Prayer: Fundamental or Supplemental ?
Being too busy is nothing new! The leaders of the early church also experienced the pressure of time, thus they felt compelled to set priorities. Acts 6:3-4 recalls how they delegated important but lesser tasks to others, so that they themselves could “give attention to prayer and the ministry of the word”
In his book Prayer : A Biblical Perspective, published in 2011, Eric Alexander suggests that the contemporary church today needs to re-assess its priorities in order to mirror those of the early apostolic churches. This is necessary because over the years the church has somewhat lost sight of the true significance of prayer, to the extent that we frequently speak of ‘praying for the work’. The implication is that prayer is ‘an additional ingredient to our Christian service’
But the Biblical evidence makes it clear that ‘the spiritual work’ to which we as Christians are called, is not our work but ‘GOD’s work’ ! It is GOD alone who convinces people of their need of salvation, it is GOD alone who transforms lives. If our Christian service is to be spiritually fruitful, it follows logically and theologically, that we MUST ask GOD to act. Like the leaders of the early church we too must recognise that prayer is: fundamental rather than supplemental.
In recent months our own Session has felt that it might be beneficial for us as a church to re-assess our personal and corporate prayer life.
There will be a short series of sermons during our Sunday morning services where we will examine the New Testament’s teaching about prayer. Please pray that GOD might speak on these occasions, that He might help and encourage us with something that if we are honest we all find difficult – the discipline of prayer.
It will be good to reflect on our prayer life, but reflection without action is pointless. In addition to Pulse, our regular weekly prayer meeting on a Wednesday evening, Session have agreed that it would be good to commence a regular monthly prayer meeting where we specifically focus on praying not only that GOD would lead us in and equip us for our life & ministry as Mearns Free Church, but that He himself would make our service fruitful by His actions. These monthly prayer meetings will be initially be held at 9am on the second Saturday morning of each month starting in April.
Mearns Free Church Monthly Prayer Meeting
9am Saturday 12th April
Martin & Elizabeth Smith’s home - contact office or see church directory for address