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How To Pray For Your Church
Nick Minerva • Jul 06, 2021
Psalm 74:22a Rise up, God, champion your cause!
Ephesians 3:14-21 For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us — to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
- That God would give us a supernatural anointing over the church and it’s ministries.
- Our church would have a heart of forgiveness. – Ephesians 4:32
- Our church would have a lifestyle of holiness. – 1 Peter 1:14-16
- Our church would have a mind of discernment. – Ephesians 5:6-13, Philippians 1:9-11
- Our church would be able to move forwards in healing as a family.
- That we would be able to create a culture of healthy transparency.
- Our church would be hungry for exegetical preaching and times of prayer. – Acts 2:42
- Our church would grow in doctrinal depth.
- Our church would adapt a biblically healthy leadership model.
- That our church would regularly and deeply abide in the presence of Christ and have a thorough understanding of what it means to walk in grace. – John 15:1-8
- That our church would walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. – Galatians 5:13-26
- That our church would be made up of servants and givers, not consumers. – Matthew 20:25-28
- That our church would would not view service as being primarily about how it makes me feel but about bringing God glory. – 1 Peter 4:7-11
- That the individuals in our church, like Christ, would give ourselves for THE Church by making it a focal point of much of our energy, resources, and ambition. – Ephesians 5:25b
- Strong, faithful marriages in our church. – Ephesians 5:22-33
- That our church would see relationship in the church as a vital part of living out our faith. – Acts 2:42-47
- That those relationships would be transparent and that it is not unusual to confess sin to each other and call on each other to confess sin. – James 5:16
- That our conversations with each other would be centered around Christ and his Word. – Ephesians 4:29
- That we would regularly encourage each other with Scripture. – 1 Thessalonians 4:18
- That we would regularly practice hospitality and see it as an important part of being a Christian. – Romans 12:13
- That our church would walk in unity of the Spirit. – Ephesians 4:1-16
- Would be able to train and disciple future elders. – 2 Timothy 2:1-2
- That we would have unity amidst diversity and it would be a witness to the community. – Ephesians 4:1-6, John 13:35
- That we would do what is good, glorify God by demonstrating the beauty of living for him, and commend the gospel in all our work, our daily lives, and all of our interactions. – 1 Corinthians 10:31
- That we would regularly see people come to a saving knowledge of Christ, baptized, and discipled. – Matthew 28:18-20
- That we would see it as our individual responsibility to be a part in carrying out the Great Commission. – Mark 16:15-16
The post How To Pray For Your Church appeared first on Thriving In Exile.
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.