A Week of Prayer and Fasting – 14th to 21st January 2018
Praying individually during the day: then gathering for prayer.
Sunday 14th An Hour of Prayer – 6.30-7.30 pm
Monday 15th Prayer at church from 6 pm to 7 pm
Tuesday 16th Draw Near to God prayer meeting 8-9 pm
Wednesday 17th Church Members’ Meeting at 8 pm
Thursday 18th Pray at home or in 2s and 3s
Friday 19th Prayer at church from 6 pm to 7 pm
Saturday 20th Morning of Prayer at Church 9 am to 1 pm
Sunday 21st Morning Communion Service
Every day we will be drawing close to God and asking Him to speak to us, to guide us and encourage us and inspire us all. We will be praying for our church activities and especially our outreach and evangelism. We will be praying for our town and for our world in all its different needs. We will be praying asking God to speak to us, to guide and encourage and inspire us all. This booklet gives a theme for each day of prayer and a good prayer to get you started.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (James 4:8)
SUNDAY
Repentance and Confession
Merciful God, I confess to you now that I have sinned.
I confess the sins that no one knows
and the sins that everyone knows;
the sins that are a burden to me
and the sins that do not bother me
because I have got used to them.
We confess our sins as a church.
We have not loved one another as Christ has loved us.
We have not given ourselves in love and service for the world
as Christ gave Himself for us.
Father, forgive us.
Send the Holy Spirit to us, that He may give us power
to live in the way that, by your mercy, you have called us to live.
I confess that I have lived superficially.
I have pushed to the back of my mind the questions that trouble me.
I have not found time to face the emotions that disturb me.
I have hidden from life behind habit, activity and entertainments.
I have avoided You, God, even as you came after me.
In my relationships I have given less than my whole self,
and have been closed to receiving from others
what they wished to give me of themselves.
I have responded to needs for justice with a hard heart.
I have allowed imagination and sympathy to wither.
Routine has been my ally and honesty my dread.
Lord God, we have shut ourselves up.
Come after us again, knock once more, that we may open up to meet others, rediscover ourselves, know your love, and live again. AMEN
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. I anyone hears my voice
and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Sunday 14th An Hour of Prayer – 6.30-7.30 pm
MONDAY
Thanksgiving
For the actions which have angered You, we are truly sorry.
For the words which have wounded You, we are truly sorry.
For the thoughts which have betrayed You, we are truly sorry.
Jesus, Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world: have mercy on us. Jesus, bearer of our sins: have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the world: give us Your peace. AMEN
Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-6)
Lord God, creator of all things, for your love for humankind: for your love for each person: for the great and mysterious opportunity of life: for the life of your Spirit within us: for the gifts of your Spirit: we praise and worship you; through Jesus Christ.
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.
Monday 15th Prayer at church from 6 pm to 7 pm
TUESDAY
Praise and Adoration
Almighty God, for the times we have been too proud to acknowledge Your part in our lives, we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. For the times we have been too proud to serve You by serving others, we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. For the times we have been ashamed and responded by trying to hide things from You we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. For the times we have not told the whole truth, to others or to You, we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. For the times when You have shown us Your presence and we have still doubted, we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. For the times You have answered us and we have forgotten to thank You, we are sorry. Forgive us Lord. AMEN
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Oh Lord open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever, AMEN
Creator God, you have made the world in which we live and you have given us life. Merciful and compassionate Father, we praise and adore you.
Lord Jesus Christ, you have shown us the wonder and the cost of love through your life and through your death upon the cross. Risen Lord, we praise and adore you.
Life-giving Spirit, you renew and empower us to live as children of God and followers of Jesus. Spirit of love and hope, of joy and peace, we praise and adore you.
Tuesday 16th Draw Near to God prayer meeting 8-9 pm
WEDNESDAY
Interceding for our family, friends, neighbours and community
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart (Mark 12:30) You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself (Mark 12:31)
You shall love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34)
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, let me bring hope;
where there is darkness, let me bring light;
and where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much
seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Wednesday 17th Church Members’ Meeting 8 pm
THURSDAY
Interceding for our church’s people, activities and outreach
Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:18-20)
Lord, remembering the depth of Your love to us, we repent of our half-hearted discipleship. We have been called to deny ourselves: forgive us for putting self-interest before the interests of Your Kingdom; forgive us that Christ’s Lordship in our hearts has been challenged by our ambition, our appetites, our desires and our needs;
forgive us for not being self-forgetful in our care for other people. Lord, we have been called to carry a cross: forgive us for complaining when it has weighed heavily upon us; forgive us that, having received so much, we have sacrificed so little; forgive us for the limits we have set to Christian love; forgive us that we have settled for mediocrity, resisting the fire and passion of Christ’s love upon the cross.
Forgive us Lord. AMEN
Teach us Good Lord to serve you as you deserve;
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To toil and not to seek for rest,
To labour and not to ask for any reward,
Except that of knowing that we do your will.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
Thursday 18th Pray at home or in 2s and 3s
FRIDAY
Asking God to guide you in your personal life and witness
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)
Lord I am willing to be made willing.
I am desirous that Thy will shall be done in me, and through me,
As thoroughly as it is done in heaven.
Come and take me and break me and remake me.
And now I give myself to Thee, in life and in death,
In the dark and in the light, in sorrow and in joy;
To be Thine only, wholly and forever.
Make the most of me that can be made, for Thy glory,
O Thou who livest and reignest, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One God, world without end, AMEN
JESUS TAKE ME AS I AM, I can come no other way.
Take me deeper into You, Make my flesh life melt away.
Make me like a precious stone, Crystal clear and finely honed,
Life of Jesus shining through, Giving glory back to You.
Friday 19th Prayer at church from 6 pm to 7 pm
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SATURDAY
Asking God to speak into our situation and guide us as a church
Saturday Morning of Prayer at Church from 9 am to 1 pm
Morning of Prayer Saturday 20th January
The church will be open from 9 am to 1 pm
Each hour will begin with a time of prayer together followed by space for personal prayer. Books are available to help your devotions. Feel free to arrive and leave at any time, not just around the hour.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
“Asking is the rule of the Kingdom.” (C.H.Spurgeon)
9.00 Drawing near to God Psalm 42
10.00 Prayer for members and friends of the church in need Psa 133
11.00 Prayer for our regular activities and our outreach Psalm 107
12.00 Prayer for the Future of the church Psalm 25
12.40 Time of prayer together
1.00 Close
Cup or Bucket?
Lord, I crawled across the barrenness to You, with my empty cup,
uncertain but asking any small drop of refreshment.
If only I had known You better
I’d have come running with a bucket.
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