Isaiah 62:6-7 ‘On your wall O (Bristol) I have posted watchmen: All day and all night they will never keep silent… Nehemiah 1:6 ‘let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying day and night… No human activity draws us more deeply into the heart of God than prayer. And no way of prayer places us more solidly into the affairs of human life than intercessory prayer. Love of God, of necessity , leads to love of neighbour. They are not two commands, but one. 2Chronicles 7:14
Bristol Prayer Wall Guide - May-June 2001
Prayer Guidelines
Its worth investing 10-15 minutes of your hour worshipping God and thanking Him
and repenting. When you have focused on God for a while you will be better led in what you intercede for. We need to ‘put on the armour of God’. The Celtic Christians knew how to do this and it can be useful to pray like them e.g.
‘Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me... Christ in the heart of all who think of me... I pray today with the power of God to pilot me, God’s strength to sustain me..., God’s word to speak for me, God’s hand to protect me,
God’s shield to defend me, God’s host to deliver me from [my worries and weaknesses]...For to the Lord belongs salvation.’Each week briefly pray God’s blessing over your church, one church of a different denomination, and your locality. For the last five minutes of your hour pray for the person after you, and phone them (even if they don’t follow on
immediately). This will then leave you around half of your hour to focus on the following
political and social prayer needs:
May 2001 - Focus on Election and Politics
Visit sites: www.vote2001.net; www.faithworkscampaign.org;
www.makethecrosscount.com; www.beaming.org.uk
‘A million Christians could alter the result of the next General Election’
(vote2001.net). As Christians we have a responsibility towards our nation. We need a Biblical perspective to be heard above the many pessimistic or worldly perspectives influencing our country. There is not necessarily a ‘right’ party to vote for, but at the moment because politicians are open to listening to what we have to say, we could change all parties for the better. Pray that the Christian campaign www.vote2001.net will find favour and influence. Take time to study a Biblical view on politics (Gen 1; Matt5:13-16; Gen39: Dan 1; Roman 12:2; Esther).
Cover the election campaigns and results in prayer by praying for:
Time and time again it can be seen that faith works, when Christians set up projects in their communities. For example, Christian drug projects have a sustainable long-term success rate as opposed to some secular ones. There are 7000+ Christian Youth workers and only 6000+ authority employed youth workers. Pray that politicians realise the resource they have in the form of Christians. There are an estimated 131,000 church-run community projects in the UK. However, in a survey of 3000 church leaders, one fifth felt that they had been excluded from government support on the basis of their faith. Pray that Christian projects will be given more funding and shown more favour by the next government, pray that discrimination will be brought into the light and corrected. Pray that the petition being sent to the government will be looked on favorably. Sign the petition for this being sent to the government on the Faithworks website.
God’s Heart for the UK
We need to seek God’s face when we make political decisions, such as voting. What are God’s concerns for Bristol and the nation? He blesses the poor, the pure in heart and the oppressed, so how do we? We need to ask Him if there are any specific issues which should influence our political voice at this time. Which policies grieve or please God? What personal attitudes need to be changed in you, or the church in Bristol? Arrange a prayer meeting in your church.
Local Government – see the City Watch notes on the names of existing councillors
2 Cor 3;17 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Jesus came to proclaim freedom for the captives, release from darkness for the prisoners and He promises an inheritance of everlasting joy. As we pray for our projects in the city we stand on the promise that God, by His Sovereign grace and power will do immeasureably more than we can imagine.
The Crisis Centre
There is an urgent need for prayer for the team for unity, encouragement and perseverence in times of change and development. The potential of this work is enormous and the Enemy knows this. Please pray for wisdom for Paul Hazelden as he seeks to manage the project on a day to day basis and looks towards accommodating new ideas for the future. Please pray for a new coffee shop manager to be raised up. Pray for Jane and husband Paul who keep the job manned and prepare the food faithfully. That they may be filled with the Holy Spirit, be constantly in God’s Presence and anointed for the work and that they find church fellowship. Pray for MUSICIANS TO VOLUNTEER to play worship songs etc. in the coffee shop on a regular basis. The Lite course run by Andy Luxford seems to have been successful in helping people to move on. Please pray for the release of funds from government to enable him to continue with this good work. The Bridgehead Church meets weekly on a Wednesday at 8pm and is effectively "church for the unchurched." There is a time of worship, team building and prayer with a speaker invited each week. Please pray for these times to be fruitful for our clients with a real sense of the presence of God filling their lives and the Word of God to take root.The building itself has structural problems in that there is severe damp in the basement room which is currently out of use for this reason. There is great potential for this space if we can get access to sort the problem out. Most of all please offer prayers to God for the salvation of the homeless, lonely, addicted and vulnerable members of our society. With God all things are possible. The prophetic words given for Bristol are that God wants to a mighty work amongst the street people in Bristol.
"the noise"
This project is taking place in Barton Hill between 4-7th May. The idea comes from the Soul Survivor initiative which was so successful in Manchester last year. Please pray for there to be a loud spiritual noise made in this area as the gospel is presented in a practical way. There can be a massive impact made on peoples lives by simply offering to do various tasks for free eg. Clearing up rubbish and reaching the youth & elderly in the area. In Manchester there was a significant reduction in the crime rate because of the pro-active presence of Christians. Lets pray for more success in urban regeneration. (Isaiah 61; 3-4). Pray that God will impact the drug problem, youth, unemployment, crime and bless single parent families in this area.
If you want to
pray corporately for this event please contact jlyus@hotmail.com.
Caleb House a Christian rehab. is closing down. Please pray for the addicts recovering there at the moment for their care, & pray especially for the gap left by this project to be filled. Pray God steps in & provides Caleb with funds & resources? Or that He sets up a new one in Bristol
Please pray for Sarah Bowden as she sets up a regional branch of Grandma’s in Bristol. Grandma’s is a Christian charity aiming to give practical support to children affected by HIV, regardless of race religion, gender, sexuality and
lifestyle. We offer simple and practical home-based childcare. Please pray that the HIV affected families will be reached and blessed by the love of Jesus.
Please pray for the following Social Action Projects:
revelation of divine love: daycentre for old people; visiting Barrow; helping
adults and children with learning difficulties; Southmead Panda Club;
Gingerbread; helping at the Nightshelter and more.
South Bristol Church and Community Trust - Pray for God to protect the forward thrust of the work here in building a church and community centre in Withywood.
Faith, Hope and Love for Bristol (1Cor13:13; Col 1:3-6;Heb10:1925)
Faith (Acts and Heb11) - reflect on what was achieved by the apostles in the
book of Acts. Pray for personal faith that God can use you and your church to do
similar things. Believe that signs and wonders can happen in our city to bring healing and salvation.
Hope (Is40:31; 1Thes5:24) - we can be certain of the promises of God. He is dependable and wants good things for us. We need to look forward to the New Jerusalem and not back to the Garden of Eden (Rev21). Instead of just lamenting
over what has gone wrong, weep in prayer until you feel God’s peace. Try to see how God can redeem every situation and pray it in with confidence. P.U.S.H., Pray Until Something Happens!
Love (Luke10:27; 1Cor13) - this could be emphasised more because love and grace are absolutely fundamental to the Christian walk. Our Father "will rip through every obstacle in your life if you put a demand on His passion. You have no idea how much He loves you." (Tommy Tennee ‘The God
Catchers’). Ask Him to show you His heart beat for Bristol and your locality. Fall more in love with God. Catch a vision for what it means to be the Bride of Christ. Seek a renewing of your first love for Jesus. Rev. 3:20"God invites us to Himself ‘My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me’ (S of S 2:10). We have a choice. We can stay in
the Outer Court of inferiority or we can voluntarily turn our minds, wills and emotions towards the Spirit and draw closer to Him." (Alice Smith ‘Beyond the Veil’, p155). When we enter the Holy of Holies the presence and glory of God dwells in us in power.
PRAYER members of Britain’s Black Community. – Pray for their salvation since there is no greater blessing than this; minister to people’s practical needs eg. For help with finding employment and better paid jobs. Do what you can to support the work of Black churches& ethnic churches.
NEW BRISTOL EA MEDIA WEBSITE WITH CHRISTIAN EVENTS ADVERTISED ACROSS THE CITY AND ALSO A CHANCE TO LINK UP YOUR CHURCH’S WEBSITE TO IT:
www. beaming.org.uk
EVANGELISM IN BRISTOL
Continue to pray for all known evangelists, for schoolsworkers, OAC workers etc. Pray for Phil Jinadu as he leads courses to train Christians in Lifestyle evangelism and prepares for a large evangelistic event at Bristol Cathedral. Pray many people will take their friends to this event.
Pray for all the Alpha Courses going on.
The CHURCH in BRISTOL
- For a Spirit of Repentance and for the Presence of God to come upon all churches in the city. Pray for UNITY and worshipping and working together between black, white & ethnic churches in Bristol - Psalm 133, John 17:1:20-26 – PRAY FOR THE ELDERLY AND THE YOUNG TO WORSHIP & WORK TOGETHER AND THAT CHURCHES WOULD NOT BE SEGREGATED BY AGE BUT WOULD REFLECT GOD’S FAMILY.