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Knockbreda Church, Belfast, NI

Knockbreda Church, Belfast, NI
Sunday service times: 10am, 11.30am & 6.30pm.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Digging Up Treasure

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.’ Colossians 4.2-4 St. Paul knew the necessity of prayer if a mission was to be successful. He implored the believers in Colosse to pray for him as he proclaimed Christ. He entreated them to pray that his communication and explanation of the gospel would be as clear as possible. As a church we are planning a focused period of mission for next November. Indeed, the whole diocese of Down and Dromore is preparing for mission. The one essential component of that preparation is prayer. As part of a continuous diocesan prayer chain we are challenged to commit to a full week of prayer: 14th – 21st November 2014. We are asked individually to fill hour-long slots so that every hour is covered in that week. It will be quite a test for us! But at the same time, it could be a turning point in the life of Knockbreda. John Calvin, one of the Bible teachers at the time of the Reformation, likened prayer to digging up treasure. ‘It is by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the heavenly Father … We dig up by prayer the treasures that were pointed out by the Lord’s gospel, and which our faith has gazed upon.’ Calvin wisely explains that God the Father has many, many blessings stored up for his people. He has precious treasures which he is longing to give us. All we have to do is ask him for them: ask, seek; knock (Matthew 7.7). But like digging for treasure, prayer can be hard work. It does not take much to distract most of us from praying. Even Christians often prefer to be activists. Running to meetings, speaking of the gospel, reading a Christian book, handing out Christian literature – prayer can be well down the list of Christian priorities. But without prayer we will not receive all the marvellous blessings and treasures which God has in store for us. When we pray we are putting our faith into practice. Faith can be seen in the believer who prays because it is the one way to show that we are trusting our heavenly Father to supply all our needs – and more! I trust that every Christian believer at Knockbreda will be involved in our 24/7 prayer project this month. Sign the sheet in the church if you have not already done so. Sign it more than once, if you can. Pray for the mission, pray for yourself, pray for others, pray for the blessing.

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