GBC Community Update: When praying, ask for forgiveness

​Good afternoon. I hope you’re making this a great week.  Its hard to believe Canada Day is tomorrow.  I would encourage you to pray for our nation during the holiday weekend and beyond. We face many challenges these days is so many different ways as a church, people and country. We need the Lord’s hand on us in the days ahead. Let’s pray for this.
  
 
Join us on Sunday in-person or on our livestream as we start our new summer series “Hear my prayer, Lord”: Great prayers of the Bible
Sunday we start our new summer series “Hear my prayer, Lord”: Great prayers of the Bible. 
As I mentioned on Sunday, we are going to be looking at prayer this summer.  What do we mean by great prayers and what do they look like?  Find out this summer!
Jacob will be kicking things off as he looks at the Lord’s Prayer.  Join us Sunday as we look at what is more rightly called ‘the disciple’s prayer’.
Remember, you can join us as we gather in-person or you can connect through our website www.guelphbiblechapel.ca  our YouTube channel as well as Facebook LIVE
 
 
Thought for the day: Steps Towards a Mature Prayer Life- Ask for Forgiveness
Today’s thought is a bit shorter than the others but still very important.  A key element when praying is to seek forgiveness for your sins. This is not a popular topic in society and even increasingly within the church. But here’s the reality- we have all fallen short of God’s glory and sinned. When we speak out our sins and ask Him to cleanse us, we are admitting what we did wrong and that we need His mercy.
Another aspect of forgiveness talked about in the Bible is speaking your sin to a fellow brother or sister in Christ, James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Along with confessing your sin to God, speak your sins to a mentor, leader in the church, or a friend who is a strong believer. When we confess our sins to one another, we are weakening sins hold on that area of our life. Confess your sins to God and to a fellow believer so that you may be healed and your prayers can be powerful!
I think of John’s words to the early church in times like this: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:9).  Confess and watch your prayers grow. Happy Canada Day!
 
In His grip,
Pastor Chris