Apr 12, 2024 Your Weekend Prayers – Words of Grace – April 12, 2024
I often use this Words of Grace opportunity to call us to prayer. This Friday morning as I reflect on our member information meeting last Wednesday and project ahead to our gathering for worship on Sunday, this is one of those calls.
As I write to you this morning, I have a deep sense of gratitude that needs to be expressed to experience it more fully and share it to the fullest. Expression of inner senses serves to lift them to greater levels. And my gratitude makes me want to pray for the future with faith, hope, and love for what the Lord plans to do in us and with us as a congregation.
My gratitude stems in part from our time together Wednesday night talking about the finances of the church. That may sound strange to you. But as we shared in the Q&A portion of the report, I was aware that we are in this together, and that you and I are invested in the work of our congregation. The Lord used our finance conversation to give insight into his grace. Praise him for his power to unite people around the Lordship of Christ and his mission for his church.
My prayer this morning is for the glory of God to be increasingly revealed through our congregation in our time and for generations to come. Here are a few prayer requests we shared on Wednesday that I ask for you to pray for this weekend.
Pray for the elders and staff members of Grace. Every week, we invite the congregation to let us know how we can pray for them. The elders and staff receive the requests and pray.
Recently someone asked how to pray for the elders and staff as they serve our church. That was encouraging. So here are some ways.
Pray for our personal relationship with Christ to grow by his grace, for the filling of the Holy Spirit, for purity of life and doctrine, for the love of God to shape our relationships, and for Christlikeness to define our character. Pray for wisdom to discern, courage to decide, and clear-mindedness to lead and manage. Pray for our energy and encouragement level. Pray for our families. Pray that the glory of God will be the motivation of our lives and service.
Pray for our congregation as we gather, grow, give, and go. For decades, these four verbs have expressed what we do and how our ministries are organized. The prayer is that in each of these church functions the Lord would fill us with his Spirit, bear fruit from our obedience, draw people to Christ and into deeper discipleship, and glorify his name in our city.
Pray for our gatherings for worship, prayer, and teaching the word. Pray that we would grow in grace as we relate in small groups and interpersonally. Pray for joy in giving our time, energy, money, and service to the congregation. Pray that we will live with a mission mindset as we go into the world and about our business each day.
Pray for the Word of the Lord to increase and prevail mightily (Acts 19:20). May we be captured by the grace and truth of God’s word from Isaiah and the rest of Scripture in these days. May the word of Christ resound from us to our world.
I’m grateful to God and in prayer with you this weekend. See you Sunday.
-Scott