Are you praying for them? (part 2 of 2)
To recap: You’ve joined us in the middle of a series on how English Ministries can take the initiative and responsibility in the fight for a church-wide gospel unity in their local church. For more info see these previous posts: Series Introduction- Stop Grumbling About Them and Start Fighting For Them, and Are You Praying for Them? (part 1 of 2).
Are You Praying for Them (part 2 of 2)
Last time, I left off asking the question- “Could you be praying more for the other congregations in your church?” Let me continue by encouraging you in a few specific ways.
First, evaluate whether you see the importance of praying for the other congregations. If you would have asked me then, I would have said – Of course I think it is important. But my actions didn’t testify to my convictions (which to some degree should make us question the genuineness of the conviction). We pray for what we value. How much prayer airtime are you giving to the older generation?
Second, as you pray, adopt the Apostle Paul’s prayer priorities. He was after all an apostle, called to lay the foundation of the entire Church. Thus he knew how to pray for his people. Take the time, even right now, to examine Paul’s prayer priorities. Check Eph 1:15-23, Eph 3:14-21; Phil 1:9-11; Col 1:9-14, and 1 Thess 3:9-13 to name a few. May Paul’s prayer priorities be yours to an increasing degree. If you struggle with knowing what and how to pray for others, check out D.A. Carson’s A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers. By God’s grace, this book revolutionized my prayer-life; when I started putting what I learned into practice, what I once felt was drudgery, I began counting as delight.
Third, develop a prayer plan to pray for everyone in your church. My spiritual mentor set a fantastic example for me as he prayed for everyone in his church, name by name. What he’d do is grab his church directory, and pray through one page day. If it was Jan 1st, he’d pray through page 1. Jan 2nd, he’d pray through page 2. When the directory had 30 and 31 pages, it worked out precisely. But when membership increased, so did membership-directory pages. Then, he’d just pray through multiple pages a day. Don’t just use your directory as a phonebook, use it has a shepherding tool!
Fourth, tell them you have been praying for them, and tell them how. What better way to let people know you spiritually love them, than to tell them you’ve spent yourself on your knees before the great and good Father, asking Him to give them good gifts- that God would cause them to know the hope to which He has called them (Eph 1:18), that God would remind them of His great delivering power throughout life (Eph 1:19), that the Spirit would help deepen their knowledge and grasp of Christ’s love for them (Eph 1:19), and on and on.
Fifth, if you pastor an English-speaking congregation, lead your people in praying for your church’s other congregations. A great time to model this is in the “pastoral prayer.” There are plenty of things you can pray for that would a) foster cross-congregational care, and b) foster a genuine excitement about your gospel partnership. To help foster cross-congregational care for example, pray they would continue to hold out the gospel of Jesus Christ with great clarity for their own sanctification and as a witness to those who don’t know Jesus. To help foster genuine excitement in gospel partnership, pray for the other congregations as they fulfill their calling to carry out the Great Commission. Often times, members in these language-specific congregations have unique opportunities to engage in evangelism. Are members in the congregation hosting visiting scholars? Are some from those congregations going on specific mission trips? Are folks engaging their marketplace coworkers and friends about the crucified and resurrected Christ? Help your congregation to take spiritual initiative, by taking the initiative yourself.
How can you, labor for church-wide gospel unity for the sake of Christ? Give yourself to praying for the other congregations in your church.
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