Week: Global Week of Prayer
As always, each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
Let’s start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Our Father in heaven, reveal who you are. Set the world right. May your kingdom come and what you want be done in us and in our nation today. (Matthew 6:9-10, MSG & NCV)
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
1 John 5:14
And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us.
1 John 5:14 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on the letter that James wrote to the Early Church, in which he gave some advice about how to pray for one another.
Read by Max
James 5:13-16
Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church’s elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.
James 5:13-16 (NCV)
When people are in trouble, they pray about it. When people are happy, they sing and celebrate. When people are sick, others go and pray for them to be healed. When people own up to the things that they’ve done and said wrong, people pray for them and they are forgiven. According to James, this is what the church is supposed to be like – a loving community of people who pray together and for one another, whatever is going on in their lives.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What’s our favourite memory of praying together with our church or our children’s work group? Maybe we ran a 24-7 Prayer room together, or maybe it was at a big event?
In today’s Bible verses, James encourages us to ‘confess our sins to each other’, which simply means to own up to things and say sorry for them. Let’s close our eyes and be quiet for a moment.
Father God, we ASK You to show us if there’s something that we’ve said or done recently that was selfish or mean that we need to confess to someone.
If something comes into our minds, let’s think of someone we trust who we can tell and also ask them to pray for us, remembering that God always forgives us.
James also encourages us to pray for those in our church community who are sick or in trouble. Without going into details, let’s just say the names of a few people who we’d like to pray for now.
Father God, we ASK You to be with these people. Rescue those who are in trouble. Heal those who are sick. We pray this in the name of Jesus.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
James 5:13-16
Anyone who is having troubles should pray. Anyone who is happy should sing praises. Anyone who is sick should call the church’s elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.
James 5:13-16 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, please send Your Holy Spirit to fill our church community, and the other churches in our area too. May Your kingdom come and what You want be done through us together.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
1 John 5:14
And this is the boldness we have in God’s presence: that if we ask God for anything that agrees with what he wants, he hears us.
1 John 5:14 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
If you would like to find out more about the global week of prayer tap here.
Carla lives in the sunny city of Chichester on the south coast of England with her husband, and two kids. She works for 24-7 Prayer helping people around the world learn how to talk with God. She LOVES a good book, eating yummy meals and singing with her friends.
Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!
