one of the greatest privileges of our adoption as Children of God, and yet so often for so many of us, it feels like such a cumbersome and awkward burden, that we can’t imagine how it can be consistent with Jesus promise of light and easy. We often therefore chuck out the baby with the bath water; it is easier just to not bother than to be constantly confronted with our failure in what we understand to be foundational to being spiritual.
Maybe the reason prayer is such a battle, is because it is such a powerful weapon. Heavy artillery is often heavy but Jesus’ promise is still true that his burden is light and his yoke is easy. Prayer is definitely a yoke, it is a responsibility and it is vital to be worn if we are going to plough up the land in preparation for the seeding of God. The key issue with prayer is recognising that we need to let Jesus teach us. We do not become prayer gurus by osmosis, it grows alongside our relationship with God. The important thing with prayer is starting from a place of vulnerability and honesty regarding where we are at. Prayer is not there to impress God, or people, neither is it something by which we can prove our worth to God. Prayer is an admission of our frailty and absolute need of God to continue and finish what he has started, both personally in our own lives but also more cosmically in the history of the world around us.
From this place of humble vulnerability God will begin to stretch and equip our faith to carry the burdens of the world around us. Then one day we will look back and be amazed at how far we have come and how so often prayer just overflows. The ongoing challenge is to remain in that place of humble dependence, we are not meant to get to a level where we no longer need God, and can rely upon our own experience, knowledge, or expertise in prayer. No matter how mature we think we are, no matter how capable we think we are, no matter how eloquent others may think we are, prayer is primarily an expression of intimacy and dependency upon God. It is God's opinion that matters, and only he knows our hearts, so whether we wear a yoke of prayer weighing a ton, or weighing a gram, it is the attitude of our hearts in faith that makes our offering acceptable and pleasing to the purposes of God.
as much about the offering of our intimacy as it is our intercessions, our presence alongside our prayers are like beacons welcoming the entrance of Jesus into the environments we exist in. Recognising this; the following pattern for prayer might help you engage alongside others in welcoming the presence of Jesus across Birmingham.
0 – 10 mins – Worship
10 – 20 mins – Pray for the City
20 – 30 mins – Pray for your Community
There are so many diverse ways of expressing our worship to God, reflecting the diversity of our lives. The key issue in worship is the integrity of our hearts within the offering (Mat 15:8). Worship is about the recognition of the greatness and graciousness of God, and responding to this with an honest offering. This offering might be praise and adoration, it might be confession and humility, it might be weeping it might be dancing. It is impossible and inappropriate to prescribe a response, but it is important to respond. Inspiration for worship might come through a reading of God's Word, a worship CD, and it might express itself in proclamations of God's character, celebrations of God's generosity, or stillness before God's mercy. Whatever our inspiration and response, this offering of our hearts to God is an invitation to His rule and reign within us and overflowing through us, and as such is a vital component of prayer.
The city is such a big area, with such a broad variety of prayer needs, and we all have different experiences and knowledge of the city, therefore please pray according to your knowledge. Jesus taught us to pray “Let your Kingdom come, let your will be done on earth as is your will in heaven.” This seems like a pretty good parameter for prayer, praying for the values and the rule and reign of the Kingdom of God on earth, and seeking for God's will to be done as it is in heaven. You may want to pray out of fresh inspiration that God gives you of His will in heaven, or out of your awareness of God's kingdom as revealed through God's word and the life of Jesus.
Within these prayers you might be inspired to pray for some of the following:-
- Faithfulness in prayer across the city
- The raising up of a generation across the city (non age defined) who will without reserve obey the will of God above every other thing.
- Purity in the city that we may see God move.
- Breakthrough of the fullness of the Gospel, words, lifestyle and power.
- Freedom for the Holy Spirit to move in the city.
- Transformation of individuals, communities and the entire city.
Prayer for the communities we live in is so important. Our very presence makes us stakeholders within our communities, and we are stakeholders who have the ear of the creator, the authority of co-heirs with Jesus, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Though we are few, the potential of our influence is incredible, and God specialises in taking the weak, the few, the foolish and doing far more than we can ask or imagine. You may be actively involved in your community or know others who are, pray according to what you know personally or from others. We hope to build up relevant prayer points for each community across Birmingham to help facilitate focused prayer into each community grounded through those who live / work there and therefore carry the burdens in prayer most authentically.
Within these prayers you may want to focus prayers around the following:-
- Welcome the rule and reign of God and the removal of everything that stands against this.
- Pray for the breakthrough of the fullness of the Gospel, in words, lifestyle and power.
- Pray for those who are present in the community to impart values that are reflective of Gods heart for health, family, justice, peace, future, hope e.t.c.
- Unity in the Kingdom of God within the community, Churches recognising the grace of God upon them for the community and the grace of God upon others in the community.