I am thanking God for our weekly WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER. I do pray that this intentional time for prayer will keep drawing each of us closer to God. As we pray and commit everything to our loving God, I pray that we will keep expecting good from God. Sometimes we fall into a pattern of settling for less. I have recently been travelling and enjoying hiking on The Bruce Trail. When driving on unfamiliar roads, it is hard to know if the price you see for gas will be the best price. A choice to stop at a restaurant for lunch might mean that you missed a much nicer place just down the road. We had an experience on the Bruce Trail of taking a break at a gravel roadside and sitting in much less than comfortable conditions, when just a short distance into the woods, an ideal wooden bench had been built next to a beautiful waterfall. When we are praying and wanting to trust God for His best plans for us, what are we expecting? Consider with me the Scripture from Ephesians 3:20,21 20 Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! This reminds us that God has the capacity to do literally so much more than all we ask or imagine. This does not guarantee that the way will always be smooth and trouble free. It does confirm that God can always be at work to bring about answers even better than that for which we might be inclined to pray. With ongoing personal heartaches and huge challenges worldwide, we can come to God in prayer this week and invite Him to work out His version of immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Please join for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow September 14th at 1 pm.
Trusting God for the immeasurably more that He intends as we commit to Him in prayer, Pastor Lola
Our God Who does promise to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, we thank You for evidence of You at work in our world. We do pray for Your path of peace in the Ukraine and we pray for what will be necessary to rebuild and restore with the immense devastation of war. We are praying our God for Your way for healing after the tragedy of lives lost and communities traumatized in Saskatchewan. We are staggered by the magnitude of loss and pray for courage for leaders in this indigenous community and ask for comfort and care for those whose hearts are filled with grief. Today in our prayers we give thanks for the life of Queen Elizabeth and for her faith in you and her dedication to serving. We pray that we also will be inspired to serve in quiet and humble ways. Here too we pray for comfort for all who mourn her passing. It is our prayer that there will be wisdom from You throughout our world in this time of change. Please God may we learn from the past and be willing to change what has not been consistent with your best plans for us. Thank you our God for giving us glimpses of the immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine and trusting how You can use us to help initiate and participate in this. We have been reminded on September 11th of the outcome when a way of hate was chosen rather than a way of love. We lift before you those whose lives were altered forever by the events of that day. Please give each of us a careful regard for the sanctity of life and an awareness that each breath we take really is a gift from you. We do not want to take for granted every day opportunities that are ours because we hold this precious gift of life. When we become selfish with how we choose to spend our time, please forgive us. When we turn away from the suffering and pain of others, please forgive us. We find in the example of Jesus Your Son, One Who entered into the complexities and struggles of life with people and extended love and compassion. Our prayer is that we will be given grace to follow His way of living and giving. In our homes and in our neighbourhoods please unfold Your immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. We continue to surrender to you those prayers that we have not yet seen answered. In our waiting for your will and Your way, we pray that our trust in You will not waver. Speak to us and reassure us we pray, that although the way of faith in You is never easy, it is the way that results in us being strategically positioned to witness the immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine that You are prepared to arrange. We offer these prayers in Jesus’ Name. AMEN.