PrayerNet  -  July 2024

Troubled in life? – Listen, there’s hope!                          Monday 1st to Sunday 7th July  
Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David. He displayed my power by being my witness and a leader among the nations. ….. Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.’ Isaiah 55:3,4,6,7a (NLT)

We think it smart ‘to go around with our eyes wide open!’ This means we are relying on our understanding of the situation. The people of Israel are being dragged away to Babylon – so what they could see with their eyes was alarming and frightening! God tells them to ‘open their ears!’ He tells them to listen.  So it is today! We are living in a time of such uncertainty where we can see danger all around the world. God is calling us to seek Him! Listen to His voice. This is a time to renew our spiritual life, our faith, and our trust in Him! Take time to listen to God today. Allow His Spirit, His love, His peace, His hope, His Joy to flood your soul. “Open your ears’ this week, ‘look after the life of your soul’ and hear God speak to you!

‘’I heard the voice of Jesus say, “Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down your head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was, weary, worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad.’

Give thanks for the baptism of Emilia and for the faith and witness of her parents, Charlie and Alex Eadie. Let us rejoice in this new life and continue to pray for them as a family. Pray for all the children who finished school last week for the Summer Holidays - especially those in P7 classes facing the changes of a move to the High School and school leavers either moving on to further education or, sadly for some, facing unemployment and a bleak future. 

Pray for the forthcoming General Election on Thursday. Pray over your own thoughts and seek God’s guidance in your own voting. 

Pray for new work being done amongst, and by, our own church young people. Several members of our church are working with the group of young people we are privileged to have in our church. They are meeting together for fellowship, games and some discussions on faith and the Gospel. They are a great group - Please talk to them and pray for them.

Pray for our church to be prayerful! We have quoted the truism before: ‘You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more until you have prayed!’  Pray that we may organise more opportunities for praying as a fellowship and pray we may support every activity of the church in prayer.

‘Crisis in our Churches? – there’s help!                   Monday 8th to Sunday 14th July

‘One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. Jesus called out to them, “Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and went with him.’ Matthew 4:18-20(NLT)

With falling numbers in our churches in the Church of Scotland and ageing congregations, many are concerned about the future of ‘the church’ in Scotland. Jesus calls out Peter and Andrew and tells them to come and follow Him and He will ‘show them how to fish for people!’ Surely, here is the answer. Let’s pray for God’s help in: teaching us how to talk about our faith; how to share our faith with family, friends, people at work and people in our community. Pray every day that God will show you the opportunities to share the Gospel and pray you may recognise when people are seeking to know more about God and the power of faith in salvation. During the Summer holiday, Scripture Union and Churches throughout the country will be organising Christian holiday clubs and camps. Pray for the leaders. Pray they may they be blessed as they bring the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to many children and young people who may not have heard of the name of Jesus spoken in their homes or social circles. Pray that those with troubled and unhappy home lives will respond to the interest and care shown to them by the youth workers at these events and pray they may come to know the Lord Jesus as their personal Saviour.

Let us remember the people of North Korea where Christianity is seen as a direct threat to the authority of the state and anyone expressing an interest in the Bible or Christ can be face persecution, starvation, and torture. Pray for Release International who work with partner organisations in South Korea to train underground missionaries.

Pray for the spread of the Gospel worldwide! Give thanks for so many countries where the Gospel is widely accepted. Pray for the churches in Russia and Ukraine. Both are historic churches that have Christianity at the heart of their cultures. Pray that the conflicts may serve to bring many people back to faith and pray for those who are themselves praying.  Pray for the spread of the Gospel in Asia. Give thanks for the pastors and church leaders who are risking their lives to bring others to faith.

13th July to 2nd August covers the period of the Keswick Convention where this year the speakers will reflect on Christ's Resurrection. Pray that many will come to our own live link sessions with Keswick in - ‘Keswick in Cambusbarron’ in our church hall Monday 15th to Friday 19th July. As we reflect on Jesus’ resurrection, pray we may point others towards the hope we have in the resurrection.

‘Nations in crisis – there’s God’s peace!’ Monday 15th to Sunday 21st July

‘And after this I saw a crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb.”’ Revelation 7:9,10(NLT).

Palm branches!! – no swords! No bombs! No threat of destruction! God’s rule is a rule of peace! If you find yourself constantly worrying about what is going on amongst the many warring nations today, and you wonder how it will all end – it will end in God’s rule and His peace! Pray in faith and pass on your faith, not your worries about the world, to your family.

Pray for Rev Dr Stewart Gillan and Rev Muriel Pearson and their work in Israel with the missions in Tiberius and Jerusalem. Their work with Palestinians and Israelis to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict should be supported by our prayers. Shortages of food in Gaza mean many are suffering from malnutrition, especially children and the elderly. There is also widespread disease, due to shortages of water and sanitation, plus a lack of medicines, hospital space and doctors. Christian Aid’s partners are bringing medical relief, food, shelter, sanitation, and cash but they are hampered by the extreme difficulties and dangers of moving around. Pray for the aid agencies working in Gaza; ask God to keep them safe. Africa’s debt crisis:  many countries spending more on debt repayments than on healthcare and education. In Malawi, twice as much is spent on debt as on education and only 15% of children finish secondary school. In South Sudan, debt servicing accounts for over ten times more than healthcare and millions face acute hunger. Tearfund states, 2 million women and children are acutely malnourished, and 4.5 million people have been displaced. Pray for all those whose needs are neglected because of crippling debt. Pray that world leaders will recognise these terrible inequalities and take action to redress them. Pray for legislation that will help bring an end to the debt crisis of Africa and ensure that future generations can get the food, healthcare, and education that they need to prosper. Ukraine: Christian Aid estimates that 15.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian assistance, including 7.1 million who are displaced internally. Christian Aid is working with partner agencies to provide shelter, food, water, toiletries, life-saving medical equipment and hygiene kits. The Scottish charity Blythswood is one of these partners and has provided 6 tonnes of relief items every two weeks to the worst-hit communities, as well as providing temporary shelters. Pray for charities working in Ukraine and for those who support them with donations, material gifts and with their time and labour.

‘Personal crisis – He comforts!’                            Monday 22nd to Wednesday 31st July

‘God blesses those who realise their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. God blesses those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.’ Matthew 5: 3&4 (NLT)

It is a wonderful reassurance to know that when we recognise our need of God, we find He is there beside us – ready to bless us with His presence and His comfort. In times of loss and grief it is so good to know He is with us and we can talk with our God personally and He will support and comfort us. 

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise, just to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

I'm so glad I learned to trust Him, precious Jesus, Saviour, Friend
And I know that He is with me, will be with me to the end.

Pray for those in our Church and Community who are recently bereaved. May they find comfort in knowing we care about them and aim to support them through their time of grief and mourning and beyond. Pray for the new initiatives in our own Church to respond to the need to develop our pastoral care service and please pray for those who feel led to volunteer their time and talents for this, and other areas of Church life and work.

Give thanks to God for those who move to this country to work for our struggling NHS and other agencies, often leaving behind their families and elderly relatives to take up caring roles within our communities. We appreciate their dedication and commitment as they work long hours visiting so many of the socially isolated older folk in our communities, frequently being the only personal contact each day. Pray God will keep them in His loving care and bless them as they bring comfort, care and love to so many. Pray that we too, welcome and encourage them as they seek to adapt to a new culture, climate, and conditions.

Consider those you know who would benefit from faith in Jesus and pray for ways to talk about your own faith. So many today are feeling less confident about world peace and about personal and family safety. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead them into faith and into peace with God and peace within themselves. Let’s get ‘personal’ in our prayers – by considering all our family and friends and praying for them. Think meaningfully about the situations others around you are facing – and pray for them. Use this space to write down those you feel led to pray for through this month and return to this space and pray again for each of them.
Pray for: