Praying for a Service
Before each service some of us pray together for every aspect of the service and the areas of ministry throughout the building (those leading, volunteers, those coming for the first or seventieth time, and for the community of Milford).
Intercessory Prayer
The focus of intercessory prayer is on a broad range of needs from individual requests to the vision God has given OPC|M through the following ways:
After-Service Prayer
This is an opportunity for people to respond after the service by sharing requests for which they would like someone to pray with them about. This also provides an opportunity to connect people with pastoral care and life-giving discipling relationships.
Ongoing Prayer
We will pair intercessors with the pastoral/ministry staff and within intercessory prayer groups that will receive any prayer requests that the church receives. The purpose will be to engage in committed, intentional daily prayer for those in pastoral/ministry staff roles and to pray for other requests as they are made known.
Nights of Prayer
This is our monthly meeting where we spend time together with God through prayer (adoration, repentance, gospel thanks, and aspiration) and focusing on the priorities and needs of God’s Kingdom: God’s presence and glory being shown in our homes, work, community, and world.
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
Resources for Prayer
There are many forms of prayer that Christians have found beneficial throughout the centuries. The forms below stand out both for their simplicity and connection to Scripture.
Praying with Scripture
Download Praying with Scripture Guide
This emphasizes rooting our prayer life in God’s word. God comes and speaks to us through his word and guides us by his Spirit, exposing the desires of our hearts, those rooted in truth and the flawed ones too.
We believe that prayer shaped by God’s word is our starting place for helping us to understand our past and present experiences in the light of the gospel. Christians throughout the centuries have come to the scriptures in this way: learning how to imitate and respond to God’s words to us, allowing scripture to reorder, revise, and edit our hearts and responses to the circumstances and sorrows that beset us. We encourage groups and individuals to use this form to spend time together meditating on and praying through Scripture as a means of transformation.
Conversational Prayer
Download Conversational Prayer Guide
Prayer is dialogue. Prayer, as has been said, is taking up the other side of a conversation that God has already started with us as he speaks through Scripture. Conversational prayer, then, is a way of participating in this dialogue with God alongside others. As we do so, we invite and expect the Holy Spirit to be present with us: guiding and edifying the prayers of the group.
We encourage Discipleship and Life Groups to utilize this form of prayer.
Devotional Prayer
Download Devotional Prayer Guide
Christians have used various forms of devotional prayer through the centuries. Luther offers us his simple way to pray. Whereas the prayer of examen and discernment methods focus on the seeing our experiences and inner life through the lens of the gospel. Finally, liturgical prayer* may be of help as those who have gone before become guides in our own prayer. Recommended resources include: The Valley of Vision, Augustine’s Confessions, Book of Common Prayer (BCP) by Thomas Cranmer (a 16th century English reformer).
We encourage Discipleship and Life Groups to utilize these forms of prayer.
Want more information? Contact Micah! P: 248.685.3560 E: micah@opcmilford.org
