Praying + Partnering

There’s a lot that can feel pretty heavy about the world today. There's definitely a lot to be praying about. That's why it is so encouraging when we see the church prioritising prayer in a fresh, new way. I always find it so moving when I see churches praying into Pentecost, engaging with the Global Week of Prayer, and running prayer initiatives above and beyond their normal rhythms. You've probably heard us say this many times, but it's so exciting that God is doing something fresh in the place of prayer here in New Zealand and around the Western world.

I’ve given up trying to work out why God seems to love answering prayers when he could just do it without our prayers. I’ve come to an acceptance that throughout all of Scripture, God delights in partnering with His people. In creation, God invites Adam and Eve to cultivate the garden. God speaks and works through Abraham to bless nations. He responds to the intercession of Moses for the nation of Israel. He radically answers Elijah's prayers. He calls his disciples to pray, "Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven."

Martin Luther reminds us that, "Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness."

God doesn't ask us to pray because he is unable to act without us. He asks us to pray because he has chosen to make prayer one of the primary ways his children participate in his ongoing work of bringing his Kingdom to earth.

And beautifully, in the place of prayer, there is something deep within us that gets shaped and formed to become more like this God who's filled with love, who is on mission. As Pete Greig says in Red Moon Rising, "The most powerful thing that can happen in the place of prayer is that you yourself become the prayer."

In the last few months in our little church, we've seen some extraordinary answers to prayer. We've been praying for years for God's provision for a building for our church, and just last Sunday, we opened our new building, which is a story filled with the miraculous provision of God. We've been praying for the lost in our community to come home to the arms of their loving Heavenly Father. And last term, we ran the largest Alpha we've ever run in our church's history. He is the God who hears and answers prayer. Sometimes, it's in a radically sovereign way, and other times, we become the very answers to the prayers that we're praying. 

Ultimately, we love the place of prayer because we love Jesus. He is the reward. Simply being with him is enough.

And so, thank you for the ways that you are part of this great story of what God is doing in our nation at this time. Don't give up. Keep praying. Keep organising prayer initiatives. Keep cheering on your local church to be a house of prayer for all nations.