A Bible-believing, Jesus proclaiming, people-loving community

Prayer Ministry

HandsAt St Nicholas we want to be people who pray regularly and support one another in developing a healthy prayer life. We want to take time to come together as a church and pray for each other and for the needs of our parish here in Stevenage and for the world at large.

On the following pages are more details about our Early Morning Prayer Meeting, our Benefice Prayer Gatherings and also our Prayer Partners initiative.

If you’re a member of St Nicholas Church, you can register for our e-mail prayer notices by contacting prayer.chain@saintnicholaschurch.org.uk.

But first, some thoughts about prayer…

For the Christian, prayer is a lifeline and a tremendous privilege.

Baptism of Christ (Davezelenka)
Baptism of Christ

Once we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, we can come to our Heavenly Father in prayer with great confidence. The brokenness of our lives no longer puts a barrier between us and God. When we bring our concerns to Him in prayer, we have direct access to him. Moreover, He receives us with the same joy and love as His Son Jesus.

Matthew 3:17 (NLT)
At Jesus’ baptism, the heavens opened and voice was heard saying:

“This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy!”

Romans 8:31-32 (NLT)
The Apostle Paul writes:

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

What a privilege to come before the Creator of the universe knowing with certainty that He is on our side! If only that meant praying always felt easy

Nowhere in the Bible are we told that by praying we can bend God’s will to get what we want. If we pray in accordance with God’s will, we can expect a “Yes” to our requests. But He knows – better than we do – what the best thing for us is and sometimes coming to terms with a “No” can be hard.

1 John 5:14-15 (NLT)

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.

But more than anything, we should pray because God tells us to pray:

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Paul writes:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

St John (Revelation)
The Apostle John’s ‘Revelation’

By praying we are actively seeking to deepen our relationship with God. We are talking to Him – we are bringing our thoughts, feelings and worries to Him – and that is the best thing we can do. Only God can bring lasting peace to our broken world and we will have to wait for Heaven (the New Creation) to experience His peace in all its fullness.

Meanwhile, the Christian can practise for an eternal future in the presence of God by learning to love Him better in this life. Prayer is key to that.

Read on for details of our prayer meetings and initiatives.