We're in the middle of our Week of Prayer and we're excited to see God moving and hear His voice! Today we asked one of our leaders for some of his thoughts on prayer.

Sometimes when I want to pray I can feel condemned and ashamed. We can all have feelings or thoughts in our mind which stop us chatting with Father God. We are in a battle with a real enemy and he often comes to us with whispers of discouragement and puts negative labels on us. These labels bring shame and stop us being who we really us – we are all equally sons and daughters of the King with full access to Father God and His Kingdom. When the Trinity speaks to us it is in love, ‘there is no fear in love’ 1 John 4 18.

As we enter this week of prayer I felt this whisper from the enemy again ‘who are you to pray? Have you forgotten you are rubbish at praying? Let the intercessors do it…’

Satan is scared of our prayers; he wants to put us off through his lies. This week we can be confident Jesus will take us and our prayers to Father God, Romans 8 34. I want to be all in for Jesus and let Him bubble up His river of life in me as he promised in John 4.

Praying for an hour can seem a daunting task hence the resources available. The time slot is a helpful focus, but the point is giving a window in our day to allow the Father to love us. The Father is jealous for you, passionate to refresh you with your true identity and His spirit.

A couple of weeks ago we saw a video during the service which looked at how Jesus called Peter to give up all he had to follow him. In the clip Jesus turns to Peter and says ‘Give me an hour and I will give you a whole new life’. Spending that hour with Jesus transformed Peter’s life. As you consider whether to sign up for an hour we want to encourage you that this time in prayer, however you do it can change your life. 

I encourage you to tell someone about the lies you may hear and take the opportunity this week to give time to be loved by our Father.

Tom Husbands