Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I’m finished! It’s been over 20 years, but I finally finished reading The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer. It’s a compilation of 8 books on the topic of prayer. I began reading it during my Sophomore year of college. Then, life got busy, and there were things he wrote that I felt were exaggerated. So I stopped reading it before college was done. I picked the book up again this summer during my Sabbatical but it wasn’t until this week that I had some dedicated time waiting for my tires to be changed that I got the majority of the final book read.
One of the topics in this final book was “Paul and his prayers.” It took two chapters! But one thing that was impressed on my in the reading is the fact that Paul requests prayers for himself. 1 Thess. 5:25 – “Brothers, pray for us.” 2 Thess. 3:1 – “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you…” Hebrews 13:18 – “Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” Colossians 4:1a – “At the same time, pray also for us…”
I can say with Paul that I pray for you. I remember you in my prayers with joy because of your faith and love in Christ Jesus. But I don’t know if I have asked you to pray for me. Certainly, I’ve asked those at prayer meeting to pray for me. But Paul didn’t limit his requests to those who joined his prayer meeting. He asks the churches to pray for him. So let me ask you, “Please pray for me that I would love Jesus more than anything. Pray that I would shepherd the clock under my care. Pray that I would set a Christlike example as I follow the example of Christ. Pray that I would serve you to the best of my ability as I follow Christ. Also, please pray that I would not be ashamed of the gospel – because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.” Thank you for praying for me. I am gladly praying for you.
Please continue to pray for the nations of Israel and Ukraine and South Sudan. Here is a suggested list of prayers if you are at a loss for words in how to pray: https://send.org/story/hh_pray_for_ukraine. And https://worldrelief.org/blog-prayer-for-israel-and-gaza/ And here are other prayers for peace in general: https://worldrelief.org/prayers-for-peace-in-the-world/ Thank you for kneeling on behalf of the people of Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza and Lebanon, Sudan and South Sudan, and taking a stand (or a knee in prayer) against the forces of darkness in this present age.
Further announcements can be found in the weekly spotlight. And other church wide announcements can be found in our weekly bulletin.
For Prayer:
1. From Bishop J.C. Ryle – “To be prayerless is to be Christless, Godless, and in the high road to destruction…It will always be found that when prayers are few, grace, strength, peace, and hope are small.” Please join our Wednesday night prayer meeting (7:45 – 9:00 pm) even if you can’t participate the whole time.
https://zoom.us/j/758587937?pwd=aS9sZUdxcm1janNNM2I2aXJ6Smx2QT09
Meeting ID: 758 587 937
Password: 030086
Join by phone: +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
2. We’d be glad to pray for you. If you need prayer, you can submit your prayer request via the following link: https://www.cbcgl.org/pray/
In Christ, your servant, SDG,
Pastor Nathan Willems
Associate Pastor of CrossPoint Community – A Ministry of CBCGL