May 17, 2019 Words of Grace – Twelve Ways We Pray at Grace Community Church
It’s always good to remind ourselves of what we do, and why and how we do it. At Grace Community Church we pray. This Sunday, from James 5, we will consider why we pray. Here are twelve ways we pray:
1. We pray during the Sunday morning worship service. The prayer time during the Sunday worship service is led by the person preaching. But, this is not the pastor’s prayer time. This is the congregation’s prayer time. Engage your mind and heart as we pray together for our church and our world.
2. Prayer teams pray with people after the Sunday morning worship service. People often need to pray with someone for specific needs. Come and pray with the prayer teams who are standing at the front of the chapel. If they are already praying with someone, feel free to wait or ask the person preaching to pray with you.
3. We use prayer cards located in the Sunday bulletin. Each week the elders and staff pray for the people who send us their requests by using the prayer cards.
4. We “pray off” people at the conclusion of the Sunday worship service. When people move from Nashville or travel for ministry, we often send them off with prayer after the worship service. Take note of these people and pray for them throughout the upcoming week.
5. We pray in Sunday School and Adult Discipleship Studies. You can always ask for prayer during a class, or ask the teacher to pray with you after the class.
6. We pray in Community Groups and other small groups. These groups allow for the most concentrated praying at Grace. Come to the group you attend ready to pray.
7. A missions prayer group meets monthly for prayer. A group of people pray for our mission work and cross-cultural workers. Watch for the announcement in the bulletin or contact Justin Tucker for more information.
8. Friendships are made for prayer. Don’t wait to find a praying friend. Pray for your friends, then let them know that you did. That’s why God gave us text messaging.
9. We are learning to pray on the spot. We have all told someone we would pray for them, and then we forgot to do so. The best way to avoid this oversight is to simply stop and pray when you are asked.
10. Our Member Information Meetings provide us with a prayer list. We always encourage people to use the agenda for this meeting as a prayer list for Grace. God cares about the money and management of our church, so we should pray about these things.
11. We pray with people in elders’ meetings. There are times when people have a crisis, major decision, or illness that needs the attention and prayers of the church elders. We will pray for you and with you at your request.
12. We pray for each other and our congregation in our personal prayer time. Evening and morning and all day long we are offering up prayers. Let those prayers include requests for others.
I am praying for you today. I look forward to praying with you on Sunday.
-Scott