Praying for the Church in your country
You probably know your local church. But behind it there is a much larger Church: thousands of communities, of all sensitivities, spread across your country. Once a month, this quest invites you to lift your eyes and bring it before God.
What it looks like in your day
Take a longer time than usual, ten to fifteen minutes. You can use a list to go through:
- For unity. That churches of different traditions would learn to respect and cooperate with one another.
- For leaders. Pastors, chaplains, youth leaders, missionaries. Many are tired, sometimes isolated.
- For young people and children. That they would discover Jesus and that their faith would grow.
- For churches that are struggling. Those that are small, aging, divided, or in difficult areas.
- For courage. That Christians would dare to live and speak their faith, gently, where they are.
- For integrity. That the Church would be faithful, honest, and care for the most fragile.
You can also read up a little: what does the Church look like in your country? In which regions is it weak? What initiatives are under way? A few minutes of reading on a Christian news site are enough to feed your prayer.
If you are short on time, choose a single theme (unity, for example) and pray for a few minutes. If you are a beginner, move from one theme to the next simply, without trying to be exhaustive.
What the Bible says
Paul often asks believers to pray for one another, and not only at the local level. He writes to the church in Colossae:
“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:”
He adds to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 3:1): “pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course”. It is a prayer for spreading: that the Gospel would advance.
When Paul prays for the churches, he often mixes thanksgiving and request. For the Ephesians, he gives thanks for their faith and love (Ephesians 1:15-16): you can start with what the Church does well in your country before speaking of its shortcomings.
Jesus himself prayed for those who would believe because of his disciples' word:
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
This prayer embraces all believers across the centuries and borders: the Church of your country is part of that family Jesus carried in his prayer.
Pitfalls to avoid
Triumphalism. Praying for the Church doesn't mean considering it better than others. Pray with humility, acknowledging its frailties.
Pessimism. Conversely, some see only decline, scandals, divisions. Pray for healing, but also with gratitude for what is alive.
Comparison. If you compare your church with others, you risk being critical or jealous. Prayer helps you see the Church as a body in which everyone has a place.
A feeling of distance. A prayer for “the Church of the country” seems abstract. To make it concrete, add a name: a city, a pastor you know, a work you support.
Automatic habit. A monthly prayer can become routine. Take a new theme each time, to keep your heart awake.
This month, block out fifteen minutes. Choose two or three themes from the list and pray for the Church of your country, with specific names and situations.