As the Grand Opening of the Federal Way Campus quickly approaches, people often ask, “How can we pray for you?”

These are a few key areas in which we could use your prayer:

1.    People are typically motivated to pray when they perceive a physical lack or a need in their lives; pray for us that, when we pray, we will be motivated by our love for Jesus instead of by the absence of things or people.  As we prepare for this brand new campus, there are many tasks to be completed, many volunteers to be equipped for ministry, and many people to be cared for in Federal Way and the surrounding cities.  Instead of praying for Jesus to supply the things we think we need in order to make our tasks easier, let us pray in thanks for the love Jesus has for us that has called us to be messengers of his love to the people of Federal Way and beyond. We want our prayers to be expressions of our humble reliance on God and honest adoration of God’s character (Psalm 116:1).

2.    The goal of prayer should not be limited to deliverance from pain and suffering. The goal of prayer should be to recognize that our pain and suffering affords us the opportunity to participate in the service, sacrifice, and sanctification of Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Pray that we would be moved not just by the afflictions from which we want to be delivered, but also by the vision Jesus gives us as we experience our trials. We want to see Jesus through the opening of the Federal Way campus. We want to see Jesus being worshipped among the nations. We want to see the nations being transformed to live for Jesus (Isaiah 6).

3.    Pray that we would shun the tyranny of urgency, and instead be maintained by the priority Jesus has for us.  In Matthew 5-7, Jesus preached a sermon that clearly communicates to us how we are to live our lives. In it, Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” (Matthew 6:33). We go through meetings, trainings, and more meetings to equip us for our responsibilities. Let us pray that the programs and peoples of our church do not become our focus, but that our focus remains fixed on Jesus.

The purpose of prayer is to express our love for Jesus, to participate in the life he has blessed us with, and to offer our lives back up to him as a living sacrifice. Let us pray together in community so that we live in the presence of the living God (Psalm 116:9).  “When we work, we work. When we pray, God works.” Hudson Taylor