A call to prayer - from our women June 2023

In this call to prayer Odele Habets prays for people who have ceased attending church: Lord you are an amazing God, we love you and give thanks to you. Thank you for your mercy, thank you for your faithfulness to us. Thankyou that we can enter your throne room and be in your presence In Christ. Thank you that you hear our prayers and know them before we even speak. Today we pray for those that are no longer part of a church family. We pray for those who have left due to unresolved conflict with other church family members, we ask that by your Spirit you bring healing, that you help them to forgive and that you draw them back so that restoration and reconciliation can take place, or if this is not possible that they seek a new church family to grow in faith with. We pray for those who no longer see church as a safe place. We ask Holy Spirit for your healing and ways in which this can change for such people, where in fact church is a place where they are to flourish again. We pray for those who have left due to anxiety of being near others which has been exacerbated by COVID and lockdowns, we ask that you give them peace and comfort. Holy Spirit still their minds from worries and anxiety. We ask that you bring Christians into their lives that can walk alongside and them and be their church family. We pray for those that have become lazy in their faith and perceive being part of church is too much work for them. By your Spirit convict them, encourage them, stir within them a longing to know you more and to wake up. That their relationship with you will grow again in Jesus Christ and through your Holy Spirit and your church. Hear our prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Amen.

In this call to prayer Roi Nu Moran prays for Baptist women in positions of leadership: Heavenly Father, we humbly pray for our Baptist women who are leading our nation – leaders of churches, members of Parliament, our local leaders such as the police, the judges and lawyers, school principals and teachers, and leaders of the families. Father, you are the One who could read their mind. Their decision is in your hand. Father, give them wisdom, knowledge and strength that they need. Your love and mercy surround them. May the Holy Spirit guide and protect them spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally and financially in their lives. We also pray for all leaders to come together in unity. Teach us to serve faithfully one another so that the world may know we are the disciples of Jesus Christ. We pray this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

In this prayer Fololi prays for relationships: Our Father in Heaven, we thank you so much for your grace. We thank you for your unmerited favour and your loving kindness that is renewed every day. Thank you for who you are. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. Thank you that even though father, there is so much going on in our world today, around the world, there are so many things happening that disrupts our lives on a daily basis, but we thank you that you are always there. Your Holy Spirit is guiding us everyday and our prayer this morning, is about asking, Holy Spirit to come into our hearts every day, to come and partner with us, to take us wherever we go, especially today, I’d like to ask for your dear Holy Spirit to come and work in our hearts, especially for our relationships. Relationships is so crucial in our walk with you, and with each other while we’re here on earth, that even though Father, there is so much happening around us, our outer world and our environment, the situations, the circumstances that affect us on a daily basis, every moment of our life, we face with some challenges, but Father, Holy Spirit, thank you, for guiding us, for healing us, healing our relationships, and I just pray Father, that we lift up each one of us who is watching this broadcast, who’s listening to this message, that whatever you’re going through right now, in your life, in your relationships, with whoever, whether its husbands and wives, whether its parents and children, brothers and sisters, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, friends, families, workers, employees, wherever you are, whatever you’re facing in your relationships right this moment,  I pray, and my prayer is that we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to come into our hearts, our minds and our souls and guide us, and just take us by the hand, direct our paths, as the Psalm says, ‘delight ourselves in the Lord, and He will direct our paths, and gives us the desires of our hearts.’  The desires of my heart today is that, we work on our relationships, to enhance our relationships with Christ, allow the mind of Christ to empower your mind and my mind, your heart and my heart, your life and my life, so that our calling, and our service will become a positive impact and add value to our fellow friends, families, relatives, colleagues, workmates, church families, relationship is so important. Let us work together to build our relationships, to enhance and empower our relationships through the guidance of the Holy Spirit that will lead us and direct us. So, Father God, I thank You for allowing us Your Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to direct our paths. May we all have a joyful time together while we’re here on this land. My prayer is that, may the Holy Spirit lead you and guide you and direct your paths in wherever you are at this time of your life. And I pray in Jesus Name for healing upon your relationships, and my relationships, and together we can partner with the Holy Spirit and let the Name of Jesus be honoured and glorified in our walk, in our relationships with others here on Earth. I pray all these things in the Name of Jesus! Alleluia! Amen!

In this call to prayer, Helen prays for the women of Carey Baptist College: Father God who birthed us, Jesus who gathers us, Holy Spirit who hovers over us - I ask favour for the women of Carey Baptist College. Her female staff, Lord I bless you for their compassion, their many gifts and the wisdom they share so generously with all who come to learn. I thank you for the years of study and training which now are a blessing to many. And for Carey’s female students: Those who are thriving in their learning. Those who are facing self-doubt and criticism. Those for whom English is a second or even third language. And for all those times when family demands, work and emotional labour steal energy and enthusiasm for study. Lord, be not still. Do not restrain yourself on their behalf, but cry out! Gasp and pant over them so any darkness is made light, and any rough patches are made smooth. Amen.

In this call to prayer, Ionise prays for those under pressure to conform: Lord, God Almighty I come before you to pray for our young people. I pray for your protection against the pressure such as drugs and image gender. I pray that you give our young people courage and confidence to take a bold stand against such things and to be unashamedly audacious in their faith in making the right decision even when they stand alone. I pray that you protect our young people from the scheme of the enemy. In John 10:10 the thief only comes to steal, kill and destroy but thank you Jesus you have come that our young people may have life and have it to the full. I pray Jesus for our young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Tapuaki mai ‘a e to’utupu ‘o e to’utangata ni, pea ke malu’i. (I pray for your blessings upon our young people and for your protection). I pray this in the Mighty and Holy and Powerful Name of Jesus. Amen.

In this call to prayer, Julie prays for those suffering loss and grief: Lord we want to bring before those for whom 2023 has carried loss, or grief, or sorrow. We think of those who have lost loved ones, jobs, hopes, homes or dreams. We ask that you would be near to them. That you would comfort them and surround them with your love. We ask for you to place people around them to carry hope on their behalf. To love them and care for them. We ask for your compassion and the gift of tears that we might weep with those who weep. Hear our prayer, Lord. Amen.

In this call to prayer, Chris prays for cultural inclusion: God of all nations. We pray for our Baptist faith communities. Thank you for the many different people you have placed in our faith communities. For the cultures, languages, identities and heritages. It is your people that enrich our understanding and worship of you. Lord we acknowledge that our churches have not always valued the diversity reflected in your people. Forgive us for where our traditions and practices have excluded and limited the richness of the church you desire. Help us to continue to navigate, learn from and be strengthened by Te Tiriti Hikoi, our bi-cultural journey together. May this journey take us closer to your Kingdom here in Aotearoa. We pray our Baptist faith communities would be spaces that all people can thrive, contribute and worship as their whole selves. That your church in Aotearoa would be a glimpse of the picture in The Book of Revelation of the great multitude from nations, tribes, people and languages praising you. Amen.

In this call to prayer. Emma prays a prayer attributed to St Benedict of Nursia: O gracious and holy Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, intelligence to understand you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate upon you, and a life to proclaim you, through the power of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen