About 200 years ago, James Montgomery included the line ‘Prayer is the Christian's vital breath’ in one of his hymns. That remains true today as prayer is our means of communication with Almighty God, although He may use other ways in which to speak to us.
Christian Endeavour encourages its members to develop the practice of daily prayer. Three times a year we publish a series of Prayer Points which we are asking people to focus on during each month.
April
We have just celebrated Easter. Let us give thanks to God for His Son who chose the cross in order that our sins would be paid for. We are guaranteed forgiveness and everlasting life. Pray that there will be some who realise this fact for the first time this year and will be starting on a journey of faith.
Pray for the Executive Committee of the Christian Endeavour English Union and for the members as they meet for their AGM, that God’s will be at the centre of any decisions made.
Pray for World CE and the General Secretary, Dave Coryell (USA); President Rev’d Raffi Messerlian (Lebanon & Syria); Vice President for Europe, Harry H. Wedekind (Netherlands). Thank God for their commitment to our movement and desire to promote CE in so many countries.
Pray for societies across the world. Pray that God will strengthen and encourage all leaders as they seek
to bring young people to know him.
May
Pray for the Trustees of the CE Union of Great Britain and Ireland as they meet together on 14th
May and for the following AGM. Pray that there will be a good attendance for the AGM, both in person and
electronically. Sunday 19th is the day we celebrate the special anointing of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. What an
amazing change this made in the lives of those ordinary men.
Pray that we too will be strengthened by God’s Spirit, that we will continue to serve our God and to be bold in speaking about Him to our families, friends and others that we meet. Pray for opportunities.
Thank God that we have the Bible in our own language, freely available and in many translations. We are also thankful for the vast choice of other Christian literature to help us understand more about God. Pray for Christians in countries where these books are scarce or even forbidden.
Thank God for the inspired writers of our own CE literature, available from this website. Thank God that these men and women have given their time to produce aids for CE leaders to run societies successfully over many years.
June
Pray for the managers of the Christian Endeavour Holiday Centres, Beechwood Court and The Pleasaunce as they serve God throughout the year by providing breaks for holidaymakers that are based on Christian values. Pray for the staff, some of whom may be volunteers, that they will work as a team to provide the best restful and friendly environment possible.
Thank God for all those who faithfully serve him by teaching and encouraging others in their faith. Pray for those in positions of authority in different children’s and young people’s groups. Pray for understanding and kindness in all their dealings with those for whom they have responsibility.
Pray for youth workers in Pennsylvania who recently received training from Josh Good, the Ministry Director of CE in USA. Pray that these delegates will be inspired to carry on their important work. There was more recent training when Brother Emmanuel from CE in Ghana reached out to students from the Ghana Muslim Mission Senior High School in Beposo, a rural community in the Ashanti Region. These Christian students live in a predominantly Muslim environment yet are spreading the message of Jesus, endeavouring to make a profound impact on their world.
On Palm Sunday, Jesus was head and shoulders above the crowd as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. On Good Friday, He was lifted up on a cross, in shame, suffering and humiliation, for all to see. On Easter Day, He was lifted up from the tomb, raised from death. Now, on Ascension Day, He leaves His followers and, as they watched, He is ‘taken up into heaven’ (Luke 24.51). Here is the culmination of that ‘lifting up’ which is integral to Christ’s work of salvation. Lifted up that we might see Him and know who He is. Lifted up that we might know the agony of His death on the cross and realise the depths of His love for you and for me. Lifted up so that the tomb is empty, confirming God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf and approving our redemption in Him. And now lifted up to the glory of His rightful place in the Godhead, the glory which He gave up when He ‘made Himself nothing’ (Philippians 2.7) [‘emptied Himself,’ ‘set aside the privileges of deity,’ as some translations put it] to come down to serve and save humanity. As Jesus was taken from them, the disciples were lost for words – it would soon happen again at Pentecost. They could only describe what they experienced in terms of Him being lifted up to the highest, taken up into heaven. For them, His immediate personal presence with them seemed to be over but His work on earth had culminated in His glorious return to the heavenly realm and was further confirmation that they had been in the presence of the Son of God. One of Graham Kendrick’s hymns begins, ‘From heaven you came, helpless babe, Entered our world, your glory veiled ‘ That veil has been removed as the Babe of Bethlehem has returned to the eternal kingdom as the Crucified Saviour and Risen Lord. Now lifted up to the highest, His work for our salvation has been triumphantly completed.