The Power of Prayer and what is needed for our church

Have you ever been reading your Bible and noticed how Paul prays such rich, kingdom-saturated prayers for churches?

For the church in Thessalonica: “To this end, we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thess. 1:11).

For the church in Colossae: “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:9–10).

For the church in Ephesus: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:16–17; see also 3:14–21).

For the church in Rome (Rom. 15:14–33) and the church in Philippi (Phil. 1:9–11).

It could never be said that the apostle Paul neglected prayer. Something drove Paul to constantly, frequently, and regularly pray. We see countless examples of this in the Scriptures. Paul’s prayers are not fundamentally grounded in fear. His prayers were not simply motivated by a trial, or persecution, or difficulty, or hardship. Rather, it was something positive that motivated him to pray day after day, night after night, in chains, or when free. Paul was motivated to pray for the saints because of something that would never become obsolete, superfluous, or nonessential. This reason motivated Paul to pray for every church, every believer, in every city, at all times without exception. That is why we have come back tonight so that we can be motivated by the growth and restoration of our church building. The wondrous works that God will do through us. Things that we ask you to consider in prayer are

Our Land

Our Ministries

Building Project

Right Contractors

Building Fund

Leadership

Right Timing

Right Bank

What can our prayers do alongside this building project? What amazing works be magnified in this building?

Have unity amid diversity—loving those with whom we have nothing in common but the gospel.

Faithful leaders would use Scripture to train members to do the work of ministry.

That a hunger for studying the gospel would form among members so that they can guide and guard one another in it.

The preaching of God’s Word—that it would be biblically careful and Holy Spirit imbued.

Those elders would remain above reproach, kept from temptation, complacency, idols, and worldliness.

8. That the church’s songs would teach members to biblically confess, lament, and praise.

That the church’s prayers would be infused with biblical ambitions, honesty, and humility.

10. That adult members would work to disciple teenagers and not just leave it to programming.

That we would grow in being distinct from the world in love and holiness, as we engage the unchurched.

That members would share the gospel this week—and see more conversions!

That members would be prepared for persecution, remembering to love, not curse, their persecutors.

15. That hopes for political change would be outstretched by the hope of heaven.

16. That giving would be faithful, as well as joyful, consistent, and sacrificial.

That people from the forest park community will become Christians in this building

We will no longer have to leave our building to baptize new converts

Therefore, let me close today by challenging us to pray continually and to consider these words from the text that the apostle Paul shared in Ephesians 1 “May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

Extend the invitation

Instructions:

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noon each day for the next 6 days they will stop and read the paper and pray the prayer on the paper. They can add more to the prayer as they wish. Ask them to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them.

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They do not have to pray the entire hour and are not required to begin at noon. Just use that window to pray for the specific task.

Each morning at 8 am you will receive a text of a prayer commitment. I ask that in addition to the noon prayer pick a few more times through the day to pray the prayer commitment also.

Closing Prayer

Awesome Father, we thank You for the vision to restore this church. Thank You for being Jehovah Jireh, the One who will provide all the resources we need to complete this project. Thank You for entrusting this endeavor to our Church Family. Lord, You are God. You created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. You made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. You are the Lord and there is no other. You publicly proclaim bold promises; You do not whisper obscurities in dark corners.

In Your Son’s Name, we command that God’s Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven for the construction to be done at The Forest Park Church of Christ. Lord, as we commit the plans for this construction project to You, we decree that they will succeed. Your Word, Father, declares that for lack of advice, plans go wrong; but with many advisers there is success. Therefore, we confess that we will seek the counsel of the Godly as we proceed with this project. We will write the vision for this new project plainly so that those involved can run and carry the correct message to others. Father, we expect You to call forth competent and skilled laborers for this project, just as You called forth the artisans for the building of the Tabernacle. We decree that everyone involved in this project will focus their attention and efforts so that they can complete their assignments and bring glory and honor to Your Name. By faith, favor surrounds this project and we will have success with local, county, and state government agencies, the legal and banking communities, and every entity associated with the completion of this project. Father, we are confident that Our church facility will be completed because You have begun this good work. Father, I ask that each member commit these next 6 days to prayer and fasting about the endeavors you have laid at our feet. Help them realize that all we do, we do together and their commitment is just as important as the person next to them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we commit to praying diligently for this project. Amen