For Prayer

Every week ought to, in some way, be a week of prayer and giving in the life of the local church. There are unique seasons, however, that I believe call for concentrated times of prayer and giving. A few weeks ago, I led the church at Wood Green to observe a week dedicated to this. The structure of the week is as follows. If you are interested in the work of Grace Baptist Church in Wood Green, London and our ongoing needs, please take some time to read through the points below. If you would like to know more, leave me a comment and I'll be in touch.

Day 1

Read: Luke 12:22-34

Pray today for the Anchored in Truth Missions team that will be assisting us in evangelism from 24-27 April (Thursday-Sunday). Pray that they will be empowered by God and effective for the gospel as they help us do leafleting, door2door, and street evangelism.  Pray that God would shake the people they meet out of their complacency so that they would seek him. Pray that God would bring people to salvation and the fellowship of this church through an evangelistic worship service on Friday night, 25 April at 7:00 pm, a community BBQ on Saturday afternoon, 26 April at 1:15pm, and an evangelistic worship service on Sunday morning, 27 April at 11:00 am and followed by lunch. Pray for safe travels and good weather during that week.

Give. Evangelistic resources cost money – money additional to that which is normally given for the general upkeep and administration of the church. The reading today urges the Lord’s people to lay aside whatever anxieties they have and invest significantly in the work of the Lord as they seek the kingdom of God

Day 2

Read: Matthew 19:13-15

Pray today that God would bring children, young people, and families to the church. Pray that if these people are still lost, that that they would be saved by the grace of God in Christ and enter the fellowship of his people. Pray that God would grant those that he brings a willingness to commit to the work here and to faithfully participate in ministry and mission in the context of the local church. The young people we have are growing up and more often than not are out of the area and city for study – pray that God would protect them from the evil one and keep them focussed on Christ, that they would be salt (invisible influence) and light (visible influence) to the world around them for the glory of God in the spread of the gospel and the salvation of lost souls.

Give. As the church grows, its needs will grow. But we ought not to wait till we are growing before ensuring our financial support of the church is as it should be. Examine your giving and your finances to see how you can develop in this area of your Christian life. 

Day 3

Read: Romans 1:8-17

Pray today for the GRACE in the Sky gospel meetings that will be held in the community centre at the Sky City housing estate on Sunday afternoons 4, 11, 18, 25 May and 1 June. Pray that contacts previously established will respond, and that God will use the Anchored in Truth team’s efforts in April to create new contacts and to pave the way for these meetings. Pray that we will see estate residents attending the meetings, responding to the gospel, and entering the fellowship of the local church. Pray that this series of meetings will provide a clearly open door for ongoing gospel ministry on the estate.

Give. In today’s reading, the apostle Paul is pretty clear that the gospel is for everyone. We cannot ignore this spiritually needy area on our very doorstep. We are grateful for a grant from the Grace Baptist Partnership to cover the cost of hiring the community centre, but attractive evangelistic resources publicising the meetings would be nice and if ongoing evangelistic work is to happen on the estate, we will need additional funds.

Day 4

Read: John 4:1-42

Pray that members of the congregation would make effective use of personal contacts and relationships for gospel purposes. Pray that they would be faithful witnesses and godly examples to their lost family members, friends, colleagues, classmates, neighbours, and other acquaintances. Pray that they would have the courage to be more visible and vocal witnesses of the gospel to the people they know. Pray that their acquaintances will be drawn to God in the gospel and the fellowship of the church through their witness.

Give. As there are more people to pastor, more is required to help pastor them. Providing appropriate facilities, adequate resources, and useful materials to help disciple them necessitates the contributions of the church. Likewise, materials church members might find helpful in reaching the people around them for Christ also cost money.

Day 5

Read: Psalm 108

Pray that God would provide us with members capable of accompanying our worship musically. Pray that if any people already in the congregation have such gifts, that they would use them as an expression of their worship to God and service of the church. Pray that the music of the church would glorify God and be instructive to the church body and a good testimony to the community around us.

Give. Many of the songs that we sing tell us of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and call us to follow the master in sacrificially giving of our time, energy, and money. Without exception, people who have told me ‘But why put a percentage on it...we should give our all’ when discussing what counts as generous financial giving actually give the least amount possible and are using spirituality to cloak their indifference to the needs of the church. Hear the lyrics we sing, and ask, as one song does ‘What should I give, to the Man who gave everything?’ This is about worship.

Day 6

Read: Haggai 1:1-15

Pray that provision would be made for the remaining work needed on the building. While there is nothing major of a structural nature, there are some roofing and damp issues, window replacements (never a cheap affair!), and some significant cosmetic matters to tend to. Pray that even as God has blessed us with a building, he would be glorified in its appearance and upkeep.

Give. While a church building is not parallel to the temple, of which Haggai wrote, the principle remains that if God has provided a place for his people to worship then he should be honoured and glorified in it. The temple was restored as people diverted their funds from less important projects. Are there less important, even unimportant things that you are spending money on that could go instead to improving the building of Grace Baptist Church Wood Green?

Day 7

Read: 2 Timothy 1

Pray that each member of the congregation would know what they are gifted by God to do for the service of the church and what they are commanded by God to do for the advance of the gospel. Pray that they would be given the courage and conviction to actually use these gifts in the life of the church, and that they would not grow weary of doing good.

Give. Every good thing comes ultimately from God, including our finances. We may not realise it (certainly we don’t always feel it!), but of all the people in the world we are richly blessed in this area of our lives. We have freely received, so we ought to freely give!

Day 8

Read: Hebrews 13:7-18/1 Corinthians 9:4-14

Pray for Pastor Ryan as he leads the church, teaches the Scriptures, proclaims the gospel, counsels church members, makes pastoral visits, coordinates evangelistic endeavour, and does community work. Pray for him also as he balances never diminishing church responsibilities with the wider ministry of supporting the church plants and researching opportunities for missions work on the European continent. Pray for him as he hopes to be engaged and married in the not too distant future, especially that he would meet the British Government’s financial requirements for applying for a spouse visa and that both he and his ‘intended’ would be suitably prepared for life and ministry together in London.

Give. The Apostle Paul asks in today’s reading ‘If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you?’. For Pastor Ryan to be adequately supported in ministry and if he is to be able to marry and bring his wife to join him, the church must give, so as to provide a salary that meets the British government’s requirements. This is the practical purpose of the tithe (10 people giving 10% = 100%) – if Jews without Christ could be so generous, how much more so should we be with Christ! Consistent, joyful, generous giving by God’s people is the way he chooses, according to his word, to meet the needs of his servants.