Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! - Psalm 105:4  

Father, teach us to be a praying church.  That is my prayer today.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Please make Redeemer a praying church.

Amen.

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges that we has followers of Jesus get to enjoy.  Yet it is also a struggle for many of us.  We live in a culture filled with distractions, and to get alone with God and focus on Him, does not come naturally.  To learn how to pray may begin as a discipline, but it will over time be transformed into a joy.  The elders of Redeemer church want more than anything for Jesus Christ to be glorified in His bride, and we believe that this will not happen without us first and foremost becoming a praying church.  We hope you will commit to spending time daily with the God who loves you, who desires time with you, and who adopted you as His son or daughter.  Below are a few practical tools to strengthen your prayer life.

1. Identify your “best time” of the day to be alone with God.  For most of us this is early in the morning, before work, before the kids wake up, before you log onto your computer.  Commit this time to Lord.  This may mean disciplining yourself to go to bed earlier than you normally do, to ensure that you wake up early enough to pray.
2. Find a “prayer closet”.  This does not have to be a literal closet, but find a place where you will be alone with God, and where you are not surrounded by the distractions that may take your eyes off of Jesus.
3. Make sure that you are not just asking God for things, but include in your prayer time adoration, confession, thanksgiving AND supplication (remember the pneumonic “ACTS”).  Remember that prayer is an act of worship.
4. Use scripture to pray.  Start by reading over a portion of scripture and use that as a springboard for adoration, confession, thanksgiving and supplication.  The psalms lend themselves especially to prayer, but each and every verse of the bible can be incorporated into prayer.
5. Use the Lord’s prayer to guide you (see Matthew 6:9-15).
6. Pray alone and with others.  Pray daily with your spouse and your children.  Pray with your gospel community.  Prayer with your church family.
7. Ask your brothers and sisters in Christ what they need prayer for.  And don’t just tell them that you will pray for them, but pray for them right then and there.
8. Keep a prayer journal.
9. Pray big prayers and pray specific prayers.  God is real, He hears every prayer, and He has invited us to ask Him for anything, so do that!
10. Pray for people to be saved, and for God to be glorified, and for Him to use You for His ultimate purpose.

Here are a few resources and books to help you grow in your prayer life:

1. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/ - This is a daily prayer blog by Scotty Smith.  This  will help to model prayer for you by praying daily through scripture.
2. A God Sized Vision, Colin Hansen
3. With Christ In The School Of Prayer, Andrew Murray
4. A Praying Life, Paul Miller
5. Prayer And The Knowledge Of God, Graeme Goldsworthy
6. 57 Words That Change The World, Darrell Johnson

May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!  May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! ...... May he grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans!  May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners!  May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! - Psalm 20:1, 4-5  

Oh gracious and tender God, thank you for these encouraging words spoken by the Psalmist.  In these verses of God-breathed scripture, I hear You urging us to bring our desires and our needs to You.  What an invitation!  That we, a bunch of sin-covered wretches, could ask YOU, a holy and perfect God for anything, is astounding.

And the sad truth is, that I waste this great opportunity on a daily basis.  Forgive me Father.  Forgive me for not bringing all things to You.  And forgive me for not believing that You can and will answer all prayers. Forgive me for all of my “safe prayers”, prayers that are vague, prayers that betray my lack of faith in a God who hears and who acts.  As You teach me, and our church to become a praying church, give us confidence to pray specific prayers, and to pray big prayers.  And then let us rejoice as we watch You, in all Your sovereign might answer these prayers.

And Father, as I grow in my faith and in my knowledge and understanding of You, please make my petitions those that will glorify You.  Teach me to submit all my plans to You, resting in the countless promises that You will guide my steps.  Please Lord, align my desires with Your desires ... and then fulfill all my petitions!

Amen.

Please be in prayer for the following:

1. That as college students return to Bellingham, that  they would meet Jesus, early in the Autumn.
2. For our resident missionaries focused on Western, that God would grant them opportunities to witness to those He is pursuing.
3. For 40 baptisms by the end of this year.
4. For our upcoming Perspectives course, that God would be glorified through the course and be worshipped all the more by those involved in it - that they would be more captivated by God’s glory and delight in Him making a name for himself in all the earth.
5. That Redeemer would become a praying church.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. - Psalm 136:1

Father, it would be so easy for me today to just give a list of the numerous evidences of grace I have experienced in my life and those that we have experienced in our church.  Truly we have so much to be thankful for.  Truly You are a gracious God.  But I feel like writing a list of the first 20 things that come to my mind would only cheapen each one, when each one has so much of You surrounding it.  Each and every evidence of grace that I would list is engulfed in Your sovereignty, Your mercy, Your love, Your holiness.  How could writing out a list ever convey the depth of Your goodness.  So let me just pick one.  And let me pick one that is personal.

Father, thank You for letting my daughter Ella have cancer.  It has been over two years now since she was diagnosed and her treatments completed, and she has never looked healthier, and You know that not a day goes by that I do not thank You for healing her and sustaining our family through that.  But rarely do I thank You for allowing her to experience cancer in the first place.  But when I look back on that day when I stood next to her in that ultrasound room and heard the radiologist tell me she had a large tumor in her belly, what I remember is Your merciful hand upon me and upon her.  That week was the single most painful week of my life.  But that pain drove me and my whole family closer to You than we have ever been.  My time of prayer that day and that week was so intensely real, that my affections for You were changed forever more.  I experienced You and Your tenderness in a way that I never would have experienced if You had not allowed us to go through that.  My times laying next to Ella in her hospital bed were so sweet, and so wonderful, my heart so filled with gratefulness to You for each step closer we got towards her healing, that I will never forget those moments.  I will cherish them forever.  I now understand with so much more clarity what it means to “rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produced hope, and hope does not put us to shame because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

Thank you God for how Your gospel grounded us that week.  When we may have been tempted to question Your love for us, we were reminded through Your word, that You in fact loved us so much, that You did not spare Your only Son, Jesus Christ “who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  When I look at the cross, how could I ever doubt or question Your love for me?

Thank you Father that Your Son has not only saved us, but now lives and intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25).  And oh how I felt His presence and His intercession during that week.  How true are the words of Charles Spurgeon who said, “We little know what we owe our Savior’s prayers.  When we reach the hilltops of heaven, and look back upon all the way whereby the Lord our God hath led us, how we shall praise Him who, before the eternal throne, undid the mischief which Satan was doing upon the earth.  How shall we thank Him because He never held His peace, but day and night pointed to the wounds upon His hands, and carried our names upon His breastplate!”.

Thank you mighty, sovereign and merciful Father for the trials You have walked through with me, and with us all.  Let us never forget that our suffering is not without purpose, but that truly, truly, “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  All things, even sickness, even cancer, even death.  And when we encounter trials of various kinds, strengthen and sharpen our faith, that we may “Count it all joy” (James 1:2), resting in the hope and security we now have through faith in Your Son, Jesus Christ, who loved us, and gave Himself up for us. and secured for us a salvation that we did not deserve, through a death He did not deserve.

Amen.

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgement. - Psalm 51:3-4  

Father, forgive me for my sins.  Today and everyday, let the words of the Psalmist be a reminder to me that it is against You, You only, that I have sinned.  As I consider the sins that I struggle with, it seems to me that they are all rooted in my lack of faith in the reality of Your Gospel.  How quick I am to lean on my own understanding, and my own abilities, and my own strength, when all of these have let me down time and time again.  But You have never let me down, and You have never forsaken me.  How slow I am to confess my sins, despite Your gracious promises, that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

Father forgive me for my half-hearted trust in You.  Against You, You only, have I sinned.  Forgive me for all the times I have put more hope in my bank account that in the eternal riches that You have offered to me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned.  Forgive me for all the times I have been angry or impatient with my children, when You have been infinitely patient with me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned.  Forgive me for all the times I have puffed myself up before my brothers and sisters, and my church, knowing full well that You are a God who looks with favor upon the humble and contrite in spirit.  Against You, You only, have I sinned.

Father, it is my prayer that Redeemer would be a place where we as blood-bought sinners can come as we are, confessing our sins to one another, and to You.  Lord, I know that the more we trust in the redemption bought by Your Son Jesus Christ, the more we will not hide our sins, but will be a church of confession, and repentance, and humility, and forgiveness, leaning upon Your great promise, that “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”.

Amen.

Please be in prayer for the following:

1. Pray that if it is God’s will that we should purchase the building we currently are meeting in that we would see the $50,000 raised to start the purchase process.
2. Pray that we would see God call out 6 people to be sent with our Boston team, and 6 people to be sent with another team to an unreached people group.
3. Pray for the families at Redeemer that are in the process of adopting children, that they would be loved, supported, encouraged and cared for throughout this journey.
4. Pray for revival to break forth in Bellingham, and beyond, all for the glory of God.
5. Pray that we would become a praying church.

A Time To Fight

When was the last time you asked God to crush your enemy? Have you ever prayed to God that He NOT cover someone's guilt, or NOT blot out someone's sin? For many of us the presence of this type of prayer in Scripture is difficult enough let alone the personal use of it in our prayer lives. In many ways, it is good that we are hesitant to pray like Nehemiah does in Neh 4.4-5. Nehemiah's petition for cursing on God's enemies is inspired by the Holy Spirit and isn't about personal revenge but the glory of God and the good of His people. Nehemiah was fighting and laboring for the rebuilding of a city and of the church, and all around enemies were actively laboring to crush, discourage, distract, and destroy the work and God's people. So Nehemiah prays that God would turn taunts back on the heads of their enemies. He prays to God that He would not cover their guilt or blot our their sin, and he does all of this because men like Tobiah and Sanaballat "have provoked you [God] to anger."

Nehemiah is actually standing in a long line of people offering imprecatory prayers (just read Psalms). Praying like this isn't unbiblical and is in fact grounded in God's promises found in places like Genesis 12. Thousands of years before Nehemiah God covenanted with Abraham that He would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. Among many things, this means God cares about what happens to His people and that He will protect, defend, avenge, repay, and judge those who are hostile to the restoration, mission and people of the church. This truth is meant to encourage and embolden. God sees, God cares, and God will act. Take a minute and allow that truth to set in. As you fight for the church, as you labor to see Her thrive, as you offer your very lives in the mission of making disciples of all tribes and tongues God takes notice of every insult, every blow, every drop of blood from every martyr.

Nehemiah's prayer goes even further than giving us personal confidence and hope that God cares about our opposition, it provides corporate fervor to keep laboring. The context for Nehemiah's prayer of imprecation is the coordinated effort of God's people to accomplish their God given task while facing a hostile environment littered with slandering, threatening, violent enemies. No doubt, God's people then, as now, are prone to discouragement and fear, and one of the ways God encourages us is to know that what we suffer He sees and what we endure He will do something about. This was true for Nehemiah and the church at that time, it is true in places like Revelation 6 where those killed for their faith are told that God will judge and avenge their blood, and it is true for the church today.

How To Fight

It would be a mistake at this point to encourage any of us to constant imprecation. In fact, we would do better to allow the Biblical prayers to teach us more about who God is and what He is doing, and will do, than how to pray for the dashing of our enemies. However, this doesn't mean that there is never a place to pray prayers loosely patterned and inspired after those seen in places like Nehemiah 4. We can rightly claim the promises that God will judge, God will avenge, God cares, God sees, God defends, God protects, and so on. Utilizing these truths in the context of our personal and corporate prayer lives gives glory to God as sovereign over all people and also strengthens His saints to keep fighting even as they face opposition at every step.

Here are a few ways you might incorporate 'imprecatory' type prayers:

"Soveriegn Lord, I know you see all things. You see our enemies and you see our  suffering. God we are facing fierce opponents. Would you save them and would you stop them. Do what you deem right for your glory. Let us know and believe that the blows and the blood of your saints matter to You. Let us with confidence and courage fight trusting that vengeance is Yours, and that you will repay."

"Papa, right now there are great and wicked obstacles against your people. There are legal, cultural, spiritual, physical assaults issued forth by real people who despise and hate us. Your church is insulted and ridiculed. Your church that is called by your name. For your glory would you turn the taunts of our culture back on their own heads. Would you show the foolishness of opposing You by opposing your people. Would you cause knees to bow, and if they don't bow, would you cause knees to break. However you choose to do it would you save and stop our enemies. Would you bring to an end their taunts. Would you remove their power over us. Would you vindicate your church that those who are now discouraged would be revived as our enemies are put to shame and your might is seen in the saving and stopping of those that currently curse You and hate us."

As you can see I am slow to pray specifically like Nehemiah that God wouldn't forgive sin or wouldn't cover guilt. As a sinful man, prone to ungodly self serving revenge, I want to pray that God changes, saves, restores, and forgives my enemies much more than I would ever pray that He would curse them. Even more than the tendency to sin, we have the words of Jesus in places like Matthew 5.44 that say, "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you." Or Paul's words in Romans 12.14; "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." However, this doesn't mean we can't pray in more general terms Nehemiah 4 type prayers that God would save and stop our enemies according to His good pleasure. In fact, sometimes that's exactly what we need to pray, both for ourselves and for the people we are laboring with. Not so much prayers of cursing, but prayers of conquest.

The One Who Really Fights

Perhaps the biggest reason we should be slow to pray imprecation against others is that without Christ we are all enemies of God that deserve cursing. We must remember that before we were ever like Nehemiah, or the builders laboring, or even the people who's strength was fading, we were like Sanballat and Tobiah discouraging, oppressing, and opposing. For many of us our activity may not have been as outwardly overt as the enemies facing Nehemiah, but we were no less opposed to Jesus. And in our opposition, as enemies of God, Jesus prayed and Jesus died. Amazingly, instead of cursing us, God blesses us by cursing Christ. The reason we fight in prayer by asking that our opponents would be saved is because Jesus died for us that our guilt would be covered and our sin would blotted out. No doubt, we can still pray that God would stop enemies of the church but the Gospel compels us to pray He stops them first and foremost by saving them, just like He did for us. For those He doesn't save we know He will ultimately stop. He will bring justice. He will avenge the blood of His saints. He will defend His people and vindicate His name. With confidence in God we fight and we pray; 'God would you save and stop our enemies, for our good, their good, and most importantly, your glory.'

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!  Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!  Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!  Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!  Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgements he uttered, O offspring of Israel his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! - 1 Chronicles 16:8-13

Father, I have so much for which to be thankful to You.  I have more to be thankful for than I have words to speak.  Our church has so much for which we are thankful to You.  You have been so gracious to us.  When we stop to ponder the wondrous works that You have done, we are overwhelmed with Your kindness, and Your generosity towards us.  That kindness and that generosity which culminated on a cross over 2000 years ago, when You did not withhold Your Son, Jesus Christ, but gave Him up for us, that we may today be called Your “chosen ones!”.  That kindness and generosity that even today is at work, as we see Your gospel being proclaimed not just from the pulpit on Sunday mornings, but each and everyday by men and women who make up this church, who proclaim Your gospel in their homes, at their jobs, and all over the streets of Bellingham and beyond.  That kindness and that generosity that even today is transforming vessels of wrath into vessels of mercy.  That kindness and that generosity that has called us into adoption as Your sons and daughters.

Gracious Father, let us never cease to celebrate Your deeds among the peoples.  As we see people saved, let us celebrate, and drop to our knees and give thanks to You, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  Let us never stop saying thank You.  Let those words be the first words to come out of my mouth as I rise in the morning, and my last words as I lay my head down to sleep at night.  Thank You, thank You, thank You.

Amen

These monthly blog posts were inspired by a daily prayer post that is written by Scotty Smith on the Gospel Coalition website at: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/scottysmith/.  I have found them to be an excellent daily reminder for me of the gift that time in prayer is for us, and I encourage you all to read these each and everyday.

I would also like to post some prayer requests for Redeemer Church, as we see God moving greatly in so many ways, and as we celebrate all the evidences of grace.  Please be in prayer for the following:

1. Our facility - we need prayer for wisdom, discernment, and unity as a church in making the decision whether or not to purchase the building we are meeting in.  If we decide to purchase it, we will need to raise around $50,000 for upfront costs.
2. Church planting team members - we are wanting to see at least 6 people for the Boston team and 6 more for an unreached people group to commit to between 1-2 years to planting the Gospel in these locations.
3. More conversion, more baptisms, more church planters raised up, and more multiplication of gospel communities.