RiverLife Weekly #20: A Birthday Prayer For RiverLife

We turned 29 last weekend – if not for Your hand that led and sustained us, where would we be today?

Our journey is marked by countless testimonies of Your goodness to us – Your relentless pursuit, steadfast love, kindness, grace and mercy. Even when our hearts wandered and our faith were weak, You were faithful to draw us back to you again. What greater treasure do we have as a church other than to be called Your people; and to have Your presence with us the last 29 years, today and until the end of time?

As we enter our third decade as a local church, You are reminding us again that while the world is big into leadership, You are big into followership and that is what You call us to – the followership of Christ into His likeness and reproducing the same followership in others. It is for this followership that You said to Peter: ‘I will build My Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it’ (Matthew 16:18). Would it also be that it is in this followership that You will find Your resting place (Psalm 132:14)?

I pray for us as a local church family that You will weed out any self-sufficiency, irreverence or careless attitude, murmuring or complaining in our hearts or in our midst as we walk in our call as Your local church. For us who have been jaded, disillusioned or hurt by our past experiences, I pray that You will heal and restore us. At all times, open our eyes to see our spiritual poverty that we may never cease to hunger and thirst after You and depend on Your Spirit to lead and sustain us. We want to always remember that when it comes to Your call, ‘it is not by might nor by power but by Your Spirit’ (Zechariah 4:6).

For us who will be taking steps to properly plant ourselves in this spiritual household, I pray for protection over us - that the enemy’s scheme to detract us from this step of obedience will be thwarted. For us who will be taking steps on the lookout for a Paul, Barnabas or Timothy, I pray that You will direct us to one. For us who will be taking steps to be a Paul, Barnabas or Timothy to another, I pray that You will strengthen our hearts and help us to rise up with boldness, courage and dependence on You.

Lead us as we look to You, the Perfecter of our faith and our very Great Reward.

 

Pastor Sarah Leung

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