Carmen Lau from our team reflected on our prayer meeting and wrote this down for us:
“Even if you focused all of your energy on listening it would have been nearly impossible to hear the sounds of the hundreds of cars driving around the centre of Parramatta city even though that’s exactly where the prayer meeting was held. With heads down and in circles we prayed for hours… we committed the city of Parramatta into God’s hand and pleaded that God would use his church as a witness to this city and he would give us a deep desire to see the lost won for Christ. For while we are weak, the God we bring our requests to is strong. And while we put a lot of effort into this mission, without the Lord it would all be for nothing.
Last night, St. John’s church held a night of prayer and it was a great night of fellowship and encouragement. Many members from all congregations came, people from different ages, background and languages, gathered together praying in the same Spirit to the same God. With the rapid change and development in Parramatta and its great diversity of people in the community. This area is a huge challenge for the church – please join us in praying for God to be doing amazing things for his glory this week!”
The best thing you can do for a successful mission is pray.
We pray in the lead up to mission, before mission begins, as we begin each new day, each new activity and even as we finish mission. Why? Because there would be no point in the rest of our efforts if God were not on board. There would be no point in missional service without the only one who can make the mission a success. This does not imply that our prayers somehow control God’s actions, but rather that God’s past actions should move us to being prayerful.
So Why do we place such a high priority on prayer during our mission?
There’s many reasons why, but here is the single and most fundamental reason why I (Daniel Bishop) find prayer particularly valuable.
In prayer we are requesting for the one and only power that is able to save humanity to act.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” – Psalm 127:1
Prayer serves me as a constant reminder that Moore mission isn’t my mission, nor our teams mission, nor even St John’s mission but rather God’s mission. And we’re all just coming along for the ride.
While it’s easy to think a team of lecturers and theologically trained students would be effective in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. In actuality we are only as effective as God allows us to be. For we cannot even save ourselves. If we are completely dependent on God’s grace for our own salvation then we must be just as dependent or even more dependent on God for the salvation of others (if that’s even possible).
While I can find my inability to save a single soul to be frustrating at times it is often in prayer that I see it’s beauty. It’s often in prayer that I am reminded that people’s eternities don’t rest on my weak and wavering shoulders. It’s in prayer that I realize that they rest on a far more capable set of shoulders – The Lord’s. What a relief!
And so with this in mind i plead with you to join us in our mission. Set aside time each day to pray to our mighty and loving heavenly Father. Ask him to draw his people into his kingdom and that we might be used as a vessel, as a medium, as a tool for His purposes and will this week.
In Christ,
Daniel Bishop
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