Thursday 25th Continue to pray for the Baptist Assembly as the sessions get underway.
Hold up in prayer
our representatives, that their presence at the Assembly would bring blessing and inspire fearlessness
in their walk with God, which would, in turn, touch us too. Another expression of fearlessness is being
remembered by Diversity, when the film “Suffragette” will be shown. Pray for those attending who are
reminded of the actions of the brave women campaigning for votes for women. May our sense of
fearlessness about standing up publicly for faith in Jesus and living according to His values be similarly
bold.
Friday 26th Pray for all aspects of this second and closing day at the Baptist Assembly. The last session
will be a talk on Fearless Mission, given by Kang-San Tan, the General Director of BMS World Mission.
He is from Malaysia, grew up in a Buddhist family and became a Christian as a teenager through the
witness of a friend at school. Pray for him as he speaks, that the messages God wants to reach each
person, would be clearly delivered and received. Pray that we all might become more effective in
“friendship evangelism”, whatever our age!
Saturday 27th A lot of activities linked to Hallowe’en will be taking place this weekend and during next
week. For many this is seen as all fancy dress and fun, but we know that there is a spiritual world and
human beings are influenced by it one way or another. Pray that there will be opportunities in this time
of perceived “light hearted” darkness and “devilment” for the true Light to shine into lives and bring
hope.
Sunday 28th Pray for God to give you a word of encouragement for specific people in the church family
today. If they, or you, don’t make it to the church service then contact them some other way. Pray that
our time of worship would be acceptable and pleasing to God, and that we would learn more and more
of Him as each week goes by.
Monday 29th Pray for Pollok Baptist Church, Portobello Baptist Church and Queen’s Park Baptist Church.
Pollok Baptist are actively looking for ways to integrate into their local community. One way to achieve
this has been to hold a litter-pick event, inviting local community leaders to be involved and using the
church building as a hub. People are coming to the Christianity Explored café church as a result. Pray for
the other activities planned as a result including a community fridge, all “entry points to explore faith
leaving room for God to work” as their pastors Mark Bentham and Dave Murray write. As of this month,
Portobello Baptist Church has a new pastor, Glen Innes. Pray for him and his family as he takes up the
reins from Andy Scarcliffe. As Andy retires, pray, too for him as he adjusts to a new phase of life and
finds out from God how He wants him to live it! Queen’s Park Baptist is a large church that consists of
two campuses. This weekend coming is their Youth Weekend Away at Nethybridge on the theme “The
Freedom Factor”. Have in mind, as you pray, the words of Jesus “If you continue in my word, you are
truly my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8: 31&32
Tuesday 30th The European Baptist Federation was founded in 1949 to unite Baptist believers as Europe
recovered from the devastation of World War 2 and Christians suffered behind the Iron Curtain. Over
14,000 churches are represented in activities to do with Mission and Evangelism, Human Rights and
Religious Freedom, Theological Education, and Humanitarian Relief and Development. Pray for the
member churches and bodies of EBF involved in bringing relief to refugees and those who have been
trafficked, that the hands that reach out to touch and help them will be seen as the hands of Jesus who
loves unconditionally.
Wednesday 31st Coffee and Prayer morning, open to anyone who can manage to get there. Even if not
attending, let’s be part of this time of prayer fellowship wherever we are, lifting before Father God the
needs of our church family we are aware of.
Prayer Diary
October 2018
Pray every day for our church, for God to bless, minister to and through the:
1. Leadership – pray for Ian and Lindsey and the Deacons
2. Family – pray using the address list as a guide to cover everyone during the
month
3. Worship – pray for those involved in the music ministry
4. Witness – of individuals living and working in this community; as a body
representing Jesus; of our mission partners in Guinea and Kenya
5. Growth – pray:
- for the children in the church family and those who teach them in JAM
- for the Building Project: the practicalities of fund-raising and building,
the activities and outreach now and the opportunities to come in the
King’s Meadow building
Monday 1st Milestone Christian Fellowship (www.milestonegirvan.org) in Girvan meets in a
converted nightclub. Today the calendar lists: Parents and Toddlers, Drop-In, Foodbank and Women’s
Fellowship. Pray for the church family and pastor Adam Oellerman as they seek to reach out to share
the Good News with the community.
Tuesday 2nd BMS World Mission has a plan: One Million Lives Transformed by 2020. Check out the short
video on www.bmsworldmission.org/about-us/ . Praise God for all involved in this initiative, who
represent the organisation, who pray, and who give of time and money either at home or in one of the
18 countries abroad. Pray for successful and on-going fulfilment of the plan.
Wednesday 3rd The diaconate meets this morning. Pray for Ian, Linda, John, Bill and Lyn that they would
be given the wisdom, agreement and inspiration needed as they discuss and pray over the many issues
that will be on the agenda.
Thursday 4th This evening the full Building Project Team meet. There will be plenty to discuss, as always.
Pray for God’s guidance as the next steps are planned, and ways around obstacles are found. This is an
ambitious project, big for us but not for our Father God for whom nothing is impossible.
Friday 5th Another school half term ends today. Pray for the teachers in our church family to know the
Holy Spirit at work in their lives recharging physical, mental and emotional energy as they educate and
influence the young lives in their care.
Saturday 6th St Andrews Leckie Church is one of the locations for the live streaming of a conference
held today in Motherwell looking at relational ministry with young people. Prof Andy Root from Luther
Seminary, Minnesota is the speaker. Pray for those attending to have new insights to put into action in
their work with young people in and out of the churches in Peebles and beyond.
Sunday 7th We meet today to worship in song and prayer, reading God’s Word and learning more about
the Christian life. Pray for all involved in preparing and leading the service, and for all of us as the
congregation to be able to celebrate and have the expectancy of knowing Jesus in the midst of us
through His Spirit.
Monday 8th Nairn and New Prestwick Baptist Churches are the focus of our prayer diary for today. Nairn
Baptist Church was founded in 1992 with a core of 12 members of Inverness Baptist Church meeting
regularly in the Community Centre. Their Pastor is Rev Dr Philip Eggleston. Last year the church
celebrated 25 years of existence, with the theme “The Lord is my Shepherd”. Pray that the truth of this
will remain fresh and constant for each member, and that the flock will grow! New Prestwick Baptist
Church, where Ken Ross is Pastor and Craig Morris is the Youth Worker, has been a constant presence
in the community of Heathfield for over 125 years.
Tuesday 9th Caroline and Victor are the BMS missionaries working in Guinea who we are linked with.
Their latest prayer letter (see the noticeboard or find it online here:
www.bmsworldmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/1807-Caroline-and-Victor.pdf) asks for
prayer for the eye glass clinics where people are matched with donated spectacles. At times up to 100
people attend in a day. Some of the clinics are in rural areas where the logistic challenges are often
greater as you can read in the prayer letter.
Wednesday 10th Pray for the service held at Dovecot Court at 3.00 pm today, that those leading it as
well as those attending will be blessed and uplifted by the time of worship together.
Thursday 11th What is in the news headlines today? Ask God to direct you to one or more news items
to pray about, knowing that however confusing, frustrating or hopeless things may seem, our “God is
working His purpose out as year succeeds to year”.
Friday 12th Each verse of the hymn quoted yesterday ends with the lines: “That the earth may be filled
with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea”. Spend time meditating on these words from
Habakkuk 2 and Isaiah 11, praying that this day will be sooner rather than later in arriving. Despite the
selfish efforts and behaviour of mankind, one day the whole earth WILL be filled the glory of God.
Saturday 13th Praise God for the massive reduction in sickness and cholera in the slums of Kibera, which
we are playing a small role in through the Pennies for Kibera project. Pray for the ongoing successful
implementation of the Water Guard project, as well as Vision Ministries other programmes: the prison
ministry, children’s home, Saturday lunch club and jiggers prevention work.
Sunday 14th Pray for the service today, focussing on the work with the children attending JAM. Pray for
growth in this ministry, both numerically and in spiritual insight for each child attending. Thank God for
those who work with our children, praying that they too would know enriched spiritual lives through
this ministry. Remember in prayer, also, Vicky’s Tearoom that takes place today at 3.00pm.
Monday 15th Peebles Baptist Church features on the BUS Prayer Calendar for this week. As we are
prayed for by people from churches all over Scotland, let’s also remember the other churches listed for
this week: Newton Mearns Baptist Church, Oban Baptist Church and Paisley Central Baptist Church. A
quick fact about each: Newton Mearns has the logo “Build. Grow. Rise” – pray for every way in which
this can be fulfilled. Oban is in the middle of an Alpha course – pray for life-changing responses from
those attending. Paisley Central are in the middle of a series called “Wise words for a world in trouble”
based on Proverbs – pray for those preaching and those listening for fresh understanding of God’s wise
ways.
Tuesday 16th Yesterday was return to school day. Pray specifically for children known to us that they
would know God’s hand of protection throughout their school days and have many opportunities to
learn about and respond to Him. Pray for the work of Scripture Union at a national and local level, as
well as the role and relationship local churches have with schools in our community.
Wednesday 17th This is the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, an annual observance for the last
30 years marked by different commemorative events around the world. Pray for organisations like BMS,
Tearfund, World Vision, Vision Ministries and any others you know about who seek to bring an end to
poverty through practical action demonstrated through the love of Jesus.
Thursday 18th “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed in
splendour and majesty!” Psalm 104:1. Read the whole Psalm and meditate on verse 1: rejoicing in the
beauty and grandeur of the God we can know intimately because of Jesus; repenting that we often take
Him for granted, being distracted by the pressures of day to day life, which can seem greater than His
greatness; and requesting His help to see Him more clearly, praise Him more effectively and live for Him
more wholeheartedly.
Friday 19th The BMS prayer guide is focused on Peru this week. Pray for the Nauta Integral Mission
Training Centre based in the Amazon jungle, bringing together and training rural pastors who are often
in very isolated locations. As well as theological training they are also taught basic health and hygiene
skills, agroforestry and budgeting, amongst other practical community support topics.
Saturday 20th Harvest Supper day! Pray for ever strengthening relationships as we enjoy spending time
together, eating in gratitude for God’s bountiful provision and mindful of others in very different
circumstances. Finlay Allmond from BMS will speak this evening; pray for him as he shares with us. The
focus for this year’s BMS Harvest appeal is on maternal and newborn care in the mountains of
Afghanistan.
Sunday 21st Lunch and prayer follow the service today, when we will hear updates on the building
project and other church matters. Pray ahead for those leading the sessions and for progress to be made
as we discuss and pray together over any obstacles and decisions to be made.
Monday 22nd Perth Baptist, Peterhead Baptist and Pitlochry Baptist Churches are the focus for our
prayers today. Last Saturday Perth Baptist held a Christian Vision for Men day entitled: “Going against
the Grain”. Pray that the men attending this event will have been emboldened to do just that as they
were encouraged by this time of fellowship together. Peterhead Baptist have just completed a major
renovation project on the church building and resumed services there at the beginning of October. Pray
for the settling-back-in period and that the work and ministry of the church would grow in influence and
effectiveness. Pitlochry Baptist hosted a two-day conference on The Kingdom of God this past weekend.
Pray that those who attended the conference will, with God’s help, put into effective practice all they
have learned and be blessed in doing so.
Tuesday 23rd Pray for strengthening links between the churches in Peebles at leadership and
congregational level. “Spirit-rooted, Christ-manifesting, truth-cherishing, humbly-loving unity is
designed by God to have at least two aims: a witness to the world and an acclamation of the glory of
God” John Piper. Pray for this kind of unity to be manifest here in Peebles.
Wednesday 24th The Baptist Assembly begins tomorrow in Motherwell, with a packed programme of
business, teaching, worship and fellowshipping together under the theme “Fearless”. Pray for the last-
minute logistical matters, safe travelling for all, for hearts to be prepared to give and to receive, and for
effective dissemination of the messages that should be delivered back to the churches represented
there.