Mountainview has an energized group gathering monthly as the Prayer Team. The purpose of this group is to plan and carry out ways to help everyone at Mountainview grow in their prayer relationship with God. Here are some of the things that are going on.

You may have already noticed that Potluck and Prayer has moved to noon, usually on the last Sunday of the month. This is an opportunity to connect over a meal and then connect in prayer. This month, on Sunday November 24, the prayer theme will be “interceding for our neighbours”. As we head toward Christmas, we want to ask God to guide us into opportunities to connect with neighbours. Praying for them by name and praying for opportunities specifically is how we open that spiritual door. Bring some food to share and join us for prayer on the 24th after the worship service.

You may also have heard this past Sunday morning (November 10) that there were people praying specifically for the worship service while it was happening. This is something we just started doing and, as we figure it out and make adjustments, the idea was not to make it public. However, I let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, on Sunday because I was very aware of the power of prayer in the moment. So, this is what is happening: Two people are praying for the service every Sunday while the service is happening. They are asking God to show them what they should be praying into and are checking with each other about what they are sensing the Spirit is showing them. We are calling this Sentinel Prayer. We tried out a number of names and in the end, this one stuck. In the words of Acts, “it seemed right to us and to the Holy Spirit.”

With the start of Sentinel prayer, our prayer team is again aware that our calling is to lead others into prayer. Right now, it is mostly the same people praying for people after the service and doing Sentinel prayer. If you are willing to help out in either area, please let me or another prayer team person know, and we would be glad to have you join in this ministry.

Looking ahead, we will be doing the Guided Prayer Retreat again in the spring. This year it will be coordinated with our Lent worship and will take place through small groups. Your present small group, if you have one, is invited to take part in this six-week journey. Otherwise, you will be invited to join a short-term group for this event. More on this in January.

Finally, there continues to be a group doing a prayer walk on the first Saturday morning of the month. Come join us in this wonderful chance to bring our community before God in specific ways. Blessings and peace,

Pastor Erick

What's Going On? Prayer Things