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Prayer

Jesus Close Up: Lord | Philip Jinadu (11am)

9th Feb 2020 - 11am Service

During the month of February 2020, our series titled Jesus Close Up will look what the Bible says about who Jesus is, as a teacher, Lord, healer and miracle worker. We'll consider how we can live by example and try to become more like Jesus in our day to day lives.

You can download the group discussion notes below:

Prayer Power: Fasting | Dave Mitchell (11am)

26th January 2020 - 11am Service

This is the final week of our Prayer Power series for January 2020, which looks at how we can unleash the power of prayer in our everyday lives. Dave shares with us on the topic of fasting and we read about how King David prayed in the scriptures.

Instead of discussion notes for this series, we recommend all our small groups to encourage discussion and action around people’s prayer lives this month. Check out The Prayer Course from Pete Grieg (Founder of 24/7 Prayer) which includes 8 short video sessions to help us get focused in our prayer life.

Prayer Power: Petition | Rachel Riddall (7pm)

19th January 2020 - 7pm Service

It’s Prayer Week at Woodies! Starting today until 26th January. This is the third week of our Prayer Power series for January 2020, which looks at how we can unleash the power of prayer in our everyday lives. Rachel shares with us on the topic of petition and we read about how King David prayed in the scriptures.

Instead of discussion notes for this series, we recommend all our small groups to encourage discussion and action around people’s prayer lives this month. Check out The Prayer Course from Pete Grieg (Founder of 24/7 Prayer) which includes 8 short video sessions to help us get focused in our prayer life.

Prayer Power: Praise | Tim Dobson (7pm)

5th January 2020 - 7pm Service

Happy New Year! This is the first week of our new Prayer Power series for January 2020, which looks at how we can unleash the power of prayer in our everyday lives. Tim shares with us on the topic of praise and we read about how King David prayed in the scriptures - specifically at 2 Samuel 22.

Here is a link to the discussion notes:

PrayerWeek 16th - 23rd Sept

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Prayer is lots of things! It's asking, it's listening, it's crying out to God about the things we are overwhelmed by, it's hard work at times and then sometimes it's exhilarating and time flies whilst we pray and we wonder why we don't do it more!

Jesus prayed, he taught his disciples to pray, "When you pray....." (Matt 6:6) and assumes prayer will be part of the rhythm of our lives as we follow Him.

So, why have a week of 24-7 Prayer at Woodies? Well, 'Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain.' Ps 127:1. Dave loves this verse, it's a real bedrock to life at Woodies and it sums up why we pray. We need God to build our church and we want to keep in step with his Holy Spirit while we're joining in.  

Prayer Week is us saying to God in a corporate way at the beginning of a busy term, "We need you, we have plans and dreams for Woodies and the city but we want to seek your perspective and power first and foremost." There are 3 opportunities to join in, could you choose 1?
 

1. Sign up for a 1 hour slot in our 24/7 Prayer Room via this link; we have 168 hours to fill! The Prayer room is themed around our Vision of helping people FIND Jesus, LOVE one another, then FOLLOW Jesus and SERVE the city. There will be lots of ways to pray for our church and also space to be quiet in God's presence and enjoy His company. 

2. Find an hour to pray through the '1 hour of Prayer Guide.' Take it on a walk or use it during your commute to work/Uni/School or find a quiet spot in your home. Try dividing it into 3 sections if it helps. If you've never prayed in this way before, we'd love you to try it.  

3. Come along to early morning prayer watch on Tues 18th Sept at 7.15-8.15 am in the Foyer. There will be fresh coffee and pastries, worship and prayer. 

The prayers said this week will change situations and usher in God's kingdom in new ways, lets expect our faith to increase as we focus on our amazing God and his incredible power. And lets allow ourselves to be changed as we spend time with Jesus and welcome his Holy Spirit to revive us, our church and city.  

Have a great 24-7 prayer week, find a way to join in and lets pray!

Love Rachel x

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance. It is laying hold of his willingness." Martin Luther.

p.s. Download the Woodies hour of Prayer.docx here

 

Pray for Woodlands Church

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.

Woodlands Church

1.  Pray that our appetite for prayer and communing with our Father would deepen. That God would put a growing hunger for prayer in us this week that continues.

2.  Pray that many people would come along to our Alpha course which starts on January 24th, especially guests who came along to our different Christmas services. For people to meet Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

3.  Pray for a special increase in the presence of God this week at our services, gathered prayer times and activities as we serve the city. That his Holy Spirit would be at work in everything we do and we would look to him and follow.

Pray for Woodlands Metro

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.

Woodlands Metro.

1. Development of our mid-week groups and community life. We want to strengthen our existing Hubs and start up new ones. 

2. Alpha and people coming to faith. Pray that we're able to have a good number of people engaging with Alpha this term, as well as leaders to run the group.

3. Development and delivery of the Metro mentoring system. Pray that God helps us with our initiative to disciple members and develop leaders.

Pray for Highgrove Church

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.
 

Highgrove Church.

1.  Pray for a fruitful and life transforming witness of  Highgrove  in Seamills, esp in local schools, community cafe on the square and among friends and neighbours.

2.  Pray for our youth ministry which is growing, ask God to provide some great leaders who are passionate about serving in this crucial area of ministry in our church and community.

3.  Deepening discipleship for those who are new and not so new to faith, that each person would find their place in the church community.

Pray for Community Church

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.

Community Church.

1. That as a congregation and as individuals we would make time to and learn how to 'keep in step with the Holy Spirit'.

2. Pray that in all our activities, food bank, chaplaincy at Southmead Hospital, childrens/youth groups, life recovery group etc we would respond to the Holy Spirit's leading as we encourage, prophesy over and minister to those we serve.

3. We long for people to come to know Jesus, please pray that those we mingle with in our families, neighbourhood, workplaces and church would meet Jesus personally and have their eyes opened to his love and grace.

Pray for Branch Church, Brentry

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.

Branch Church

1.  Pray for Matt Smith and Miriam as they move to Branch and serve that church and community.

2.  Pray for seeds that have been planted in the past in Brentry to grow and bear fruit this year.

3.  Pray for the families and young people that Branch interact with through the children's centre and wider community. Pray for lots of opportunities for Branch for share Jesus love with them.

Pray for All Saints Church, Hartcliffe

Every day during PrayerWeek we’re asking you to pray for one of our congregations. Watch the short video and then pray, its as simple as that! If you have any feedback, prophetic words or general encouragement's do send them in via our website.

All Saints.

1.  Relationships with local families to deepen and bear fruit and an end to some anti-social behaviour directed at the church.

2. Pray for Little Saints toddler group, the girls group, Growing Saints kids group. For growth in these children's/teenagers faith and for those that lead the groups too.

3. Wisdom for the church leaders as they steward growth and raise up new leaders.

Get ready for PrayerWeek Jan 2018!

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When the disciples saw Jesus pray they wanted to pray like him and they asked him to teach them how to do it.  Whether you've been praying for years or are just starting out why not start  PrayerWeek by saying to Jesus  'teach me how to pray.' Many of us want to start the year getting more healthy and increasing how much we exercise, how about we start 2018 by asking the Holy Spirit to increase our appetites for prayer.

As Rob Scott Cook often says, "Prayer is key for releasing God's purposes in our lives, church and city."  I'm excited to think of so many of us praying this week for Gods plans and purposes to be revealed.

 

PRAYING FOR OUR CHURCHES

It's not just Woodies who will be having a focus on prayer this week, all of our congregations in Woodlands Group of Churches are spending this week praying. That's a lot of prayer. Exciting! To help us pray for our churches across the city, every day we will be posting on social media and emailing out a message from each church with some requests for prayer. We would love it if you could take some time each day to pray for each of our churches and bless them.

 

PRAYING THE LORDS PRAYER

When the disciples asked for Jesus help with prayer he replied by teaching them what we now call the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 . It's a great framework for prayer, but it's also a great prayer to pray. We're suggesting that every day this week you take some time to pray the Lord's prayer  at midday if your able, you could set an alarm to remind you. I'm so excited to think about hundreds of us scattered across the city wherever we might be pausing and praying the words that Jesus prayed 2000 years ago. 

 

24/7 PRAYER

Our 24/7 Prayer room will open on Sunday evening, it's always an amazing space to help you draw near to God, quieten your soul, experience His peace and pray for our church, city and world. If you have never visited it before I'd especially love you book a slot, your hour will fly by! Book in for the Woodlands Church 24/7 Prayer Room here.

 

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PRAYING TOGETHER

It's also a week for us to pray together as church family, there are 3 opportunities and everyone's welcome. Why not come with your small group/pastorate?

  • PrayerWatch PM Mon 15th, 7.30pm in the Main Hall. Where we will pray and worship together.
  • PrayerWatch AM Fri 19th, 7.15-8.15 am in the Foyer, pop in on your way to work.
  • 'Space' Fri 19th at 10pm-12am in Main Hall. Worship & prayer event hosted by the worship team.  
  • and 'Family Prayer Space' on Sat 20th, organised by Woodlands Children's Church.
Space.jpg

 

GETTING STARTED

If you not sure where to start with prayer, check out these top tips to get you started!

Also we are using the PrayerMate app, so check out our PrayerMate prayer-list which you can download from your phones app store - it's a helpful way to keep track of what your praying for and Woodies will be posting some items for prayer on the app.

James 4:8 says,  "Draw near to God and he will draw near to you...."  As we pray lets expect God to speak, he is our loving Father who loves to communicate with his children. If you have any prophetic words, pictures, encouragements you wish to share with the Woodies team you can email them to prayerweek@woodlandschurch.net we'd love to hear them.

Look out for more details coming out soon, have a great prayer week!

Love Rachel 

Some extra bits!

 

 

PrayerWeek: Guide to the 'hour of prayer'

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"If we want to leave an indelible mark on the world there is no more powerful way to do it than by joining in God's purposes through prayer. Our prayers can go where we cannot. While many things may seem impossible from a human standpoint in the realm of prayer there are no impossibilities." -  Brother Andrew.
 

One of our hopes is that everyone will find one hour this prayer week to pray. I get goose bumps thinking about all those prayers! 

Praying for an hour can seem a daunting task, so here are some things that may help.

  • Print off the 'hour of prayer' guide. 
     
  • Plan when and where you're going to do it. I love to walk and pray, the rhythm of one foot in front of the other really helps me. Others like to sit in a favourite chair, some get up early,  others like to pray in the middle of the night, others during their lunch hour. What place and space will work best for you? Book the slot into your diary.
     
  • Before you get going take a moment to prepare yourself. You could listen to some worship, or read some verses from the Bible that inspire you. Turn your phone off so you won't be interrupted, ask the Holy Spirit to settle your heart and mind and help you to pray.
     
  • If distractions come don't worry about them, pray for them. The hour of prayer guide is just that. It's there to support prayer not limit it, so if other things come to mind that  need your prayer then that's fine.
     
  • Make a note of anything that you sense the Holy Spirit showing you. Expect him to speak as you draw near to Jesus. Feedback to Woodies leaders anything that you sense God saying to us a  church, we would love to hear from you. 
     

Let's make space for prayer this week, lets dream big, pray big and trust God for the results.
 
- Rachel Riddal
 

Sept PrayerWeek is coming!

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Prayer can feel a bit of a mystery at times!

And yet Jesus prayed and he also taught his disciples to pray. Matthew 6;6 says, "When you pray..." Jesus assumes we'll be praying too.

Prayer is a brilliant gift from God to us. Maybe one that we haven't fully appreciated.  At any point in our day we can reach out to God in prayer and know that he hears us and longs to answer us.

I love this Pete Greig quote from Dirty Glory:
" I don't pray because I'm into prayer. I pray because I'm into Jesus, so we talk. I don't believe in the power of prayer. I believe in the power of Jesus, so I ask for his help. A lot!"


So, why have a week of Prayer? We need Jesus help. A lot! We need his help in our lives, our church, our city and our world. At the beginning of a busy term it's so great to pray and say to God 'we need you'. In fact that is a good prayer to pray in any and every situation. This is what we're doing this week, were saying to God, 'we need you, we're open to you, we will do whatever it takes to follow you.'

The prayers said this week will change situations and usher in God's kingdom in new ways. But praying will also change us as we spend time with Jesus.

Have a great prayer week, dream big and pray big!

  1. Sign up for 24/7 Prayer Room via the website, we have 168 hours to fill!
  2. Find an hour to pray through the '1 hour of prayer guide' next week which you will be emailed.
  3. Come along to morning PrayerWatch Fri 16th Sept, 7.15-8.15am in the Foyer.

Love Rachel.

SAVE THE DATE: PrayerWeek 10th - 17th Sept

We pray all the time but a few times a year we dedicate a special week to consciously and intentionally devote ourselves to prayer as a whole church. So this term's PrayerWeek will be from 10th-17th Sept so look out for more details about our 24/7 prayer room and prayer events coming up soon! 

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray he said, "when you pray..." there's an assumption  that just as he communicated with his Father, they would too. Prayer week is a chance for us to dedicate time to pray for our world, city, church and lives.  As we pray and fast we're expectant, because our Father God loves to respond to his children.  


24/7 PRAYER ROOM OPENS AT 7pm on 10th - 7pm 17th
It's an inspiring place to be. Book yourself or your small group in for an hour via the website to pray for the world, the city, our church and those you know. They'll be lots of visual pointers to help you pray creatively and draw near to God. Book in for the Woodlands Church 24/7 Prayer Room here. This is an exclusive booking for yourself or you and your group The Lower Prayer Room is a drop-in prayer space but you will still need to register here, in order to get the code for access. Got some spare time? Come in and pray. 
 

NEED SOME INSPIRATION?

Redeem the gaps. Waiting, for a bus, a kettle to boil, doctors appointment, are great moments to pray in. Rather than scroll through your phone, pray instead.

Learn to listen.  Prayer is about relationship, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you and practise listening to his still, small voice. It takes practice and time, keep going.

Prayer Walking. Go for a walk deliberately to pray. The rhythm of one foot in front of the other can be really helpful.

Extended time in prayer. Most of us find it really hard to slow down. Plan in some time when you can take a couple of hours for you and God. Take a Bible, notebook and turn your phone off.  

Pray with a friend.  Consider finding a prayer partner or triplet, ask God to show you who. Try something different this prayer week and join in! 

 

#WoodiesPrayerWeek

Woodlands Church, Belgrave Road, Bristol BS8 2AA