The monthly prayer focus is back.
Thanks to Catherine who has now taken over producing this. Please use
it where possible in your Sunday intercessions or notice sheets, so
that we can pray collectively throughout the year.
Monthly
Prayer Focus September 2007
This month we will focus on praying for the Town Pastors
Sunday 2nd September: He
has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors. 2 Corinthians 5:19,20
Father God, thank you for the Town Pastor initiative that has enabled
Christians to offer help and support to our neighbours in the town
centre on Friday and Saturday nights. Thank you for entrusting the
church with the role of ambassadors for Christ. May the Town Pastors
know what to say and how to respond to people in a way that reflects
your love for them. May those that receive help be drawn to know you
through their meetings with Town Pastors, Amen.
Sunday 9th September:
Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour
out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your
hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at
the head of every street. Lamentations 2:19
Father God, thank you for the dedicated team of prayers that support
the Town Pastors and lift up the people of Ipswich in prayer. May the
prayers be moved with compassion for the town during their night time
and early morning shifts. We ask the Holy Spirit to direct their
prayers in accordance with your will. Father, help us all pray for our
town as often as we think of it, when we hear the local news and walk
it’s streets. Amen.
Sunday 16th September:
Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Father God, today we pray for the Town Pastors protection, that all
their actions would be righteous and beyond criticism. Help them to
know how to respond in delicate situations. Give them wisdom for
dealing with police and door staff to ensure they assist the
professionals to do their jobs more easily. May the Town Pastors be a
shining light in our community reflecting Your holiness, Amen.
Sunday
23rd September:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
Father God, may the Town Pastors be carriers of your presence as they
patrol the town centre this coming weekend. Fill them with joy, peace
and hope that others may know that you are with them. Comfort Town
Pastors who have been involved in distressing situations and may their
relationship with you be strengthened through this work, Amen.
Sunday 30th September:
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give
account. Hebrews 4:13
Father God, may the Holy Spirit reveal to the Town Pastors where
you need them to be in the weekend ahead. May they see into people’s
situations and give them wise words to share. Develop the working
relationship between pastors and prayers so all may depend more
readily on yo
Monthly Prayer Focus
August 2007
This month we
will focus on praying for older people living in and around Ipswich.
Sunday
5th August:
Job 32:7 “Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.”
Father God, Thank you for the wisdom
and experience of the elderly and all they have to offer to younger
generations. Thank you for their contribution to the community,
especially those elderly people who love you and your church. Help us
commit to treating older people with respect and dignity, and to thank
you for them. Lord, we pray that you would help us listen intently
and with an expectation to learn. Help us to avoid impatience and
disregard but to cherish the wisdom they offer and honour them, Amen.
Sunday 12th August:
Isaiah 46:4 “Even to your old age and grey hairs I am he, I am he
who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will
sustain you and I will rescue you”
Father God,
today we pray for those elderly people who suffer physical, mental and
emotional loss. Thank you for your promise to sustain us to our old
age. Father, help those who are finding their physical ability
diminishing, especially for those who are experiencing physical pain.
Help those who are suffering from mental deterioration linked with
age. Father, look after the elderly people who are emotionally
distressed or ill due to bereavement or loss. We ask Lord that they
would lose any sense of fear but instead know your presence and
comfort , Amen.
Sunday 19th
August:
Psalms 71:9
Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my
strength faileth.
Father God,
thank you for residential and nursing homes we have serving our
community. May you bless the staff and residents with joy and peace.
Thank you for the people in Ipswich who have taken elderly relatives
into their home to care for. May the extended families know love,
understanding and companionship from one another. Thank you also for
Age Concern, Help the Aged and others who look after elderly people in
the community. May the elderly people able to stay in their own homes
enjoy continuing degree of independence and trust that they will be
helped to live safely at home, Amen.
Sunday 26th August:
Psalms 92:14a they shall still bring forth fruit in old age
Father God, today we pray for the
elderly who live alone or who feel isolated and alone. We ask that
they may have opportunities to make a positive contribution to their
community or church. May they see the fruit of their labour even in
old age. We ask particularly Lord that those older Christians who are
faithful prayers may be encouraged in their vital service. In Jesus
Name, Amen.
Monthly Prayer Focus
June 2007
This month we will
focus on praying for Release! Ipswich, the local Christian charity
working with people dealing with dependency issues.
The spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach
good news to the poor. He sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to
proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the
prisoners.
Isaiah 61 v1
Sunday 3rd
June:
Father God, thank you for the police who work hard to find the source
of illegal drug supply in and around Ipswich. We pray that they may
be given good accurate information about drug dealer’s identities,
where to find them and how they operate. Father we ask that any drug
being smuggled in via the port may be found and seized so that none of
it is distributed onto the streets of our town. Father, may your
Spirit convict the hearts of people who sell and use illegal drugs and
give them the desire to be free from them. May those that reach out
for help find it in abundance. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Sunday 10th
June:
Father God, thank you for Release! Ipswich and for the vision You have
given for people in and around our town to be free from being
dependent on any substance or compulsive behaviour. Thank you that
the administration has been put in place so that Release! Ipswich is
now a registered charity. Thank you Lord for the support that has
been given to people in need over the last two years, the prayer that
Release! Ipswich has co-ordinated, and for the drug awareness and
eating disorder education that has been given, Amen.
Sunday 17th
June:
Father God, thank you for the progress being made towards setting up a
Christian Community for people hoping to break their addiction to
drugs. Thank you for the property that has been offered to allow this
to happen. Please guide the owners as to what, how and when You plan
to use their land. Thank you Lord for the opportunity for parents to
attend the Drug Proof Your Kids training programme in October,
strengthen and protect Hannah Turner as she plans and leads this. .
Father, as Release! Ipswich looks for an individual or couple to lead
the whole project forward, please clear the path for the right people
to apply. Amen.
Sunday 24th
June:
Father God, today we pray for the group Restore, that offers support
to people dealing with eating disorders. Thank you for the Christian
people you have brought together with a heart to reach out to people
who suffer from or care for someone with anorexia, bulimia or
compulsive over eating. May You bless the interactions between
Restore and those they help. We pray against the world’s pressure for
people to conform to certain body images and ask You to release those
suffering from the mental stronghold of their disorder. Thank you
Lord for the people we know, or have heard of, who have overcome
similar issues and can witness to Your healing power and grace in
their lives, Amen.
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