When & Why We pray
“God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other.”
We believe that prayer is an integral part of being all that God has called us to be. When we pray, it is an open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. Prayer is an expression of our faith fueled by a desire to see more of him across every sphere of life. Personal prayer, time alone with God is the mainstay of anyone’s spiritual journey. Without prayer there can be no deep and intimate understanding of God - in his seminal teaching on the topic Jesus pre-supposes a life of prayer. Three times he prefaces his teaching saying “when you pray…” (Matthew 6:5-7 ESV). He doesn’t suggest that we pray, he assumes we will. Prayer then is not an optional extra for us, it is an integral part of who we are and a key element to knowing and following in the footsteps of our Lord.
There is another element of prayer that is clearly presented to us in the rhythm of the early church - it is the moment of gathered prayer. We see this in the formative stages of the church (Acts 2) and it continues in the epistles and pastoral letters of the new testament. Gathered prayer was a significant part of church life. There is mutual encouragement, healing and wholeness a witness to others and an advancing of the kingdom that arises from a praying church (See also Galatians 6:2, James 5:16, Colossians 1:9-12). Our greatest example of what this looks like is Jesus himself who modeled a life of prayer for us to follow. We want to encourage you then to be a man / woman of prayer like Jesus. Be found before God often - practice the spiritual discipline of prayer both personal and communal.
Perhaps you are in need of prayer today. We consider it a privilege to pray for you. Please contact us via the link on this page and let us know what we can be praying for you.