“All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans” Proverbs 16;2-3
Welcome back to our new weekly prayer blog! Please do continue to pray with us throughout the week, and let us know how you are finding this new method of communicating prayer direction and response.
Each week we’ll have a little update from our various projects, friends at OICCU, and the wider world. Maybe work through this as part of your daily prayer, or sit down with friends and spend some time interceding together. Join us at Corpus Christi College 5-6pm on Tuesday for a time of reflective prayer too if you’re around!
Justice takes a lot out of us. Time, energy and money drained. Sleep, comfort and rest longed for. Other things pushed aside in pursuit of the Kingdom. However, this journey gives so much! Joy, peace and love overflow, changed hearts and minds result. The beauty of seeing God’s creation become a better resemblance of the way it was created! The loss of guilt, the warm fuzzy feeling, God’s smile on us, the thank yous, the votes of recognition, the impressed looks on our friends faces, the pride, the victory, the satisfaction, the fame… Notice the slip? Where was the line crossed…
Proverbs 16 reminds us that our motives will seem pure to us, but that God truly knows our hearts and what is going on within them. The challenge that presents is getting ourselves in line with what God would love to find when he looks into our hearts at our motives for justice, when we are glared by the lens of our own opinions of the actions we have chosen to take! The answer? Tricky, but lets pray this week to scratch the surface. Let’s be honest with our brothers and sisters and challenge each other, let’s commit ourselves to the Bible, and to spending time in God’s presence because His Spirit is so transforming. Let’s encourage one another for what is going well!
This week we have lots of Stand for Freedom prep underway, Just Lunch and usual project meetings to look forwards to, but these all need God’s guidance, so prayer for His presence is key. Pray also for the committee as they settle into routine, that they will remain fresh and open, for the J reps as they serve in colleges, and for each member of Just Love as they share with others what it is they are passionate about. In the wider news, it is Mental Health Awareness Week, Foster Care Fortnight, Dying Matters Week, and Brain Injury Week! Lets be praying through these causes, information available across the internet.
With Stand For Freedom now two weeks away, please continue to pray for all the team involved in planning it and for the continued smooth running of the preparation, just as we thank God for all the amazing provision we have received so far. Pray for the JCR motions going through colleges to ask for money for IJM; that if this is God’s will, then people’s hearts will be moved to donate to their work around the globe. Please also pray for the human trafficking situation in Thailand, where reports say it is an even more prevalent threat than in previous years; pray for guidance over the governmental authorities fighting it, rescue and restoration for the victims, and God’s movement in the lives of the traffickers.
From HO this week, please pray for a group of people being evicted from their current residence at 12:30pm on Monday. Pray that they will be kept safe and that they will find somewhere else to sleep at night without fear. Please also pray for people who have been affected in some way by the gospel over the last week – pray that they will be longing to know more and that God will be working in them to take away any hostility they have towards it. Finally, thank God that he wants his children to know him so much more than we ever can.
In terms of the beautiful creation, as we get closer to the general election, and following the council elections last week, be praying that environmental policy is seen by those as a priority and that change will be happening at all levels of government. Pray for the waste crisis in Sri Lanka, after a rubbish dump collapsed on nearby houses, killing dozens (find out more here www.aljazeera.com/video/news/2017/05/sri-lanka-struggles-tackle-waste-problem-170504080405461.html).
The creation photo of the week this week comes from a bit further away than the last couple have; all the way from the south pole of Jupiter! (credit to NASA for this awesome photo!)
Lastly, let’s keep our eyes open to the rest of Oxford. OICCU’s Search has hit the pres and, college reps are reflecting back on their first Bible studies, God is a God of Good News and of Justice, so let’s be praying for OICCU, our churches (particularly St Ebbe’s during building!) and the new May Cafe at Aldates!
With Love, In Jesus Christ, JL Ox.