September 2020 Update

“Ask the Lord of the harvest”

As a pastor or Prayer Point Person or just someone with a heart for prayer, you might wonder at times if trying to stir up a spirit of prayer in others is something you should be doing. Maybe that is none of your business and something you should just leave up to the Holy Spirit? I had those thoughts come to me a while ago, but then I read the account of how Jesus responded when He saw the great need all around Him: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” At that time His response was not to try and solicit more food donations, or recruit more disciples or work longer hours, but instead, it was to recruit more people to pray about this need. He understood that that is how things got done in the kingdom. He Himself was a man of prayer and He knew that the way to multiply His efforts, was to recruit people to pray for more workers. So He turned to His disciples and said: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into this harvest field.” (Matt.9:35-38).

 

If you are like me, you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the needs in our nation and world, and you feel that your efforts are too meager. But, as we learned in our last Prayer Summit, feeling helpless prepares our hearts to pray effectively. The example of Jesus recruiting people to pray gives me hope that there is a solution to all this need and that recruiting people to pray is a key part of it. So, I encourage you to do what you can to make prayer in your life and congregation a top priority and then watch what the Lord of the harvest will do.

 

Prayer Summit 2 Video

In September we conducted our second Prayer Summit with the theme, “Helplessness and Hopefulness”. It was very helpful teaching and we took some time to apply, in prayer, what we learned and then we had a great Q&A time. Here is the link for that Prayer Summit (we did not include the breakout prayer time). Feel free to use it in your church and pass it on to others: https://vimeo.com/460638874

Prayer Summit 3 – “Fervency and Righteousness”

The heart of prayer that changes things requires fervency (an old-fashioned word for focused passion) and righteousness. Both require contributions from the Lord and us. What will God do and what can we do to increase fervency and righteousness required for effective prayer in ourselves and our churches? Doug and Margie Newton will continue to teach us about how to develop a heart of prayer during this time (October 15 starting 7:00 PM EDT, 6:00 PM CDT, 5:00 PM MDT, 4:00 PM PDT). During this time we will go into 20 minute breakout groups to pray about what we are learning and then have a Q&A time. To register for this, go to the FMCIC website under the menu “PRAYER” and look for “Register Now” or simply click on this link https://fmcic.ca/prayer-summit-registration/. For those who register, we will send you a Zoom link to participate in the Prayer Summit closer to the time of the summit. Don’t forget to check that you are willing to receive more correspondence related to the summits if you would like follow up materials and the link to a video of the summit.

 

“What is the greatest challenge you face in developing the prayer life of your church?”

To help us prepare for our 4th and final Prayer Summit for 2020, we need your help. During our first 3 we provided you teaching from God’s Word that would give you a heart of prayer that changes things.  During this final one we want to offer you practical, how-tos about developing the prayer life of your church. Could you give some prayerful thought to the question: “What is the greatest challenge you face in developing the prayer life of your church?” Then send your response to me, as soon as possible, at ken@chapelridge.ca. We plan to offer some practical ways various churches have been developing their churches into houses of prayer.

 

Prayer Points for our August 26, 2020 National Prayer Meeting:

  1. That each of our churches will make prayer a greater priority and discover how to develop the prayer life of their church.
  2. That the Lord would stir us up and send us out into the harvest field and add many to our ranks as we do this.
  3. That those in our churches will grow in warmth of affection for each other despite the relational hurdles we are facing these days.
  4. That the government will have wisdom and understanding as they seek to counter the effects of Covid-19.
  5. The Lord’s guidance and spirit of unity as we gather for our virtual General Conference this fall.
  6. Pastor Pierre’s son, Prudence, who is still in a coma in the hospital.
  7. For us to have God’s wisdom, discernment and love as we seek to love those in the LGBT+ community, engage women in leadership, and counter racism.