“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12:12–14
Read 1 Corinthians 12:12–31
Lord, according to Scripture, a beloved part of our body is across the world in Ethiopia. We ask you, Jesus, to use Mars Hill to grow your body and plant an additional 20 churches this coming year. In Ethiopia, in a twelve-month period alone, 11,000 people heard your good news and 890 of those were saved. We want to be used of you however you would see fit. We want to do our part well, so the other parts of the body can grow and see a great harvest. Empower us to do that well. We pray for these church planters today—that you would raise them up, would equip them fully, and that you would bless them and their families in unimaginable ways (Eph. 3:20). We pray for the hearts of those who will hear the life-saving message of Christ.
As we start these 4o days in prayer together, please give me a heart that is open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Lead and direct me, whether I am the eye or the foot or the hand, as to how I can be a blessing to the one body of Christ? I know that ultimately, I will get the bigger blessing—as you said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
Lord, as we begin our 40 days of prayer, we thank you that you have redeemed us not only to yourself but also into your body, the church. We pray that by your grace we would see 20 additional church planters in Ethiopia be sent out in 2014 so that more people could be added to your family. Please help me to understand my part in building your body so that I can use my gifts to further the growth of your family locally.
Amen.
Thank you for praying and giving to be a part of our year-end campaign to raise $2 million above and beyond our normal giving. Go here for more information on how Mars Hill is building a legacy to equip the next generation. Visit marshill.com/give to give online and set up a recurring gift for 2014.
