Jane Holloway gives some top tips for prioritising prayer.
It’s so important for us to rediscover the priority and place of prayer in our evangelism, witness and mission.
Prayer for evangelism is about praying for ourselves as Christians. Praying that we are full of the love and compassion of our Heavenly Father – and for God to open doors for opportunities to pray for, care for and share our faith story with others.
Prayer for evangelism is about us using prayer as the first step in journeying with those we know who have not yet discovered the truth about Jesus Christ. Let’s be asking the Lord to draw them to himself; to open their ears to understand the truth and to open their eyes to see the light of the gospel.
Prayer for evangelism also includes praying for our homes and churches to be places where people can find out about Jesus. Praying for events, services and courses that explain the good news, and praying for all those who are called to preach, teach and write about the call to follow Jesus Christ.
Prayer for evangelism is putting prayer first in our efforts, as outlined in 1 Timothy 2:1 – 4. Here we see Paul urging Timothy to make prayer a priority (verse 1). We learn that prayer is varied – there are lots of different types of prayers and ways to pray (verse 1). We learn that prayer is part of God’s plan to bring in His kingdom. That God’s plan is for each person to be saved and to come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ (verse 3), and we also see there is an invitation to pray for everyone (verse 1).
Let’s ask God for ways to build caring relationships (1 Corinthians 9:22) and for opportunities to witness(Colossians 4:3).
Let’s pray for 5 friends – asking God to:prepare hearts (Luke 8:11 – 15)open spiritual eyes (2 Corinthians 4:4)give ears to hear (Matthew 13:15)give faith to believe (Acts 20:21)give the will to respond (Romans 10:9)set them free from spiritual captivity (2 Timothy 2:25 – 26)send people into their lives to witness to them (Matthew 9:38). The BLESS acrostic originated from Christians in India, and is now used all over the world as an easy way to pray for felt needs:Body – pray for health, protection, strength, fitness Labour – pray for a job, income, financial security Emotional – pray for joy, peace, patience, self-control Social – pray for marriage, family, friends, love, forgiveness, reconciliation Spiritual – pray for salvation, spiritual growth, grace, hope
Dear Lord,
Help us as we love you.
Help us as we love one another.
Give us confidence to tell others about Jesus.
Let us demonstrate your love to the world.
Amen.
Source: eauk.org
