777 Prayer
Starting on Sunday 31 August we are running 777 Prayer: praying together from 7am to 7pm for 7 days. But why?
First, we are in an unsettled time at Christ Church – to put it mildly. All sorts of things are happening and changing: some of those things are good, others are challenging; some of them are by design, others are outside anyone’s control; some have been long in the planning, others are in response to events. Some of those changes bring opportunity, others anxiety – some both!
Paul has some well-known words about anxiety in Philippians 4:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
Philippians 4.6-7 (NIV)
When faced with anxiety some of us freeze, feeling trapped and unsure what to do; some of us do the opposite, rushing around to stay busy; some turn to distractions like alcohol – but the best thing to do in a time of anxiety is to pray. Paul encourages us – in fact it is almost a command – to pray, ask, give thanks and receive the peace of God which not only doesn’t make sense, it guards and protects us too. It keeps us focused on God – and the more we do that, resting in his love, the more our fears are cast out.
And don’t forget, Paul is not writing there to an individual, but to a church. He tells the church in Philippi to pray, to give thanks, to receive the peace of God. 777 Prayer is about us praying together, having a wave or chain of prayer moving throughout the week.
Second, at the start of a new term, as all our various groups and ministries begin again after mostly taking a summer break, it is so easy to slip back in to doing things, getting on with stuff, being busy. In truth, there is so much to do! But there is a deeper truth that we need to attend to first.
When Jesus changes the name of his disciple Simon to ‘Peter’ he commissions him with these words:
‘I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’
Matthew 16.18 (NIV)
Paul picks up on this in his first letter to the church in Corinth:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
1 Corinthians 3.6 (NIV)
Without God our hard work is simply empty toil, chasing after the wind. Without God we risk expending a huge amount of energy and effort into things that might be good things – even very good things – but that aren’t necessarily the right thing. Without God we might be serving our own agenda when we need to lay those down and listen to his call. Without God we rely on our natural gifts and talents – of which we have many at Christ Church – but I’d rather we had nothing if it meant we worked for the kingdom not by might, nor by strength, but by his Spirit (Zechariah 4.6) – for it is God that builds his church, not us.
Therefore I am asking us to put prayer first, right at the beginning of the term, as our top priority. I realise this is a stretch; it’s new for us to pray together like this. I realise it is inconvenient to ask for people to be in the church building throughout the week. But 777 prayer is about sacrifice: laying down our strength and agendas to seek God’s vision and God’s strength for the things God is calling us to do.
I am looking forward to this week – I hope you are, too! – and I know this time of praying together from 7am to 7pm for 7 days will be significant for us. So – let us pray! And if you haven’t signed up for a slot, there are plenty available!
Revd Ben Green – Vicar