July 2015 Prayer Column

A Church Prayer Leaflet

Besides this monthly column, would it be good to have a little leaflet on prayer in your church? It could be freely available all the time for visitors and those who use the premises, as there’s often interest in prayer. It might begin by saying what prayer is: talking with God – asking for help, or giving praise, or thanks – or even complaining if that’s how we feel. But prayer is also about listening, because what matters is having a living, daily friendship with the Lord. We talk with friends, so we talk with our Maker. We’re meant to relate to God as our heavenly Father, as shown by Jesus his son, helped by the Holy Spirit. Prayer is partnership: it helps us learn to live better the way the Lord wants us to.

But people might need to be reassured that prayers really can reach God – He who is holy, perfect and ‘in heaven’, while we’re here in the mud and very much less than perfect (sinful, the Bible says). So the leaflet should say what God has done to bridge that gap. Jesus took the blame for all our wrongdoing (sin) by dying on the cross, and thus opens the way to God as loving Father rather than stern Judge. Jesus once called himself ‘the way’ (John 14:6). Believe in Jesus, repent of your sin, and his way lies open. That’s how Jesus is our Saviour, and he’s our Lord when we put him in charge of our lives and strive to do what he says, which is how we begin to get things right. Moreover, God invites and encourages believers to approach boldly in prayer for the help we need.

Could that be page 1?

Roy LS

A prayer for each week

Oh, my God! Texting OMG may not b prayer, but Oh! there is so much to say; and to praise too, for you are My God, through Jesus, for ever. Amen.

Profane expletives abound, but you ARE there, you DO know, you ARE almighty (and forgiving). Help me not to take your name in vain. Amen.

Many may wonder about God occasionally, but I thank you Lord that I have your number and can call you anytime. Help me do so more. Amen.

Holy Father, you call us to be holy too: perfect, pure, and apart (while still very much present). In Jesus, please help us to become more so. Amen.

Your own prayers

Comments

HOPE Together & HOPE Revolution

Dear friends, You are personally invited to attend an exciting evening at Bradford Academy that we hope will bring people together from Bradford and Leeds to see how further Unity, Prayerful Worship and Missional Transformation can develop between the two cities. Back in July 2012, we saw over 50 young people, 12 leaders and several churches from across Bradford and Leeds join together in a 2 day pilot mission. We partnered with a local church in Bradford to share and witness to Christ's love in word and deed. In addition to this, we included young people in the conversation of ways in which to help connect both cities in the future. There are many people interested in exploring the potential of developing something on a larger scale, culminating in a week of mission across the two cities in 2014. Your attendances and input will help shape the way forward: We would like to invite you to an exciting evening of information about HOPE Together and the y...

Virtual Worship - 27 June 2021

Parables for Bradford - Week 4 Offering God’s hand of friendship Service Sheet (pdf) Welcome Imagine a love seat with just you and God sitting there. On the table is your Bible and the freshest , thirst-quenching summer drink. Come and worship God, relax with Him. All are welcome: if you are sorted or in a mess, feeling like it or anxious, come and worship God who holds you so lovingly in the palm of His hand. He invites each one of us, see His smile and His kind eyes welcoming you to worship Him. He enjoys our presence sitting beside Him. He befriends each of us with His love. Let’s sing about that friendship and love now…. Song Hymn 88 STF: Praise to the Lord , the Almighty Opening Prayers Father God, we thank you for summer skies, that hold the sun, moon and stars, that give life and strength to summer. We thank you that you are our Creator God. As we gaze up and imagine where heaven is we thank you Father that you are a safe place of refuge, an oasis of rest and peace. We...

July message from Rev Phil

Dear Friends, The Methodist Church makes provision for its ministers to take a three-month sabbatical break from the routine of ministry every seven years – this year, in my case! By the time you read this letter, I will have already started my sabbatical and I will be absent from the circuit from mid-May to mid-August. This is not an extended holiday but an opening to do something different, as a way of being refreshed in ministry; an opportunity to ‘power down’ and to get away from a hectic, diary-driven ministry, in order to spend more focused time with God. It is a requirement and not an option for ministers to take their sabbatical break. There have been two main aspects to consider in planning the sabbatical. The first has been to decide how I should use the time. For your interest, I am pressing on with studies begun through Leeds University (which could lead to the award of a PhD), reflecting on my wor...

Bradford North Circuit

Search This Blog