First Notes: Begin Today with Prayer

Dear First Baptist Family,

On Sunday, we introduced an acrostic to help us think about what a life of blessing looks like. B stands for begin with prayer; L stands for listen with care; E stands for eat together; the first S stands for serve your neighbor; and the last S stands for share your story. 

If we are going to live out our mission that helps our neighbors find and follow Jesus, then we have to begin with prayer. Prayer needs to be not an occasional event with regard to our neighbor. Blessing neighbors begins with praying for those who are far from God.

But how do you pray for your neighbor?

Start with a person

Today, can you call to mind just one person for whom you can pray? 

I have a neighbor in mind. He seems like a great guy with a heart to serve. He loves working outdoors, raising animals and tending to his property. He's a bit rough around the edges, but I kind of like that. He’s the one I'm committing to pray for specifically every day this week. 

Jesus had a remarkable way of ministering to the masses, but also going after the one. He told a story in Luke 15 about a shepherd who had lost just one sheep, but left the 99 (probably in the care of others) to go and find the one. He took his time to defend a woman about to be stoned to death for a particular sin. He journeyed across the Sea of Galilee to deliver a demon-possessed man named Legion. He journeyed through Samaria, which all other faithful Jews avoided, to encounter a Samaritan woman at the well. He went after the one again and again.

One time Mother Teresa was asked how she could care for tens of thousands of orphans over her lifetime of ministry. She said she began just by picking up one person, then picking up another. “Never worry about numbers,” she used to say. “Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.”

She also frequently said, if she were the only one to answer Christ’s call, she was determined to be that one. 

Maybe the best one to start is with you, with your heart. You’re the one God has called. Ask God to get your soul in the right place of being happy with the Lord, then consider the one you need to pray for.

Pick a place

It helps to have a place in which you can pray from. While God loves spontaneity, God also blesses consistency.

Do you have something of a private sanctuary from which you can pray every day? It may be a favorite chair, a room in your house that's quiet, a back porch or front porch, or a place near your garden.

Jesus taught in Matthew 6:6 (ESV), “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

Have a plan

It also helps to have a reminder, perhaps a note in your Bible, to remember that person in prayer every day. You could commit to praying for them every time you see the reminder, or set an alarm each day on your watch or phone to remind you to pray. 

When you pray for your neighbor intentionally and consistently, here’s what you’ll discover: you start to be concerned for the things that concern them. Your heart will begin to be broken for what breaks their heart. You'll start to have a care for them that will then lead to the other steps of blessing: listening, sharing a meal or coffee, finding a way to serve them, and eventually sharing your story. 

It begins with prayer.

Take the time to pray now and remember, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16, NIV).

Much love to you! I look forward to next Sunday as we think about the idea of listening with care.

Pastor Brent McDougal