By Matt Huey

This Wednesday we had approximately 15 men gather to pray at 6:30am.  We are continuing to pray that God will stir the hearts of more West Seattle men to join with us in Jesus’ name to intercede for the continuing needs of our church, our communities, and our city.  We again began by sharing instances of the specific conversations and other opportunities God had ordained for us in the last week to speak and act out the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with those he has placed in our paths.  Erik Henrikson then led us through a time of devotion on Luke 18:1-8 (below).

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?  Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

 Reflections on this passage included 1) God hears and delights in our prayers (see Revelation 5:8), and will respond in his timing, 2) that Jesus explained this parable up front; that like the widow persevering with the judge, God desires us to persevere in prayer and intercession without losing heart, 3) that God can even use unbelieving individuals to accomplish his purposes in justice.  As we then moved into our time of prayer, the men began to pray for the salvation of numerous individuals that God has sovereignly placed in our lives. 

Prayers this week:

• Pray that God will continue to providentially bring people to Mars Hill that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, that he would remove the blinders from their minds (2 Corinthians 4:4), and that he would open their hearts to the good news of the gospel. Pray that many would become believers in our church, and that they will wholeheartedly seek to remain in Jesus, for apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:4,5). 
• Pray for God to reveal to us those he has sovereignly placed in our lives (Acts 17:26,27).  Pray that the love of Christ would control us (2 Corinthians 5:14-16) as God grants us opportunity to boldly share and act out the good news of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).  Pray that we would never be ashamed of the gospel (Rom 1:16).
• Pray for our community group leaders to have strength and perseverance as they continue to shepherd and encourage their groups to be on mission by embracing parts of their communities through prayer and service.   
• There are many in our congregation that are hurting financially due to the economy.  Pray for great faith and that they would worship God as the great provider (Matt 6:25-34).
• Pray that the hearts of the believers at Mars Hill would be focused on Jesus such that it becomes a joy to faithfully and sacrificially give of their time, talents, and treasure to the mission of Jesus Christ at Mars Hill (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Pray for God to provide sufficient funds for our church and wisdom for our leaders as we move into the summer, which is historically the time of year when giving is at its least. 
• Pray that God would grant divine wisdom to the parents to raise their children according to the ways of the Lord (Prov 22:6). 
• Pray against Satan, his tricks, and divisive attempts to hamper the mission of Mars Hill and lead people astray from the truth.
• Pray that more people would come forward to receive prayer during communion on Sundays.  Pray that God will give the wisdom of Heaven to the prayer team that prays for people. 
• Pray that believers in our church would be steadfast in prayer (Col 4:2), and that God would continue to bring more men on Wednesday mornings to pray.