Praying For The Church

-

Just yesterday, a dear woman shared with me that “I pray for your church every day.” I was dumbfounded for a moment. She had been praying for our church? Every day? Wow! A myriad of thoughts flew through my mind. “The fruit from those prayers are unfathomable.” “I’m so humbled and ashamed, Lord. I don’t pray for our church every day.” “Thank you God, for this faithful lady and her prayers!”
  • The Church - the Bride of Christ.
  • The Church - the body of believers.
  • The Church – all those who have accepted Jesus as their personal Savior and are being transformed into His likeness. (Revelation 19:6-8)

Do I pray for her? How do I pray for her?

After some thoughtful reflection, I considered the prayer of Jesus in John 17. He prayed for His disciples and all those believers that were to come. (That’s us!) He prayed for unity among the believers, the church, and that through that unity the world would see the glory of His Father. Now, that prayer, in part, I have prayed for our church – but likely at times in a selfish manner. I sought out unity because I wanted peace in my personal relationships, between friends and church members or for my husband. It’s not that I haven’t prayed for unity in the church with a deeper understanding, but my cries for unity have more often been in times of strife and conflict. I believe Jesus focuses in on the importance of praying for unity because it is the key to our witness personally and as a fellowship of believers.

The apostle Paul also gives us many examples of how we can pray for the church. He often opened his letters asking God to bless the believers and their fellowship with grace and peace. He prayed for God’s blessing and in thanksgiving for the believers and their ministry. He prayed that they would be encouraged in their faith and that God would grant them strength to endure to the end. Just as Christ prayed, Paul too prayed often for unity and challenged them toward peace.

Admittedly, I have a long way to go in faithfully praying for my church and my fellow believers. Instead of praying in response to problems, I need to purposefully be praying for unity - not just for my personal peace, but rather for our corporate witness into our community. How about you? When is the last time you prayed unselfishly for your church and those you worship with and work beside of each week?

It is often so hard to birth our prayers out of a purity of worship rather than out of crisis. God deserves to be seen in our world. Our world needs to see the glory of our Almighty Heavenly Father. We need to rest in and seek unity with Him, trusting that He will work out His purposes in our lives and in that of His Bride.

Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus is a favorite of many. To help these familiar words of Ephesians 3:16-19 reach deep into our hearts, I have taken the liberty of personalizing Paul's prayer just a bit with the hope that God will do a new work in each of our lives. May we find fresh encouragement and strength through this prayer as we seek to glorify our Father through His unexplainable peace and in His gift of unity in the days ahead.

“I pray that out of God’s glorious riches that He may strengthen you through the Holy Spirit’s power at work in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, who have been rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all those in the fellowship of the Bride of Christ, to grasp how deep is His love for you, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – so that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Oh, to be filled and overflowing with the love of God. We have such an amazing and generous God. What a gift we have, to come to Him with our many prayers. And, oh what a privilege we have to pray for the Bride of Christ – that she may flourish in love, peace and unity – and be a faithful witness of God’s glory to the world around us!

God is big enough to continue the work in your church or to birth a new work and witness. Are you willing to ask Him to do a miracle in your life and in the life of your church?

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we 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


yokemates.blogspot.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make the Connection!

-
            Is attending a carnival ministry? Sure! It’s a unique way to meet people and build relationships. This year, an out-of-town visitor asked my husband if he was the mayor of our town. The sincere question made us both grin! It is so refreshing at times to see things from a different perspective. Apparently, the man had seen my husband “working the crowd” and was intrigued. What this visitor didn’t know was that my husband is friendly all year long – not just at parades or when he is in the public eye. He genuinely loves people, wants them to feel special and takes the time to remember names. Shaking hands and giving hugs comes naturally to him. But, what do I do when “my pastor” is connecting with people? Often, a smile is all that’s needed.               People are always watching, and that reality is easy to forget. As Christians, we are in essence ‘on para...
Read more

Overwhelmed, Underwhelmed or Simply Unmotivated

-
  January is that time of year that many people get the Winter Blues - a general view of life that just says, "Blah!" Being underwhelmed with life threatens our sense of purpose and joy and makes everything seem a bit bland and boring. Perhaps it is fueled by the cold weather, feeling housebound or the fact that all the green things in life are resting dormant below ground or snow. Or, maybe it is just the reality of returning to the basic routines of life (even in a Covid world). All the frantic and fun activities that surround Christmas are behind us, and we just have the decorations and the bank balance to deal with.  For others, January is an excuse to cozy up by the fire, read a book or enjoy an indulgent mug of hot chocolate or hot vanilla. They enjoy their Christmas decorations as long as possible and their soul finds healing when the world is covered in a sparkling blanket of snow. They reflect on Christmas memories made and reread Christmas greetings. They're thr...
Read more

Bathroom Gymnastics?

-
If I had to guess, you’ve been enrolled in the school of bathroom gymnastics along with countless others in our world. It’s much more theatrical than balancing on a beam or flipping around and between parallel bars. Yet, I do believe it involves some of the same skills that are needed for a quality vault or floor routine! See if you can relate… When out and about on a normal day, we find ourselves in need of a place to “rest.” Our own bathroom at home may be preferred, but there are times when one just needs to find a place to “sit a spell” - and soon! So, the search ensues. Is there a business nearby that is open? If so, is their lobby accessible? Do they have public bathrooms? Are they clean by even pre-COVID standards?  Check. Check. Check and check. We breathe a sigh of relief - well almost! It's only now that we see the sign : “Only X amount of people are allowed in the restroom at a time.” (Hmmm…how do I know how many people are already inside?) ...and so, the gymnastics begi...
Read more