Prayer
We believe prayer should be an essential part of our life of faith and so we seek to make it an integral part of the weekly rhythm of Gateway life. We desire to be a people of prayer when both gathered together and when dispersed to our homes, schools and workplaces as we are shaped by the conviction that God is active among us, a miracle-maker in our day and time. As part of our weekly rhythm following on from our Sunday gatherings we always seek to provide opportunity for you to be prayed for.
March 2024
“Prayer opens up the way to heart connectedness with God……”
Welcome to Gateway’s prayer page. We hope it will inspire, challenge, and encourage you in your prayer journey. You will also find some prayer suggestions here, to help you pray for the wider Gateway family.
So what is prayer?
It may seem like a simplistic question but unless we define it, we will never do it. Prayer is simply conversation with God.
Prayer/intercession demystified comes down to that one simple phrase ‘conversation with God’. Prayer is the vehicle that carries all our hopes, dreams, concerns, tears, desperations, desires, requests and thanks to Heaven and through that develops relationship between us and God.
As 100 per cent of the prayers I don’t pray won’t get answered’ it makes sense that I factor into my life, time to pray. Prayer is as vital to our spirit as oxygen is to our physical body. It is one of the ways God has ordained for us to build relationship with Him and the way He has chosen to sovereignly intervene not only in our personal lives but in world affairs. How amazing is that? But it’s true, unless we pray He will not act. We all have a responsibility to pray. Prayer changes things. We are not all called to pray for world governments or world affairs, but we are called to pray for the sphere of influence that He has given us. Be it family, the Body of Christ, the city in which we live, our government or our nation and of course ourselves. Do you hold dreams, promises in your heart for yourself/your family then it is your responsibility to pray them into being. Dare I say it, prayer is exciting! Being a co-labourer with God is exciting. Prayers are not always answered straight away and many times not without persistence, but they will at some point be answered. Unfortunately, Gods’ times and seasons, more often than not, differ and conflict with ours – but guess who is always right?
How many texts do you send a day?
The following makes interesting reading and offers much food for thought. It is not intended to be a negative rant on people texting but purely a modern day comparison on what prayer should be like.
“An article in The Washington Post told about a 15 year old girl who sent and received 6,473 cell phone messages in a single month. She says about her constant communication with friends, “I would die without it.” And she is not alone. Researchers say that US teens with cell phones average more than 2,200 text message a month.
To me, this ongoing digital conversation offers a remarkable illustration of what prayer could and should be like for every follower of Christ. Paul seemed to be constantly in an attitude of prayer for others: “We do not cease to pray for you” [Col. 1:9]. “Praying always with all prayers and supplication in the Spirit” [Eph. 6:18]. “Pray without ceasing.” [1 Thess. 5:17] But how can we possibly do that?” Missionary Frank Lauback described his habit of “shooting” prayers at people as he encountered them during each day. In a sense, he was “texting” God on their behalf, staying in constant communication with the Father. Lauback believed that prayer is the mightiest force in the world and said: “My part is to live in this hour in continuous conversation with God and in perfect responsiveness to His will.” [David McCasland]
‘Continuous conversation with God’…….Is that really a possibility?
Yes, it is as any in the Christian faith have attested to over the centuries, however, for most of us the goal is too large and the possibility too far out of our experience to grasp. Do we just give up on the idea? No, we don’t but we can make it into easier to manage ‘bite- size’ pieces which will, when practiced with regularity, coupled with a desire to discover more of Him, bring us closer to the goal. A simple daily prayer may be, “Father, increase my awareness of you today.”
Be challenged by this quote by E.M. Bounds:
“We pray whether we feel like it or not – and we do not allow our feelings to determine our habits of prayer.”
Honestly ask yourself the questions, “Do I pray even when I don’t feel like it? Do I allow my feelings to determine my habit of prayer?”
Do you want to pray for Gateway but often don’t know how to pray?
Why not pray Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16 – 19
“I pray that He may grant Gateway out of the rich treasury of His glory, to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in our inner man by the Holy Spirit, Himself indwelling our innermost being and personality. May Christ through our faith, actually dwell, settle down, abide, make His permanent home in our hearts! May we be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love. That we may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints, God’s devoted people, the experience of that love, what is the breadth and length and height and depth of it. That we may really come to know practically, through experience for ourselves, the love of Christ which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience, that we may be filled through all our being unto all the fullness of God, that we may have the richest measure of the divine presence and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.”
What an amazing prayer!!
If 1,000 people prayed that prayer every day for a month, I wonder if we would begin to see a change not only in our individual hearts but in the larger heart of our church family?
If, “Prayer is the mightiest force in the world….” Why would we not do it?
How can we pray for you...?
"The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with." - James 5:16 (MSG)
We have a team of people who regularly pray for our Gateway community, city & nation. If you would like prayer, please submit your prayer request below and someone will be praying for you this week!
If you would like to talk to our Pastoral Team, phone 021 318 663.