Our primary questions and concerns on this day of prayer are:
- Who is God bringing to us as our next lead pastor? Prayers that God would bring the right fit for Lethbridge First Baptist.
- How can we prepare our hearts and minds for this new leader to transition well into our church community?
- Lift up the pastoral search team in prayer: Doug Pharis, Tracey Roemmele, Hailey Thompson, Teresa Loewen, Cheryl Andres, and Keith Shields.
Special Instructions:
The church building will be open for anyone who would like to take their time of prayer at the church on Saturday, Sept 20. There will be stations set up for several of these suggested ways of prayer, including music, colouring, Scripture meditation, and a prayer labyrinth. Pastors will be available to guide you and pray with you.
We will be gathering at our building at 10:00 am on Sunday to end our 24-hour prayer vigil together. During your time of listening, have a pen and paper on hand to write down what you are hearing from God on behalf of our community. This could come in many forms; a scripture verse, a specific word, song lyrics (from a song you know or even a new song!), a poem, an image, or you might even write out a prayer. We invite you to record what you hear and bring this paper with you to post. We’ll get the chance to view what God is speaking to our church.
If you cannot attend this gathering, feel free to email what you heard to Troy and he will print and post it for you.
Specifics for which you can pray:
(You do not need to pray for all of these specifics, this is a guide. Feel free to pray longer for some things than others. Feel free to add to this list.)
- Church prayers:
- For ears to hear what the Spirit is speaking – an outpouring of the Spirit on us
- Our council, staff, volunteers of all kinds for an encounter with the Holy Spirit
- For each person who comes through our doors
- For God to bring new people to us, filling specific gifts we will need
- for our mission to be a blessing in our community
- Church transition prayers:
- For God to lead the candidate of his choosing to apply
- Preparation of the person who will be our next Lead Pastor
- Preparation for us as a congregation to receive a new Lead Pastor
- That the wilderness of transition would hone our trust in God’s provision
- Our city
- mayor and council members
- city workers of all types
- front line workers
- major employers in Lethbridge: police and fire, medical care, and education
- farm labourers who are far from home
- the oppressed in our city
- Iindigenous and First Nations people
- those with mental health issues
- those with addiction issues
How to Spend an Hour in Prayer
Here are twelve suggested ways to pray during your hour of prayer (you can do 5 minutes each if you like for your entire 60 minutes).
Before You Start:
- Take time to quiet yourself in God’s presence.
- Take a few deep breaths and relax.
- You may read some scripture verses to quiet your spirit or be silent.
- Sometimes we cannot stop our thoughts. Each time a thought comes lift it up in prayer.
1. Praise
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!
This means to be grateful to God for who He is: He is holy, He is there (He exists); He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere. God is loving, and merciful, and kind, and always faithful. These things and more are called the attributes of God. The point is to give God thanks, not for what He’s done or what He’s given, but simply for who He is.
2. Waiting
Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God.
Take time to gather your sense of God. Just still your heart, and silently surrender your soul to Him. Think of it like sunbathing: you simply bask in the silent Presence of God.
3. Confession
Psalm 139:23 – Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
Simply acknowledge to God the things in your heart and life that you know are not pleasing to Him. Then ask His forgiveness. Think of it as “spring cleaning” for your soul.
4. Scripture Praying
Jeremiah 23:29 – Is not My Word like a fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
Take any of your favorite verses and turn them into a prayer. The Psalms are especially good to use for this. Take Psalm 23, for instance. Read verse 1, and then say something like, “O Lord, You are my Shepherd, and I know that I will never lack for anything I truly need because You are watching over me.” Try this, and watch how your prayer will “take off”, and other things will come pouring out of you to God. Then when you “run down”, go to another verse.
5. Watching
Colossians 4:2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
You could call this “holy alertness”. Think about the “borders” of your life, and talk to God about any weak spots where you might be susceptible to intrusion by the Enemy (i.e., the devil). This is you thinking about your life and talking to God about keeping you “out of the ditch”. It’s asking God to help you recognize potential problem areas with sin and temptation, before they happen.
6. Intercession
1 Timothy 2:1-2 – First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and dignified in every way.
This means praying for other people. Consider the 4 lists above for ways to pray/people to pray for, and/or use the Church Directory to pray for specific people. Consider praying specifically for the Search Committee.
7. Petition
Matthew 7:7 – Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.The sense here is: keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking. The Apostle Paul said, “Let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
This is you talking to God about how you’d like your day to go. This is you talking to God about how you’d like your life to go. He gets the final say-so, but He still wants you to talk to Him about it.
8. Thanksgiving
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Maybe you can’t be thankful for your circumstances, but you can still find something to thank God for in your circumstances. We have to be intentional about this; we aren’t thankful by nature. This is simply you expressing your appreciation to God for what He’s done and what He’s given to you. It’s cultivating an attitude of gratitude towards God.
9. Singing
Psalm 100:2 – Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with thanksgiving!
Sing a verse of a favorite hymn, or the words to a praise-and-worship song you like. Just close your eyes and sing the words to Him.
10. Meditation
Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
This time, don’t say anything. Just think about a verse or a portion of Scripture. The word meditate meant “to chew the cud”, like a cow will chew it’s cud, in order to get all of the goodness out of the grass it ate. Have a pen and paper ready to record impressions He gives you.
11. Listening
Ecclesiastes 5:2 – Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.
Here is where you quietly wait before God to listen for whatever He might want to say to you. God is totally capable of speaking directly to your heart, if He wants. But you won’t “hear” Him at all, if you don’t take the time to listen. Sometimes God speaks first: you sense Him tugging on your heart, pulling you to come pray to Him. Try to never deny an impulse to pray. And when you believe God has spoken to you, weigh it carefully against what the Bible says. God will never tell you to do something contrary to Scripture. If you need to, go ask someone who knows the Bible better than you. But be sure you make time to listen to God.
12. Praise
Psalm 63:3 – Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
This brings us full circle. You might be thinking, “I already did this!” But there is no such thing as praising God too much. Maybe, as your time of prayer draws to a close, you could thank Him for hearing your prayer. (Psalm 65:2 – O You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come.)
Adapted from David Tyra – How to Spend an Hour in Prayer, written by Dick Eastman https://www.firstbaptistlinton.org/2015/08/01/how-to-spend-an-hour-in-prayer/
Scriptures:
“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10[1]
“Who may climb the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?
Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols
and never tell lies.
They will receive the LORD’s blessing
and have a right relationship with God their savior.
Such people may seek you
and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.”
Psalm 24:3-6 (NLT)
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT)
“Once Jesus was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of his disciples came to him and said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’” Luke 11:1 (NLT)
“Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.”
Psalm 37:3, 4 (NLT)
Songs and Poetry:
If there is still time in your hour of prayer, you may want to sing a song or recite memorized scriptures or poetry.
- Our God is an Awesome God
- Waymaker
- 10,000 Reasons
- Raise a Hallelujah
- Amazing Grace
- Step by Step
- The Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm 23)
“He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20 (NLT)
[1] The preparation of this prayer guide was developed by Keith Shields with the input of many online examples. The introduction is taken from “Prayer Guide for St. Paul’s Prayer Vigil,” March 29, 2018, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Somerset, PA, https://stpaulsuccsomerset.org/2018/03/29/prayer-guide-for-st-pauls-prayer-vigil/