Shortly after our Vision Sunday last October, where I called the church to a 21-day period of prayer and fasting in January, I attended an excellent session about prayer at the Learning Community at Kingsgate, Peterborough. One of the speakers, Larry Stockstill, shared a very helpful framework for thinking about how our prayer lives can grow and mature, which he called the 3 Ds of Prayer: Desire, Discipline, Delight.

Most of us have a desire to pray more. I certainly resonate with that sentiment – I often feel the pull of the Holy Spirit to draw aside and pray. Yet too often, other things seem to take priority, and before we know it, the opportunity has gone.

Larry challenged us with the statement that the gateway to prayer is discipline. No fancy method, no silver bullet! In the end we have to make time in our daily schedules – to sit in a chair, go for a walk or use the daily commute, whatever works for us. Pete Greig, in his excellent book How to Pray, encourages us when praying to ‘keep it simple, keep it real and keep it up’! If we want to pray, we must start by disciplining ourselves to do it!

The fruit of allowing the desire to lead to discipline is delight. Once we begin to set aside regular time to pray on our own or gather with others, joy follows. This is becoming my testimony. I look forward to my prayer times; I feel the lack if I miss them.

Desire, Discipline, Delight. As a church we had a desire to pray together more. That desire prompted us to discipline ourselves to commit three weeks in January to daily corporate prayer meetings. And delight is our testimony! We are at Day 11 of our 21 Days, and it has been a remarkable ten days so far. The church has turned out each evening consistently, in numbers, with an enthusiasm and hunger to pray. And as we have gathered, God has come.

So let’s keep following the prompting of the Holy Spirit to gather together as a church as we move through week two of our 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. We go again tonight, 7-8pm, on the Catford site. I hope to see you there!

At the beginning of 2019, I had two conversations in the space of a few days which left me feeling challenged, encouraged and provoked. In early February I chatted with my friend Tope Koleoso, leader of the excellent Jubilee Church in north London, about the 21 days of prayer they had just completed. They had started the new year by calling the whole church to pray and fast for 21 days, gathering each night to seek God and call upon him. People had responded in large numbers to the call to pray together night after night, and they had seen a rise in faith and hunger for God. This was soon followed by another discussion with Greg Surratt, who leads Seacoast Church in South Carolina. They too had begun their year with 21 days of prayer and had witnessed God break out in power, with some remarkable healings during that time.

I can be slow to hear God, but on this occasion I felt him say clearly that he was calling King’s to go deeper in prayer. Over the last few months we have been planning and preparing for a church-wide focus on prayer during January. We began on Sunday when I preached out of Acts 4 about corporate prayer and shared what God has put on my heart. Our 21 Days of Prayer started on Monday, and I was overwhelmed by the response from the church. People streamed into the meeting, many coming straight from work, and we quickly found we had underestimated how many chairs we would need! It was a lively, joyful, faith-filled time of calling out to God. I have been so encouraged by the start of our 21 days and I cannot wait to see what God will do over the next three weeks. If you have not yet been able to join the adventure, we meet again at 7.00pm tonight, Catford site.

Lastly, Pete Greig’s book, How to Pray, will still be available to buy on Sunday, although I understand copies are selling fast. This is an accessible and helpful book on prayer, and a great one to read alongside these 21 days.

After the busyness of the last two weekends of Carol Services and Family Christmas Services, it’s good to take a moment to pause and look forward to Christmas Day itself and New Year. Here’s a quick reminder of what’s happening at King’s over the rest of the Christmas period: 

CHRISTMAS DAY
There will be one morning service at 10.30am at Catford, Downham and Lee. This will be an hour-long family service and is always a great way to celebrate Christmas Day.

SUNDAY 29 DECEMBER
Join us on the last Sunday of the year but note there will only be one meeting at each site, including Beckenham, at 10.30am.

WATCHNIGHT
Our New Year’s Eve Watchnight service has become a highlight for me. I love seeing in the New Year praying and worshipping with God’s people! This year we will be holding three services - at Catford, Downham and Lee - from 10.30pm to 12.30am. Because there is a limit to the number we can accommodate at each site, we are ticketing the event once more. Tickets are free but they are going fast, so if you plan to be there, please book in here. 

21 DAYS OF PRAYER
Whilst I am looking forward to some time off over the Christmas and New Year period, I am also very excited about what’s coming up in January. At our Vision Sunday in October, I shared our conviction that God wants King’s to have a renewed focus on prayer. We are therefore starting off the new decade by calling the church to 21 Days of Prayer. From Monday 6 January until Sunday 26 January, we will gather for an hour at 7.00pm every day, for 21 consecutive days. We will meet at the Catford site every evening except Fridays, when we will meet at each site. I am planning to be at them all and I keep hearing of more people who intend to do the same! I realise this is not possible for all of you, but I hope that you will join us as often as you can, as we worship, pray and wait upon God together.

Until then, have a very happy Christmas and New Year.

We had a fantastic first weekend of carol services at King’s, with a very encouraging number of guests and first-time visitors coming along. I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge ‘thank you’ and ‘well done’ to everyone involved - you all did an amazing job again!

If you haven’t come along to a carol service yet, or if you’d like to come again, then there are more opportunities coming up this Sunday with two carol services at the Lee site at 5pm and 7.30pm, and another at the Beckenham site at 6pm. (Please note there is NO morning meeting at Beckenham this Sunday; Lee will meet at 10.30am as normal.) Meanwhile, the Catford and Downham sites have their Family Christmas Service. These are ideal for the whole family and are always a lot of fun.

You’ll find full details on our website, but here’s a quick summary of what’s happening where and when:

SUN 22 DEC
Christmas Carol Services
5pm & 7.30pm Lee
6pm Beckenham

Family Christmas Services
9.30am & 11.30am Catford
9.30am & 11.30am Downham

Come along, bring a friend. And if you can help us by booking your free tickets online in advance, that would be great. I look forward to seeing you there!