Prayers for The Brook

During this season leading up to the "Immeasurably More" spiritual focus, the most important thing to do is to call our church to pray. Prayer changes things! Prayer makes a difference! Prayer develops our trust in God not self! Prayer activates the hand of God to move, provide and work in miraculous ways! There's just nothing more important than seeking God through prayer.

God is working in our church and has so much to reveal to us about who we are and what we're to do in the years ahead. So in preparation for these 21 days beginning October 27, let us covenant together to pray for our dear church.

How can you pray for The Brook? Below are some key ways and prayer requests that I've outlined for you. In these days ahead we are going to be joined together in spiritual union. It's going to be awesome to know that I am united in spirit with my church family and to feel the oneness with you in prayer! May God bless you and The Brook Church!

Immeasurably More

There is a long history of God’s providential work in and through our church. We’ve seen some amazing answers to prayer in 18 years and times that called for intense faith, endurance, commitment to each other, and trust in the Lord.

Churches must always cooperate with any new work that God may want to do in their spiritual family. If they don’t, in time they become lifeless and settle into ways of doing things that eventually require no faith. Our vision here at The Brook will never change. We will forever seek to be real people, finding real hope, in the real world. However, God’s deepening of our love for Him is always a process. We should never become complacent spiritually and must always be open to respond to God’s leading.

I have sensed for several weeks that the Lord is doing something new in our church. Something that looks unlike anything we’ve experienced in 18 years. It’s been birthed and confirmed in my mind from answered prayer; testimonies of His activity in families, marriages and individuals; key happenings that to others might seem coincidental, but are indeed put together by divine providence; God bringing important ministry pieces and quality people to our church through additional staff we've acquired over the past 2 years; people new to church finding faith and fellowship; new members joining The Brook who, just like our existing church family, possess sincere hearts, authentic spiritual love, and devotion to our church; as well as the spiritual hunger and response I sense in many of you to The Lord's new work in your lives. It seems in God’s timing He is leading us along toward a new day.

For months I’ve been praying about this without any clear direction- only a sense of an undercurrent going on. About 4 weeks ago God led me back to a passage of Scripture that captured exactly what I felt was at work. It is Ephesians 3:14-21…

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from who every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge— that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Wow! Isn’t that awesome? This beautiful prayer of the Apostle Paul for the Ephesian church is a prayer that I am praying now for all our church.

What would our church look like if each of us were made strong with power through God’s Spirit in our inner being? What would we look like if we all could fully grasp God’s profound love and be filled to the measure (to the brim!) of the fullness of God?

This would be true: We would all be absolutely changed by the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

Beginning Sunday, October 27 (Team Day) I want us to manifest this prayer all throughout our church through a focus and spiritual initiative called "Immeasurably More." This title captures what I pray the Lord will lead us to in terms of our inner love and passion for Him— that we will all experience immeasurably more in a new level of growth, trust, and spiritual awareness.

This is going to be a wonderful experience that will permeate the entire church family. Here are some highlights…

• A special Team Day celebration on October 27 kicking off the whole initiative.
• Unique worship services designed to communicate themes of this emphasis. Worship will include testimonies, video, unique activities and special prayer in worship on Sundays.
• Ministry teams gathering for prayer and discussion around this initiative focusing and celebrating how God is using them in the church.
• Children’s Ministry and Student Ministry participation.
• Men’s and Women’s Ministry applying and celebrating God’s work through this season.
• Bible Fellowship Groups and Small Groups taking part in a Bible study series on Ephesians 3:14-21 and with a prayer focus in these groups.

“Immeasurably More” will be a 4 week focus, but I believe our church will never be the same after. It will be filled with personal prayer, introspection, unique worship and a challenge to rise to a new level of spiritual hunger and passion for the Lord.

“Immeasurably More” can mean anything for each individual on a personal and spiritual level—prayers answered, more passion for God, more time with Him, more trust in Him relationally, personally, financially, etc. It also applies to our church to open our shared heart and mind up to the “Immeasurably More” that God has for The Brook in terms of spiritual hunger, love for each other, desire for God’s Word, outreach to the community, and a commitment to be a secure, faithful and healthy church family.

We will all be asked to do something different during this season and I challenge you to even now open your heart to the Lord.

More details will come. For now, pray and consecrate this special season to the Father in Heaven.

Joshua 3:5 ““Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”