Wednesday Day Night Prayer Points

April 29^th, 2020

These prayer points listed below and suggestions. You must investigate the text for yourself and let it inform what you think and pray about. It will trigger and guide thoughts and insights. Your actual praying should be much more personal and the application should be much more specific than what these prayer points can accomplish. Remember that your prayers should be full of praise and worship of God, prayer for your own spiritual growth, prayer for others, prayer for the salvation of the lost, prayer for the Church, and prayer for the glory of God to be increased and made known in Jesus.

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 4:6

Psalm 63

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ² So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. ³ Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. ⁴ So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁵ My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, ⁶ when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; ⁷ for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. ⁸ My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. ⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; ¹⁰ they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. ¹¹ But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Prayer Points

Prayer of Praise – Vv. 1-4

• Praise God for being personal – “my God.” Consider this in connection with the glory, magnitude, and awesomeness of God.
• Confess your need to seek Him. Confess that God is the most important pursuit of your life. Ask for His help in prioritizing Him above all else.
• Confess your desire for Him. Ask for Him to grant you a heart that longs for Him.
• Confess your need for God. Acknowledge that you were created to find life, nourishment, and satisfaction in Him like a thirsty man fainting in the desert.
• Praise God that He may be found and looked upon! Praise God that He allows Himself to be known by us; that we may behold His power and glory. Such glimpses give us life. Ask God for many more of those glimpses.
• Praise God for His steadfast love. Ask for His transforming grace to make you treasure His love more than life itself. Praise Him with your lips in prayer and ask for help to Praise Him continually. Tell Him why He is praiseworthy!

Prayer of Satisfaction in God – Vv. 5-8

• Praise God for satisfying us more than anything else could. Confess your delight in Him. Pray that He would fill your heart up like a rich feast.
• Tell God why you have joy in Him. Confess why you don’t have joy in God. Ask God to give you joy in Him.
• Pray that God would fill your thoughts. Pray that He would occupy your mind at all parts of the night. That your mind would not be idle but would be fixed on Him (Cf. Col. 3:1-4).
• Thank God for being your help. Praise God for caring about our needs. Confess that you need God’s help continually and ask Him for ay specific help you may need now.
• Praise God for covering us with His wings and for being our refuge. Ask God to help you remember His care for you. Pray again for songs of joy to come from your heart in praise to God.
• Pray for your soul to cling to God. Praise Him for allowing us to cling to Him!
• Thank god for holding us up with His strong right hand. Acknowledge ways in which He has held you up. Confess if you don’t see those ways. Perhaps ask Him to hold you up for something specific right now.

Confession of Justice – Vv. 9-11

• Confess that you deserve what all sinners deserve. Thank God for the warnings of Scripture that tell us the fate of those who reject following God.
• Take this time to pray for someone who may not know God. Pray that they would be spared from going into the depths of the earth without salvation.
• Thank God that all those who stand firm in God will rejoice in the end!

Dear Church Family,

I am excited to write this letter to you! This letter is to inform you of and detail for you our Regathering Plan for Trinity Baptist Church. Our time apart has been both informing and hard. It has informed us of the importance of Christian Community. We are designed by God to be together in Christ-centered fellowship. Without it, the living out of our faith grows increasingly difficult. That also means that being apart has been hard. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, and I hope that the absence from this body of believers has shown you and reminded you of how much you love this church family and how much you are loved by this church family.

Such a reminder of love and necessity should make us eager to be back together again! So, with God answering our prayer to bring us back together, the following tentative plan is how we will proceed. This plan is subject to change depending on either good or bad changes pertaining to COVID-19 and the safety of our Church Family.

We will begin to phase back into the normal life and ministries of our church beginning on May 17^th. Every two weeks we will add something back into the routine. These additions will depend on how well the previous two weeks go. We will begin on May 17^th with Sunday Morning Worship ONLY. There will be no Bible Study Groups, no breakfast and coffee, no nursery, and no Sunday Evening Studies. As things go well, in two weeks’ time, May 31^st, we will add our Bible Study Groups back at 9:30am. This will include all Bible Study Groups. Zoom meetings throughout the week will continue until May 31^st after which they may continue past that date as Group leaders desire. Zoom meetings could still be a good way for continued growth and encouragement. Next, during the week of June 3^rd, we will add back our Wednesday Night Activities. This will include children ministries, youth ministries, and adult prayer times. Finally, our Sunday Night Studies will be resumed sometime in June.

Here is another way to put it:

• May 17^th – Sunday Morning Worship ONLY
• May 31^st – Add Bible Study Groups at 9:30am
• June 3^rd – Add Wednesday Night Activities
• June TBD – Sunday Night Studies

All of these plans are subject to change. If things seem to be going well, then some dates may be moved up or combined. If things seem to go poorly or put people in serious jeopardy, then some things may be postponed. We will be continually evaluating and informing the church as to the progress of our Regathering Plan.

As Doug put it in our pastor meeting, we are trying to move quick enough, but also cautiously enough to care for all our members – those eager to be back and those with some concern or hesitancy. Please know, your pastors are working to develop a wise and God-honoring plan. We are not just making things up as we go. Please pray for God to continue to give us insight and discernment. Pray for all things to go smoothly. And please pray for us to be united in our patience and understanding as we navigate this process.

For the time being, we will follow our original procedures. I am including them below:

We are reminding you that it is very important for you to thoroughly wash your hands after contact or restroom use. Please use soap and warm water. Wash for 20 seconds. This is the best measure to keep yourself free from illness. 

We are limiting contact and exposure in every way we can:

• The offering plate will not be passed around. Instead, a box will be designated at the entrance of our building for you to continue to give to the church.
• We are asking that there be no handshakes, hugs, or unnecessary interaction. Please still be friendly and loving, just not touching.
• We are asking that you do NOT touch or interact with babies or children in any way. Be mindful of concerned mothers and fathers, and of the vulnerability of babies to this and all illness.
• We are asking that you be mindful of those who are older, more susceptible, and who have other health issues as you interact with them, sit next to them, or visit with them.  

We are asking that if you are sick or have been around someone who is sick that you please stay home. You may feel ok, but we do not want to pass our illness on to others.

• This means that if you have any of the following issues/symptoms you should stay home: cough, vomiting, diarrhea, nasal discharge of an uncommon color or nature, fever, or any other symptom of an illness. All individuals must be fever and symptom free for 24 hours without medication before returning.  
• If you see someone get sick please inform one of the pastors immediately.
• When sneezing or coughing, please do so into a Kleenex and them promptly throw the Kleenex into the trash. 

We have extra material to wipe down and clean all surfaces like door handles, counters, equipment, etc. There will be Kleenex available all throughout the auditorium. 

Please take advantage of using our hand sanitizer located at both entrances to the auditorium. Please do not use more than is necessary. One pump/squirt is plenty. 

We encourage each person to use their best judgement on whether or not they should attend.

We dearly love you all and have your safety and well-being, and the safety and well-being of your family and our entire church, in mind. Please remember, we are not medical experts. We are simply trying to make decisions off of the data and information given to us. Please never hesitate to reach out to us with further questions. We sincerely look forward to seeing you all again!