Prayers for growth

Reflecting this morning on the business of praying for growth, about how to pray and indeed what to pray, the thought came to me that this is far less about praying people "in" to church than it is about praying the church "out" into the communities of home, work and leisure.

I reread Bill Hybels book Too busy not to pray recently, and it reminded me that much of our praying focuses on the things God is already doing. For example, we pray that God will be with us in our worship services, but he's already said he would do that. Far better to pray that we would be aware of his presence.

So ,when it comes to growth, perhaps the prayer should focus on our getting involved in what God is already doing. If we took the simple line of thinking about what we already know about what God is doing, what would come up on that list? Thinking out loud, and off the cuff, my first thought is Paul's comments about God intentional self-revelation in Romans. How does that change the way I pray?

Beyond that I' sure that God is at work in hearts and lives around me, I'm just too often taken up with my own agenda that I'm insensitive to his movement and work unless it jumps up and hits me smack between the eyes.

"Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus..."