BRISTOL PRAYER WALL PRAYER BULLETIN MAR/APRIL’02

SEND CITY PRAYER REQUESTS for next bulletin TO : bristolprayerwall@blueyonder.co.uk

1 PETER 4:7 -11 ‘The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins …..’

SUGGESTED GUIDELINES for YOUR HOUR: for more info. See website: www.bcisgnet.co.uk/bristol_pw

PRAYER WALL DEVELOPMENTS:

The running of the Prayer Wall following the ‘Sowing Seeds of Revival’ event is exciting but increasingly demanding & time-consuming. We need more people to help us with the following:

Collation and writing up of Prayer Requests for the monthly Prayer bulletin;

Help with administration and research for the following projects: Spiritual Mapping project; Intercession Training seminar; Special Prayer events such as Prayer at the football stadium; City Prayer Walking Initiative; Praying around the city boundaries & gateways; 24 hour worship/intercession events;

Pray for people to volunteer for these activities.

Pray also for Simon Toomer of who is setting up the new security for the Prayerwall email/website developments.

FEEDBACK FOLLOWING THE SOWING SEEDS OF REVIVAL EVENT:

Teams prayer walked St Pauls, Easton, Hartcliffe and the city centre, Castle Park, the city gates….. Prayer also focussed on the spiritual roots causing blocks of the flow of God’s purposes in the city. We prayed into the historical link between churches, the city and unrighteous trade, the slave trade, church unity, the city council and its relationship with churches, the persecution of the Jews, the Knights Templar and many other issues. A full report will be available at the Friday night prayer meeting on March 22nd.

There have been many answers to prayer – some seen others unseen; others still to come – obvious answers are:

  • Following prayer outside the Black & White café there was a drugs raid – with 20+ arrests and a very large haul of drugs – addicts complained during the next week that they could not get drugs.
  • More addicts have been finding Christ across the city, many via the Crisis Centre
  • God is ordaining an acceleration of His purposes in St Pauls and Easton areas: a monthly inter-church/community prayer is happening – first is March 23rd 7.30 at Ivy Pentecostal church.
  • David Blunkett visited Easton and made Stapleton Rd a priority area …
  • St Marks Baptist church where we were based is experiencing growth in its youth work….

Further feedback and a follow-on prayer meeting for Sowing Seeds of Revival is to happen this coming Friday – March 22nd at the Hope Centre, Hope Chapel Hill, HOTWELLS – 8pm to 12pm – turn up and leave anytime. More detailed reports can be obtained there too.

OTHER ANSWERED PRAYER for INNER CITY AREA – LAWRENCE HILL:

Thank God for all the work being done at Trinity Tabernacle. God has provided new urn, new 6 ring cooker. They often feed 120 for breakfast and lunch. There have been 6 converts, and 2 baptised. Pray for their work: they also help with meals on Mondays with the nearby Salvation Army. A Mullers worker works in the community with them, helping kids in schools, and runs Workshops on Aggression and Assertiveness, and Bereavement. A couple Roger and Janet use their building on Wednesday evenings for a good youth work.

PRAYER POINTS:

PRAY FOR THE STOKES CROFT AREA TO BE SATURATED IN GOD’S PRESENCE and for there to be peace instead of violence (there was a murder there last week). Pray also for a Prayer Walking group to be raised up here.

SOUTHMEAD: Pray for the Minister's Fraternal consisting of the 7 churches in Southmead.

Please pray for SCAG- Southmead Churches Action Group. This is where 2 people from each church meet quarterly, and seek to make a difference in the community, and is a catalyst for change.

Pray about the Drugs Project; the police; the vandalism etc.

THE WELL – SET UP A SAFE HOUSE FOR EX-PROSTITUTES & OTHER MARGINALISED WOMEN

The vision of the THE WELL is:
- to provide a safe house in which women can recover and rebuild their lives
- provide them with the opportunity for change and support them as they make life-altering decisions
- to see them leave THE WELL with a sense of self-worth, skills to maintain a tenancy, and reach their full potential in life.
The target group will be women leaving prison, and those exiting from prostitution. running costs in the region of £200,000 are needed in the first year to provide safe accommodation for 6 women (or a total of 6 women and children). They will stay up to 12 months. Staffing costs will be high because of the need to provide 24-hour care. For the right woman to take on the post of Project Development Worker for the Safe House start up.

FOR BETTER CARE OF THE ELDERLY IN BRISTOL – THAT BOTH CHURCHES & THE CITY COUNCIL WILL GIVE THIS HIGHER PRIORITY – a huge amount of Council money is being spent on homelessness issues which is good; Meanwhile however the budget for care of the elderly has been drastically reduced causing much suffering and instability to the elderly e.g. Most Council-run OAP homes have now been closed and clients have painfully had to be relocated; Many private homes are also considering closure since new governments guidelines make it very difficult for them to continue running. Pray into this. Many new churches either ignore or alienate the elderly and do not show them proper respect. Pray for God to raise up more Christians in the city to reach out to the elderly and for House Groups to adopt an OAP home to pray for and visit.

PRAY FOR RIGHT PERSON TO BE APPOINTED TO RUN BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS CENTRE when Mary Morgan leaves.

COLLEGES OF FURTHER EDUCATION IN BRISTOL i.e. City of Bristol College

often gets missed out prayer wise not being a uni or school; there are thousands of students at the different sites. Clairvoyancy classes are now run there along with increasingly New Age type subjects. Pray for Trish who has just set up a new Christian Union at the new site in the centre. Pray for many students to be impacted by this.

YOUTH OUTREACH - DAY ONE

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO PRAY AT CASTLE PARK TO SUPPORT YOUTH EVANGELISM EVENT
Let Naomi know if you are willing to sign up for 1 hour slots in the caravan on Thurs 11th and Fri. 12th April. (you can also sign up to pray from home). The slots run from 10.30am to 2.30pm - please email me your preference. On Saturday 13th the slots to be filled in the Colston Hall are 1.30pm to 10pm with a prayer meeting for all from 10am to 12pm. Please email your choices to bristolprayerwall@blueyonder.co.uk or tel: 9427303.

It would be great if Prayer Wall watchmen and others could support the DAY ONE outreaches in prayer - the whole event falls very much in line with what God was saying through the Sowing Seeds for Revival event. It is no coincidence that DAY ONE will be doing two outside outreaches on Castle Park (opposite the Galleries) near the area where we prayer walked during the Prayer Mission. The DAY ONE youth outreach event runs on Thurs 11th, Fri 12th and Sat 13th April , which are the last 3 days of the Easter holiday. The first two days will be at Castle Park and the Saturday will be held in Colston Hall. Last year 100s of youth made commitments. Between now and then pray that God will stir up many people to go out into the streets and into their youth clubs etc. or schools to advertise and invite youth to this event, as well as to witness to them. Words already given indicate that many youth will be saved before the event. Pray for the Spirit of God to move upon youth in the city to such an extent, that they will repent, receive a revelation of the Love of God for them and will turn and be saved. Pray also for signs and wonders to accompany those who go out and share their faith. Pray for a giving up of addictive substances by the Youth.

FOR THE SETTING UP OF AFTER SCHOOLS CLUBS ACROSS THE CITY – many churches/Christians are currently doing/wanting to do this – particularly pray for Bedminster and Shirehampton – that this will happen.

PRAY FOR THE BRISTOL YOUTH BUS – FOR STORAGE FACILITY & REPLACEMENT

The original bus is still in service and is out most nights of the week plus Saturday mornings. It is also intended that "Day One" will use it in Castle park. A replacement ex London Transport Double Decker is currently being fitted out by volunteers. However there is a problem finding a secure home for the buses at the moment. Should have left Cadbury's in Keynsham last August but have been able to stay on a temporary basis. So far have not found another location as good as Cadbury's. Would prefer to stay there but at the same time bus does need somewhere else to go if they have to leave at short notice. Also pray for the safety of everyone involved on the streets - young people and church volunteers. The Lord has kept us all safe thus far.

FAITH FOR GOD’S PROVISION OF FUNDS

HARTCLIFFE -

Pray for the River of Life church to receive the remaining 50,000 for its building project.

HOPE CENTRE CHAPEL HOTWELLS -

Feels God has asked them to raise 1 million by the end of March – they have appeared in the Bristol Evening Post on this subject – pray the money will come in. They have exciting plans for their building which includes: A community centre; a youth centre; a centre of Hope for the marginalized; a place of Christian worship; a 24 hour prayer centre ….

DEVOTIONAL REFLECTION:

Walking as Children of Light - By John Paul Jackson
As followers of Jesus, we need to develop a heightened sensitivity to the Lord and abide in His Word. When we do, we will hear God's voice just by walking with Him. We will see, hear, know, and understand God's
ways and His heart.
Scripture tells us that as we abide in Him, we are transformed into His glorious image little by little (2 Corinthians 3:18). In fact, we become agents of transformation that advance the Kingdom of Light in the earth.
Although we carry the light of Christ within us, many of us fail to recognize the exciting spiritual impact we have on others. We become distracted by the little things in life, unaware of how God's light within us challenges the darkness around us.
Much of the time, we are focused only on those things which are seen (2 Corinthians 4:18) and limit our thinking to what is logical, rational, or tangible.
As children of the light, these sorts of things happen to us every single day, but often we are unaware of them. Our spiritual sensitivity is dull. Focused on the natural realm, we concentrate on simply existing and surviving. Sadly, we miss savoring the exciting adventures God has prepared for us.
Scripture says that God is light (John 1:89; 8:12; 1 John 1:5) and we are children of light (Ephesians 5:8). Light always exposes and expels the things of darkness (Ephesians 5:13).
Many of us think we have to "feel" spiritual to "be" spiritual, and thus to have a spiritual impact on others. But in reality, it has nothing to do with how we "feel." It has everything to do with our relationship to
Jesus Christ and that He comes to live in us. We are simply earthen vessel that carry the presence of God. As the spirit of the living God flows through us, we have a spiritual impact on everyone and everything around us.
God called us into His marvelous light in order to proclaim His praises (1 Peter 2:9). Everywhere we go, He will go with us (Matthew 28:20; John 14:20-21). He will live in us. His light will emanate through us. His power and anointing will flow out from us, touching and changing everyone we come in contact with.
______________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2002. Streams Ministries International. Used by permission.An abriged version

______________________________________________________________________