Trinity Mount Barker

When you come in to the gymnasium this Sunday you'll find a Prayer Focus postcard waiting for you.  I think it is fairly self-explanatory!  Our hope is that these cards will help all of us make the most of the gospel opportunities that our growing to two Sunday morning gatherings will provide.  A new beginning for our church gives new opportunities for new beginnings for the people we care about to become part of our church community and hear about Jesus.  Naturally, simply coming along to church doesn’t make somebody a Christian, which is why we want to be praying and asking God to be changing people’s hearts and making himself known to them.

On the front of the card is space to write the names of up to five friends, family, neighbours or colleagues who you can pray for in the lead up to our growing to two on April 29^th.  These may be people you are already praying for, or you may like to spend some time thinking about whose names you can write there.  It doesn’t matter if you can’t come up with five names, you can always start with just one!

On the rear of the card you’ll find some suggestions of things to pray for.  Of course there are plenty more things you can be praying for your friends and family who don’t know Jesus, but those listed there are just to help you get started.

Those of you who are in Bible Study Groups will spend some time in your groups regularly praying for each others’ friends and praying for each other as you seek to make the most of the opportunities to speak of what God has done for us in Christ.  If you’re not in a BSG, you might find it helpful to share with someone else who you’re praying for, so they can encourage you and even help remind you to be praying!

Some of us may not be used to praying for friends and family who aren’t Christian.  That’s OK.  That’s one of the reasons we’ve produced the Prayer Focus cards – to help you get started.  I pray that they’ll be a useful tool to help your prayers, but let’s remember that’s all they are – a tool.  It’s God who does the work of reconciling people to himself and he calls us his ambassadors, “as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Please tell me whether you find the Prayer Focus cards useful or not, and let me know how I can be praying for you, as you seek to use our growing to two as an opportunity for a new start for people around you.