Prayer Ministry
Find out the different ways you can be involved in our prayer ministry and find encouragement and tools for your own prayer life
Prayer
At the Orchard Church we believe in the power of prayer. Prayer is all about crying out to God for help. We pray because we have come to realize that without the Lord Jesus we can achieve nothing of eternal value (John 15:5). We pray because God has promised to work through prayer (Jer 33:3). We pray because it is a way to stand against the forces of evil (Eph. 6:18). We pray for boldness to proclaim the Gospel (Eph 6:19-20). And we pray for all people because God desires everyone to be saved (1 Tim 2:1-4).
Sunday Morning Prayer
We meet in The Lounge for prayer before the service between 9am and 9:30am. You are welcome to join us for the whole time or just come when you can for as long as you can.
Hour of Prayer
One evening every term we have an Hour of Prayer. These have taken different formats over the years, from creative displays to traditional small groups. What stays the same is the church coming together to pray. A facilitator will share ministry updates and prayer needs before spending time praying for them.
Church Prayer Chapel
We have a room dedicated to prayer where you can come whenever the church is open and spend as much time as you like reading Scripture and praying. If you need a quiet place for reflection, Bible reading or confession, feel free to make use of this space.
Prayer Chain
When a prayer request comes in all those on the prayer chain are notified by email and are encouraged to pray about the need. Contact the Church to find out more and/or to become part of the prayer chain.
Be Prayed For
If you would like prayer for any reason you are welcome to contact one of The Orchard team directly here or if you prefer you can use the form below.
Need Help Getting Started with Prayer?
Here are a few simple ideas that can help with your prayer life:
- At home, find a quiet spot to pray;
- Pray while you drive (it’s ok to pray with your eyes open);
- Don’t get caught up with the length of your prayers or the time spent praying, it’s not a competition!
- Do a biblical study on prayer to discover what it’s all about;
- Some find the A.C.T.S. acronym helpful as a guide to prayer. Start with Adoration, then Confession of sin, then Thanksgiving and finally Supplication (requests for others and self);
- Take the opportunity to pray with others;
- Read a good book or an online article about prayer;
- Pray above all for spiritual growth, yours and that of others. It was the main request the Apostle Paul prayed for (see Ephesians 1; Philippians 1 and Colossians 1 as examples);
Prayer Templates
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
“O Father in heaven, who did fashion my limbs to serve You and my soul to follow hard after You, with sorrow and contrition of heart I acknowledge before You my faults and failures. Too long, O Father, have I tried Your patience; too often have I betrayed the sacred trust You have given me to keep; yet You are still willing that I should come to You in lowliness of heart, as I do now, beseeching You to drown my transgressions in the sea of Your own infinite love.
My failure to be true even to my own accepted standards;
My self-deception in face of temptation:
My choosing of the worse when I know the better:
O Lord, forgive,
My blindness to the suffering of others and my slowness to be taught by my own:
My complacency toward wrongs that do not touch my own life and my over-sensitiveness to those that do:
My slowness to see the good in my fellows and to see the evil in myself:
My hardness of heart towards my neighbour’s faults and my readiness to make allowance for my own:
O Lord, forgive.”
(slightly modified from John Baillie, A Diary of Private Prayer, p.15)
[we] ask God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul – not the grim strength for gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful he has for us.
“I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:1-3)
“Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14 ESV)
Use sample prayers (like the ones below) to help you pray.