With 2020 being such a difficult year, it is no wonder why more than ever, people are Googling things to do with religion and prayer world wide. In such uncertain times and Global unrest, it seems more and more people are looking to religion to help support, guide and make them feel more at ease. (To read more about this, check out this article.) We also know the diverse area we’re in as a church and understand that there will be many who don’t want, haven’t had or don’t have a relationship with God as yet, but perhaps may be rethinking this, based on the challenging times we are faced with currently.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Matthew 7:7-8

So for those curious about prayer and perhaps opening a relationship with Jesus, why do we pray?

A direct line to God: Prayer allows us to have a conversation with God; to thank Him for everything we have, to confess anything we regret, to share all of our hopes and fears.

Jesus prayed too: Jesus, being God’s only son, prayed regularly and set the perfect example of prayer for us. If you try to follow His example through prayer, you will become more like Him and develop a better relationship with Him and God. Just saying the Lord’s Prayer is a great place to start.

Gives us hope: There are so many comforting stories and verses in the Bible that give us hope. But praying and knowing God is listening to our deepest desires and hopes is very comforting. But also seeing things work out, not always how we hoped or envisioned, but exactly as we need at the time, is an amazing, reassuring feeling.

“What you want might make you cry, what you need might pass you by, if you don’t catch it. And what you need ironically, will turn out what you want to be, if you just let it….”

Lauryn Hill, When It Hurts So Bad

Reduces stress: In a similar way to how journaling works, being able to get your thoughts out and having them heard takes a weight off. Leaving them at the feet of God and knowing that He not only listens, but answers, can reduce stress significantly.

Good for your heart: As we said in last weeks post, regular prayer is good for your heart and nourishes your soul.

If you are new to Christ and praying, and you’re not sure where to begin, don’t let that stop you! Below are a few ideas as to how you can begin your journey to prayer:

• Try Praying: a resource for people just like you: no church connection or interest, but now open to find out about God. The trypraying booklet is a 7-day prayer guide and is now being used by many to pass on to friends and family with a few words of encouragement, ‘Why don’t you try praying for a week and see what happens in your life?’…
• Guided Prayer: The Church of England publish a prayer of the day and daily prayer routines that you can join in with. This can give our thinking some structure and stop it spiraling unhelpfully. If you’re looking for a shorter guided prayer to start off with, give The Book Of Common Prayer a try.
• 5 Minutes A Day: set a timer for 5 minutes either at the beginning or end of the day to spend praying: is there anything you want to tell Him today? What has been the best or hardest bit? What are you most grateful for? Remember to pause and listen to what God may want to say back through a thought, impression, or in another way.
• Join Us For Prayers: Starting from the 2nd September, we will be meeting for prayers 8-9pm on Wednesday nights fortnightly – feel free to join us. Zoom details can be found here. Or if you’d rather, email us your hopes, fears or people you’d like us to pray for and we can add that to our prayers on your behalf, but still feel free to join.

We hope prayer is something you’re able to get comfortable with and brings you comfort and hope in these uncertain times. If you have any further questions about God or Christianity, please do not hesitate to email us.

Alternatively, if you or anyone you know would like to get involved with us as a church, you can join in here, send us an email or check us out on our social platforms:

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