pray

• Praise God that through Jesus Christ death has been destroyed and immortality has been brought to light through the gospel! Praise God that we who were once dead in our transgressions have been forgiven, and brought to life with the promise of eternal fellowship with God. Praise God that he is faithful to his promises.

• Pray for our misson partners. Pray that they would delight in the Lord, and that their fellowship with him would be sweet and that God would be their greatest treasure and constant hope. Pray that God would protect their marriages, strengthen their families, grow their relationships and work powerfully in and through them for His name’s sake. For more information on who our mission partners are, see ‘Mission Partners’.

• Pray for our brothers and sisters in prison for the sake of the gospel. Pray that they would be bold and unashamed of the one whom they have believed in. Pray for the families of our mission partners in Vietnam, that they would stand firm in the Lord, and trust Him with all their heart in the midst of this painful trial. Pray for Christians around the world, that God would strengthen them to guard the gospel and protect truth in the face of all who oppose it.

• Pray for us as a church, that we would not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, and that His praise and goodness would constantly be on our lips.

• Pray that God would give us opportunities to testify about him, and that we would be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have.

Our God answers prayers

Ephesians 3:20 is a great reminder that God is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work in us. Throughout the Bible we are constantly encouraged to pray, and reminded of God’s great love for us and his desire to give us good things. As we hear stories of God’s power at work in our lives, it is a great encouragement to pray and commit all of our lives to his care. If you would like to share how God has answered your prayers, please complete this short form. May these stories of God’s goodness encourage us to pray to him.

“We recently moved into an apartment, and were praying that God would give us opportunities to meet our neighbours. Apartment living doesn’t provide many opportunities for this - the chances of running into your neighbours in the hallway or stairs are slim! However, the day after we prayed for this there was a massive storm. Late in the evening we received a knock on the door, and when we answered it our neighbour introduced herself. She asked if we could come and help her - the storm had caused her balcony to fill with water, and this water was now seeping under the door into the kitchen. We were only too happy to help, and spent the next 20 minutes using buckets to throw the water off the balcony. We would never have thought of praying for a storm to meet our neighbour, but this is how God chose to answer our prayer. It was very encouraging for us to see God at work, opening the door (literally) to this relationship.”

- Steve and Rach