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Welcome to Christ Church, Blacklands & St. Andrew, Laton Road, Hastings
Prayer Life Activities: the Coordinator’s Message
The Prayer Chain, Prayer Group, Praying round the Parish and Deanery and more.
Scripture is full of prayer! Almost every page of your Bible has some reference to prayer, asking God for help, giving thanks or praise. Jesus in his time on earth prayed to the Father constantly, He taught his disciples how to pray and still prays with us as he promised “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:vv 19 and 20)
In John 14 we read "v 12: Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14: You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."
In the Letter of James, Chapter 5, we read of the Prayer of Faith: "v 13: Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14: Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15: And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17: Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18: Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops."
This underpins our whole life in Christ.
It is why we have a weekly cycle, over 21 weeks, of praying for every street, path, home, business, school, place of worship, park and person in our Parish. Every week in Pews News and the online version, you will find a list of streets and places to pray for, along with a seven week cycle for specific places and people in the deanery, diocese, town and our brothers and sisters in other fellowships.
It is why we have a Prayer Chain who commit to praying every day for those on our intercessions list and why we meet in Prayer group in Church every other Friday.
But it is not in the comfort of our own homes or church that the work goes on. Every week I try to walk the places on the current Pew News, with dogs, to pray Peace, Blessing, Repentance, on all the homes, people, schools, businesses, places of worship and open spaces. And many, many people will stop and have a chat, or I will stop and talk to people in their gardens, on park benches, waiting for buses and in the check-out queue in the supermarket. Several times every week I get asked about our fellowship and quite often get asked for prayers for specific needs. Which then poses a big question: "Why are YOU not out there, walking the parish and praying and meeting everyone?" Please do think about coming out with me, or on your own or with other Church members, and praying for our parish and town.
On 6th November 2015, at 7:30 p.m., there was a service in our church to commission some new Street Pastors and Prayer Pastors. In 2014 I was commissioned as a Prayer Pastor, and now after over three years of duties I am still amazed and full of thanks and praise for God in the way that our prayers are answered, while the Street Pastors are out in the town. The whole ethos of the Street Pastors is founded on prayer. And as Rev'd. Les Isaac, the CEO of the Ascension Trust which is the charitable trust behind the Street Pastors said at our fifth birthday service in May 2015, in Holy Trinity Church, "Get up and get out there and live the Gospel, don't sit on the pews getting woodworm in your posterior!"
So, here is the challenge! Who will join us walking the parish, come rain or shine, heat-wave or snow, and walk and pray and bless all we meet?
Over to YOU!