Kingdom Building Vision
This week’s prayers are written by Pastor Leslie. The aim of these prayers is again to help us pray into the Kingdom Building vision that was announced at the recent Vision Sunday service. This week we will be thinking about how to create a Christ-honouring culture in our lives, church, and, through us, in the world we move in.
There is a famous phrase by Peter Drucker, ‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast.’ This means that whatever the underlying culture is, it will always infect any new vision or plans that are unveiled. Therefore, in order to change what we do – we have to change how we think and naturally approach things.
The following 12 areas are really important building blocks in changing or building a new culture, and we will pray through them over the next two weeks – God willing.
Attitude – Call – Character – Charisma – Competency – Giving – God’s Gifting – Integrity -Personal Talents – Personality – Sacrifice – Timing.
May 30 – Father, as we pray this week about creating a Christ-honouring culture through our Kingdom Building Vision – we ask for the guidance of Your Spirit and word, clarity, and the willingness to make biblically driven changes when needed. Help us to understand what our existing culture is in church. We pray to be a faith-filled, can-do, Christ-honouring church.
Our Attitude to life says so much about the state of our souls. If our attitude is healthy, open and not self-defensive, it reflects well on our Saviour. If it unhealthy, closed off, and defensive, it points to spiritual immaturity.
We pray, Lord, that Your Spirit and word will be at work in us, deepening our fellowship together, and transforming how we view life, our place in Your Kingdom, and how we live life in this world. Guide and teach us how to create a Christ-honouring attitude to life, other people, and Your will and ways.
Being teachable is also an important element of our attitude to life. Life-long learning is one of the values instilled in me as an Elim Pentecostal minister. Father, thank You that one of the main ministries You have blessed the church with in Ephesians 4, in the Fivefold passage, is the gift of the Teacher.
We pray that we will be able to not only know where You are at work in our lives, but also have the insight, revelation and understanding to know how to partner with You learning and maturing in the faith as we go forward. Raise many gifted teachers in the church to help with our equipping for Your work.
You call us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus living with a Servant-hearted attitude to life, and following Him worshipping and serving. Thank You that the Lord Jesus fulfilled Your will and purposes. I pray that each of us in Telford Elim, in person or online, and associated with the church, will fulfill Your will and purposes following Jesus with a servant-hearted attitude to life, ministry, mission and relationships. In Jesus’ name. Amen
May 31 – Call. A number of years ago, I wrote a research paper on Elim’s continuation after its founder, George Jeffreys, left the Movement in 1940. One of the reasons given for Elim’s continuation was voiced by John Lancaster – many ministers had a strong sense of God’s call, and of the importance of the work they were engaged in.
Father, Scripture is rich with examples of men and women who responded to Your call on their lives. Many faced great obstacles to do so – many faced seasons of testing and trials as they sought to do so – many were ridiculed and rejected by the world as they did so; but they all, to a greater or lesser degree, walked with You in deep communion and fellowship.
You call people to Your wider work, and You also call people into a local church which becomes their spiritual home. Thank You that the local church is both a place of spiritual life, and of equipping and training for Your wider Kingdom building mission – the mission of preaching and sharing the Good News of the Gospel.
Our commitment to fulfil the call of God on our lives, in ministry terms, is really important. We pray for any who are struggling to discern Your call on their lives. Teach them how to walk in the Spirit, being guided by Your Spirit, word and the fellowship of fellow believers in their local church.
Bless those who have joined our church over this last year. For those coming into church membership on 26 June, we pray that they will prove Your call to do so, and walk obediently in step with Your Spirit as they do so. May their time in Telford Elim be a time of spiritual growth, greater biblical understanding, and fruitful service and ministry for Christ. Amen
June 1 – Character – 2 Peter 1:3-8, CSB, ‘His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with [agape] love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Chris Densham – ‘Character eats competence every day – it is a foundation for everything in life.’
Father, character is the deep work of sanctification in our lives. It is the growth and development of the new Christ-like nature You have planted in us. A godly character is vital in order to sustain the life of faith, and it reflects well on Christ. It is about the outworking of Your redemption in our lives transforming us as Christ is formed in us.
Godly character development happens as people follow Jesus, filling their lives with Your Spirit and word, fellowshipping, worshipping, serving, giving and disciple-making in their local church, and living with an attitude which means they are actively seeking to add new virtues, and new levels of virtue to their lives.
We pray that each one of us in Telford Elim, in person and online, will make godly character development a priority in our lives. May each of us add to our faith goodness, biblical knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and agape love. In Jesus’ name. Amen
June 2 – Charisma – Jesus was the most charismatic person who has ever lived. Yet, He didn’t use His charisma to build up a group of cloned followers. His charisma was the extension of His divine nature, and pure humanity. His charisma was because He was completely genuine and true in every area of His life. Hallelujah!
Father, we are conditioned to believe that charisma is the x-factor that makes certain people better than all the rest. The world lauds, celebrates and worships men and women with charisma. Even among your people, there are many who follow charismatic leaders whose ministries are dynamic, and who are amazing communicators.
You call us to only worship You – the Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. Forgive us if we have followed the world’s way and set certain leaders, personalities, or even fellow believers on a pedestal because of their charisma.
You make available to all charismata – Your grace gifts. These are the gifts that flow from Your grace and desire to equip us all for the work of the ministry, the life following Jesus in His mission to the world through His Church.
We pray that we will always submit human charisma to the Lordship of Christ, and therefore we lay our own charisma – no matter how big or small, on the altar as a living sacrifice. We know You will hand back to us that charisma sanctified and fit for Your worship and service.
Lord Jesus, fill us with Your charismata – Your grace gifts, and enable us to use these as invaluable tools in our toolbox in following You in Your service, ministry and mission. Amen.
June 3 – Competency – to be good at something is a cause for personal satisfaction. To be competent in what we do really makes life so much more enjoyable. As we work on our character, our personality, giftings, and talents – it makes us fit for the Master’s service.
However, on the other hand, if you are working or serving in an environment where you don’t fully understand what is expected of you, how to properly do the job, or how success is defined in what you do in the role – it is very hard to be happy, content and to stick at that particular role or position.
Father, we lay our competency before You. One of the great joys in life is to find our place, the place where we fit well – to be a round peg in a round hole. Bring across our pathway those who are able to help us become more competent in the different areas of our lives, work and studies.
A competent person is faithful, gives full attention to what he or she is doing, and does the background reading and research needed to improve in that area. A competent person is a life-long learner, not conceited nor proud, but humble with a genuine appreciation of their own level of ability and competence.
Lord, thank You that each one of us is made uniquely, with different levels of ability, talents and gifting – thank You for our variety and difference. Yet, You call us to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in every area in spite of our differences. You are competent in every area of life.
We look to You for Your supernatural enablement, grace, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and guidance in order to become more adept in those areas You commit to us to work at in the place You place us in. In everything we do – we would to do it as unto You, and not unto man or woman. It is those to whom You say, ‘well done thou good and faithful servant’ that are truly blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen
June 4 – Giving – God loves a generous giver. Lord, You look for willing, generous givers, and are so desirous to bless them spiritually and in every way. Continue to lead us forward in becoming a Spirit-filled church abundantly giving in every way as You will.
You will withhold no good thing from the one who walks wholeheartedly, from the heart, with Christ. Raise up many such men, women, young adults, young people and children in our church. May their example inspire many others to live such a life themselves.
Giving helps deliver us from covetousness, greed, avarice, and from unbelief because we have to trust that You will give us our daily bread as we faithfully, and consistently give to You. You both command us to give of ourselves and that which we have – and also You command us to put You first in everything.
Lord, teach us how to give generously and cheerfully of our treasure, time and talents. I purpose to give to You. Help me to both bring my tithes into the local storehouse, local church to which I belong, but also recognize the spiritual imperative of doing so.
I lay my wallet, purse, bank account/s, savings and investments before You. I proclaim Jesus as Lord over them all. Teach me how to honour Jesus in my stewardship of that which You have committed to my care and blessed me with. Amen
June 5 – God’s Gifting – this flows from the Spirit/grace gifts that God bestows on His people. One of the important aims of the Spirit is to produce the actual image of Christ in each believer, and a corporate goal is to bring us all to unity in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6).
He draws us together in unity, and equips us for that unity partly through the operation of the gifts among us. As part of His work among us – is both the distribution of the spiritual gifts needed to fulfill God’s purposes through His people, and the overseeing of the use of these gifts to ensure Jesus is glorified, the church strengthened, and they used in Christ’s great redemptive mission to the world.
As a result of all of this, the Church, Christ’s body, whether local or universal, becomes the revelation of Jesus Christ to the community and world (Acts 1:8). The Spirit prophetically inspiring the Church to partner with Jesus, and live Spirit-filled lives, speaking and ministering His life to the world around us in which He has placed us.
Father, on this Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate and highlight the coming of the Spirit in great power on Your Church on the Day of Pentecost – we pray that all of us in church, in person and online, will be filled with Your Spirit and His power, love, joy and peace.
We pray that we will live Spirit-filled lives being continually filled and refreshed by Your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
