Thought for the Week - 31/1/2021

Dear Friends,

As the grim news was announced last week of deaths in the UK reaching over 100,000 from Coronavirus there has been a call for the nation to come to God in prayer at this time of national crisis. The Archbishops of both Canterbury and York have asked people to pause each evening to ‘reflect on the enormity of this pandemic’ and pray to God. They write, ‘One thing we can all do is pray. We hope it is some consolation to know that the church prays for the life of our nation every day. Whether you’re someone of faith, or not, we invite you to call on God in prayer. Starting on 1st February we invite you to set aside time every evening to pray, particularly at 6pm each day. More than ever, this is a time when we need to love each other. Prayer is an expression of love’. From our own Baptist family, Baptists Together has issued a call to persevere in prayer, saying, ‘As Covid-19 threatens to overwhelm our health service and continues to inflict pain and loss, we stand together with many others and renew our commitment to sustained prayer. You may like to join virtually with friends to pray, perhaps in small groups or as a wider congregation. You might like to spend time in solitude praying for our nation at this time of crisis’. And from BMS World Mission, whose annual Day of Prayer falls on 31st January, we are invited to pray for the work of BMS and that God’s name would be known by all, and including this prayer request, ‘Pray that God will stop the spread of the Coronavirus around the world. Pray for all those across the world struggling under this new normal, that we will be able to lay our burdens on the Lord and know his peace’. We are only a month into 2021 but it is good to be reminded of our church motto for this year, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God’ (Philippians 4:6). I know that you are already praying about all of this, but let’s commit to pray with renewed passion and intensity for God’s intervention at this time.

Grace and peace,

Neil  

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