Prayer Letter - 21 March 2005

To: Prayer Partners
From: Pastor Lucenay

This week is called “Passion Week.” Yesterday was called Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey. Have you thought about how much Jesus didn’t have? He formed creation, yet he forsook the symbols of wealth. As you begin your prayer time this week think about the way things, even good things, both help and hinder your faith. Ask God to help you hold things loosely. Let God show you your real valuables in life. Thank God for the kindness He has shown you in providing so many things for your convenience. Ask God to help you so live that things do not dominate your life.

Early in the week Jesus addressed the money-changers in the Temple. He called the house of God a “house of prayer.” Cover our church with your prayers. Pray for the people: who come burdened down with concern for family members, problems at work, and the basic necessities of life; who hide a heart filled with shame and guilt under their shirts and blouses; fighting with grief and depression; and pray for the people searching for a word from God. Pray for everyone who comes to KIBC to experience the loving presence and compassionate heart of Jesus Christ. Ask God to guide your prayers for the people who sit around you in worship. Ask God to show you how to pray for the ill.

The night of the Last Supper Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Like a servant he addressed the dirty needs of His disciples. Ask the Father to show you the way to “wash the feet” of brothers and sisters in Christ. This is not a prayer for God to help us take the splinter out of others’ eyes. Rather, it is a prayer to help us find a need and fill it with our hands, our sweat.

Later in the evening Jesus told his disciples to “love one another.” Pray that God will show you who is in need God’s love. Some of the people we see need a listening ear. Others need of an encouraging word. As you “pray without ceasing” ask the Father to help you know when to be silent and when to speak a word in His name.

Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come to counsel and teach the disciples. Pray for God’s Spirit to provide wisdom and understanding to our leaders; for God’s Spirit to animate our worship; for God’s Spirit to make God’s Word come to life in our hearts as we gather. Jesus prayed for the disciples to be united. Unity is so elusive in a world of pressing issues and diverse opinions. Pray that each of us will draw close to Jesus Christ, for in drawing close to Him we will become closer to each other. Ask God to help us remember that we are all parts of the body of Christ…different parts, same body.

On the cross Jesus died for our sin. Think through the crucifixion of Jesus. If you need to read the story, Read Matthew 27, Luke 23, John 19. Ask God to help you see His love for you in the cross. Meditate on John 3:16. Thank God for His unquenchable love.

So many people in our world do not know the love of God. Every day we pass their way. Every Sunday some sit in worship with us. Pray for God to use you to express the way of salvation to someone. Pray that Christ will come to life in their hearts. Let us also pray for the people who attend our church and do not know Jesus as Savior. And pray for the salvation of the parents of children in Sunday School and Kindergarten.

Please pray for the Good Friday service (7:30pm Friday night) and for the Easter services (9:30am and 11:00am on 27 March) and for the Fellowship Dinner Easter night (5pm). Pray for God to speak to your heart so directly that you are drawn to him in a one-on-one worship experience. Pray that God will use these services to bring new believers into the body of Christ. Ask God to help each of us experience the “power of the resurrection.”

Thank you for your prayers and your faithfulness. The next two weeks the office will have short weeks. Thus, the next prayer letter will be sent out on or near 11 April. This doesn’t mean we cease to pray. It does give you an opportunity to design your own prayer guide. I will begin preaching a series of sermons on marriage and family issues in April. You might make time to pray for the marriages of our people and for the family issues faced in the various homes.

God bless you.