the circumstance, so let’s be expecting him to include us in that process even during this time. Pray for healing for those who contract the virus, and for the NHS who are treating those who are critically ill.
There are of course many other things that we can be praying for over the next 4 weeks of lockdown, and I would encourage you to make prayer a priority in this time! I will leave you with a few verses which I feel are a great starting point for us all right now.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
