Praying for Lent
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I am convinced that if our church, or any church, or THE CHURCH, is going to thrive into the future, it will only happen with God’s blessing and empowerment. People who profess to follow Jesus, but who fail to pray cannot get the job done. We will not accomplish the disciple-making mission on our own. So, I am inviting every member of Ocoee Oaks to commit themselves to praying for our church and THE Church during Lent. I hope, of course, that we will not confine ourselves to Lent, but that our prayers will continue indefinitely.
This Lenten season join me in praying the following prayers for Ocoee Oaks:
1. Lord, give us your grace to experience the unity that Jesus prayed for all His followers (John 17);
2. Lord, give us a passion for those who do not yet know you and a willingness to do everything short of sin to build Your kingdom;
3. Lord, give us spiritual wisdom, understanding, obedience, strength, and gratitude (Colossians 1);
4. Lord, transform us individually and corporately. Make us Holy as you are holy; sanctify us entirely (1 Thessalonians 5);
5. Lord, raise up lay leaders and ministry champions, especially in the following areas:
a. Fellowship
b. Discipleship
c. Ministry
d. Mission
e. Worship
6. Lord, give us a spirit of generosity & fiscal responsibility. Let us honor you from our wealth;
7. Lord, heal interpersonal hurts, pain, and mistrust. Place within every heart a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation;
8. Lord, give us all clarity of mission, vision, values, and strategy as we seek to make disciples;
9. Lord, give us boldness in inviting people into relationship with You and Your Church;
10. Lord, give us wisdom in assisting people in becoming who you have created them to be in Christ;
11. Lord, give us discernment helping people discover, develop, and deploy their spiritual gifts and place of ministry;
12. Lord, give us compassion in sharing Your love and Your good news in Christ in our community.
Finally, I ask that you pray for me. Pray that God will empower me by His spirit to preach the word fruitfully, manage the affairs of the church faithfully, care for the hurting compassionately. Pray that I will care for my family and my health, so that I can be the best husband, father, and pastor I can be.
Some of you may have the spiritual gift of prayer. Maybe you have a special connection to God through prayer. We need your help. The church needs you to activate your gift of prayer. We need you to express your gift in a very tangible way. I am praying that someone from Ocoee Oaks will step forward to not only facilitate a prayer group, but also coordinate a group of facilitators. I am praying that God will call someone out of our congregation to take the lead in coordinating our prayer teams. Would you stop whatever else you are doing right now and ask God if you are the person He wants to facilitate and/or coordinate prayer groups at Ocoee Oaks (or at your church if you don’t attend Ocoee Oaks)? Specifically, I’m praying that two groups of people will begin praying prior to each of our worship services. Pray that we will experience the presence of God, that every element of worship will lead people to Jesus, that every song will glorify God, that God will use the Scripture, the sermon, the Eucharist, and everything we do to draw people to Himself. If you sense God nudging you to this ministry, just do it. You have permission. Ask others to join you. Join others. Just do it.
Leave a comment below to let me know what you are praying for your church. Has God called you to a ministry of prayer?
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