Fairfield Glade United Methodist Church
Many times throughout his life and ministry, Jesus prayed. He would pray openly with his disciples, and he would seclude himself
privately with his Father. From this we understand and recognize that prayer is an essential aspect of our Chistian life together in
community. We pray for one another in worship each week, and we pray for ourselves and others in our personal times of
devotion. Requesting prayer of others is an important element of who we are as a people of faith. Praying for specific concerns
and joys binds us closer to each other and helps to hold us together through tough times.
We have many opportunities to be involved in the prayer life of this congregation. You are always invited to request prayer from
any of our pastors through email, phoning, or stopping by the church. There is an intercessory prayer group that meets at the
church every Tuesday morning at 9:15 am to gather for confidential prayer. These persons are always glad to welcome
newcomers into their midst as they gather to cover our community in prayer.
We have an emergency phone tree of a dozen folks who stand at the front line of a community crisis to offer the support and
undergirding strength of their prayers. And finally, there is an email prayer chain of 65persons that you can join or request
prayer through. Any of these prayer ministries would welcome your presence or ideas as we continue to seek to offer to God our
prayers. If you have any questions, call Jill Teske (707-1249) or Lanita Pride (484-3473).
privately with his Father. From this we understand and recognize that prayer is an essential aspect of our Chistian life together in
community. We pray for one another in worship each week, and we pray for ourselves and others in our personal times of
devotion. Requesting prayer of others is an important element of who we are as a people of faith. Praying for specific concerns
and joys binds us closer to each other and helps to hold us together through tough times.
We have many opportunities to be involved in the prayer life of this congregation. You are always invited to request prayer from
any of our pastors through email, phoning, or stopping by the church. There is an intercessory prayer group that meets at the
church every Tuesday morning at 9:15 am to gather for confidential prayer. These persons are always glad to welcome
newcomers into their midst as they gather to cover our community in prayer.
We have an emergency phone tree of a dozen folks who stand at the front line of a community crisis to offer the support and
undergirding strength of their prayers. And finally, there is an email prayer chain of 65persons that you can join or request
prayer through. Any of these prayer ministries would welcome your presence or ideas as we continue to seek to offer to God our
prayers. If you have any questions, call Jill Teske (707-1249) or Lanita Pride (484-3473).
- Let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God...will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Phillippians 4:6-7 NRSV
The Prayer Connection
Almost every morning and evening on the bus or train, commuters discuss people or events they’ve heard about in news reports, the newspaper, or conversation.
Standing in line at the grocery store or waiting in a doctor’s office, we often hear people doing the same. Many such exchanges end with someone saying something
like, “There’s nothing we can do about it,” or, “Somebody ought to do something!”
But believers can always do something: we can pray. Many times, however, we do not see praying as doing something. With our culture’s emphasis on producing
and achieving, we can easily dismiss prayer because it does not result in a product. Perhaps finding ways to make our praying more visible, more than “just words,”
can help us to be more faithful.
Consider how your life of prayer could be enriched by trying one or more of these strategies:
1. Establish a regular place to pray—a personal holy space. On a small table beside by bedroom chair, I have placed a candle, a cross, and several other items
that hold special meaning for me—including a small china box that reminds me of my church, the community of faith that formed me. When I sit in that chair, my mind
and my spirit know why I am there; pattern and familiarity make paying attention to God seem right and comfortable.
2. Keep a prayer list. Write in a notebook or journal the names of people and situations that you want to bring before God. Refer to the list every week or so and
give thanks for how God has been at work in these matters.
3. Make your monthly calendar into a call to prayer. Write the names of those you want to pray for on the day of each month that corresponds to their birthday.
From time to time, send a note to the ones you are praying for, letting them know you have their names before you to remind you to bring them before God.
4. Prayer map #1: Make a “prayer map” of your neighborhood, with blocks to represent each home. Write in the names of your neighbors and their needs. During
your prayer time, work your way around the neighborhood, praying for people by name. If you don’t know your neighbors, ask God to help you find ways to reach
out to them. Update the map as you progress in building relationships, making friends with your neighbors to help them become friends of Christ.
5. Prayer map #2: Place a map of the world or a small globe where you can see it as you pray. (If you have children in your home, you might use a world-map area
rug to help them intercede for the world’s needs as a part of bedtime prayer, directing them to stand on a different continent each day of the week.) Hold the map or
globe and picture God lovingly reaching out to each area where there is trouble. Consider how God wants you to respond to the needs that come to mind.
6. Spend time sitting quietly with God, holding the list in your hands. Offer the needs represented by the list to God, waiting to see how God may nudge you to 6.
“Pray the news.” Each day as you listen to or read news reports, list the people and respond.
7. Make a prayer more than “just words” by combining prayer with action. Here are some possibilities:
A. Prayer walking. Walk regularly through your neighborhood or work area with the intention to notice people and needs, praying for them as you walk. Use cues—
toys outside, pictures on desks—as clues to suggest how you might pray.
B. A prayer-shawl ministry. People in these ministries knit or crochet coverlets to be given to those in special need. While working, the one doing needlework prays
for the person who will receive the prayer shawl. (Visit www.prayershawlministry.org for more information.) In some churches, the prayer-shawl ministry provides
these to persons grieving or undergoing medical treatment, as a sign of the congregation’s presence with them and prayers for them. A prayer shawl is a sort of
visible hug that can comfort the one using it.
Almost every morning and evening on the bus or train, commuters discuss people or events they’ve heard about in news reports, the newspaper, or conversation.
Standing in line at the grocery store or waiting in a doctor’s office, we often hear people doing the same. Many such exchanges end with someone saying something
like, “There’s nothing we can do about it,” or, “Somebody ought to do something!”
But believers can always do something: we can pray. Many times, however, we do not see praying as doing something. With our culture’s emphasis on producing
and achieving, we can easily dismiss prayer because it does not result in a product. Perhaps finding ways to make our praying more visible, more than “just words,”
can help us to be more faithful.
Consider how your life of prayer could be enriched by trying one or more of these strategies:
1. Establish a regular place to pray—a personal holy space. On a small table beside by bedroom chair, I have placed a candle, a cross, and several other items
that hold special meaning for me—including a small china box that reminds me of my church, the community of faith that formed me. When I sit in that chair, my mind
and my spirit know why I am there; pattern and familiarity make paying attention to God seem right and comfortable.
2. Keep a prayer list. Write in a notebook or journal the names of people and situations that you want to bring before God. Refer to the list every week or so and
give thanks for how God has been at work in these matters.
3. Make your monthly calendar into a call to prayer. Write the names of those you want to pray for on the day of each month that corresponds to their birthday.
From time to time, send a note to the ones you are praying for, letting them know you have their names before you to remind you to bring them before God.
4. Prayer map #1: Make a “prayer map” of your neighborhood, with blocks to represent each home. Write in the names of your neighbors and their needs. During
your prayer time, work your way around the neighborhood, praying for people by name. If you don’t know your neighbors, ask God to help you find ways to reach
out to them. Update the map as you progress in building relationships, making friends with your neighbors to help them become friends of Christ.
5. Prayer map #2: Place a map of the world or a small globe where you can see it as you pray. (If you have children in your home, you might use a world-map area
rug to help them intercede for the world’s needs as a part of bedtime prayer, directing them to stand on a different continent each day of the week.) Hold the map or
globe and picture God lovingly reaching out to each area where there is trouble. Consider how God wants you to respond to the needs that come to mind.
6. Spend time sitting quietly with God, holding the list in your hands. Offer the needs represented by the list to God, waiting to see how God may nudge you to 6.
“Pray the news.” Each day as you listen to or read news reports, list the people and respond.
7. Make a prayer more than “just words” by combining prayer with action. Here are some possibilities:
A. Prayer walking. Walk regularly through your neighborhood or work area with the intention to notice people and needs, praying for them as you walk. Use cues—
toys outside, pictures on desks—as clues to suggest how you might pray.
B. A prayer-shawl ministry. People in these ministries knit or crochet coverlets to be given to those in special need. While working, the one doing needlework prays
for the person who will receive the prayer shawl. (Visit www.prayershawlministry.org for more information.) In some churches, the prayer-shawl ministry provides
these to persons grieving or undergoing medical treatment, as a sign of the congregation’s presence with them and prayers for them. A prayer shawl is a sort of
visible hug that can comfort the one using it.
Prayer Changes Things!
I have been reading more about the need for prayer in our communities and country. In the book, Praying the News, by Wendy Griffith and Craig Von Buseck, they
relate the story of Manchester, KY, and how God changed the town through prayer. “When God comes, He comes like a divine chiropractor,” said George Otis.
“He snaps things back into alignment that have been out of alignment, whether it’s in the political sphere or the ecological sphere …” Otis was so impressed with
what God had done in Manchester that he produced a two-hour documentary called “Appalachian Dawn.” It tells of how God took a region plagued for centuries by
corruption and darkness and turned it into a city of hope…He literally changed everything.
Your prayers are effective. God hears our prayers and works through them. I encourage you to pray with us on each Tuesday morning at 9:15 a.m. in the Prayer
Chapel. Take time as well to pray at home everyday!
“If my people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
Jill Teske, Prayer Coordinator
I have been reading more about the need for prayer in our communities and country. In the book, Praying the News, by Wendy Griffith and Craig Von Buseck, they
relate the story of Manchester, KY, and how God changed the town through prayer. “When God comes, He comes like a divine chiropractor,” said George Otis.
“He snaps things back into alignment that have been out of alignment, whether it’s in the political sphere or the ecological sphere …” Otis was so impressed with
what God had done in Manchester that he produced a two-hour documentary called “Appalachian Dawn.” It tells of how God took a region plagued for centuries by
corruption and darkness and turned it into a city of hope…He literally changed everything.
Your prayers are effective. God hears our prayers and works through them. I encourage you to pray with us on each Tuesday morning at 9:15 a.m. in the Prayer
Chapel. Take time as well to pray at home everyday!
“If my people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will
heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
Jill Teske, Prayer Coordinator
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Prayer Ministry