Prayer at BRBC

We have been reflecting quite a lot recently about our church’s vision and although prayer does not appear in the wording of the statement itself, we realise that prayer is central to it. It is what should undergird all we do as we seek to fulfil the vision. When we saw the three key areas of our ministry as being to enable people to relate to God, to relate to each other and to relate to the wider community, we saw prayer as being central to all three areas.
 
Why should prayer be considered so important? Firstly, throughout the Bible, we see many examples of people praying both on their own and, particularly in the New Testament, in groups together. Even Jesus spent many hours in prayer to his Father, both to receive strength for Himself and to pray for his disciples and others. At his disciples’ request he also gave them an example of how to pray (Lk. 11:2-4). In many places, both in the Gospels and in the Epistles, we are specifically exhorted to pray eg. Mt. 5:44; Phil. 4:6; 1Th. 5:17. Many of us through our own experiences know that prayer draws us closer to God and to each other, and we have seen the difference it has made in our own lives and in the lives of others. We also believe that it can have an effect on the community around us and even on the wider world. We may not always see immediate answers but we do see God answering and we believe that He answers in His own way and in His own time. I have heard it said that ‘a church that prays together, stays together’.
 
Prayer has always been important in our church and there have been and continue to be many opportunities for prayer and for encouraging people to pray. We are encouraged to pray regularly on our own and with our families and are made aware of specific prayer needs in various ways. There is the monthly Prayer Diary that gives daily suggestions for private prayer, there is a WhatsApp group that share prayer requests, there are various mission magazines and other literature available in the reception area for people to pick up and there is a prayer request box in the chapel into which anyone can put requests.
 
During lock-down it was not easy for people to meet to pray but a lot did go on by phone and on-line and even those having to isolate felt upheld by the prayers of fellow church members. Now things have opened up it is good for us to be reminded of the various opportunities that there are for us to pray. Prayer always features as an important part of our worship services, and there is the monthly mid-week prayer meeting on the second Wednesday of the month presently being continued on line, to which all are invited to participate. Prayer is also an important part of the house groups and other groups that meet regularly either in homes or at church. There are also groups that meet to pray for specific issues: the deacons meet for prayer once a month, the missions prayer group has begun to meet once a month on a Sunday morning and there are other groups that regularly share prayer requests with each other. Many of us also are part of prayer triplets or meet with one other person regularly to pray for one another. These small groups have proved to be a great support and encouragement, for some over many years.
 
There is a lot going on but we realise that there is more to be done to encourage everyone to be involved in the prayer life of the church. Prayer before the Sunday services has been restarted and all are welcome to join the group praying between 10 and 10.15 am each week in the sanctuary. Beginning next month, possibly on the 4th Friday morning of each month, there will be an additional day-time prayer meeting, specifically focussing on listening to God’s voice while praying. Not much use has been made recently of the prayer request box in the chapel, but it is hoped that some way of monitoring this, encouraging its use and ensuring that requests are prayed for will soon be found. Another prayer opportunity hopefully restarting soon is praying for individuals with specific requests after Sunday services. It will be done in a different way from how it was done pre-covid but a team is being prepared to start a new system soon.
 
We realise that people have different preferences as to how they pray but our hope and prayer is that all will find ways in which they can be involved in this very important part of church life.

Mary Breeze