River's Edge Community Church

Tuesday is a day of reading for prayer, a day where we take God’s Words to us and pray them back to God and allow his thoughts, priorities and values to shape our prayers.

My prayer goal for this week is __________________________________________.
Our goal for last week was _____________________________________________.


Let’s pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come,
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us, not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.


Read the following passage from 2 Corinthians 9:6-12
     Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
      “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
           their righteousness endures forever.”
     Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
     This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.


Pray Around The Text . . .
As you read this passage, you may find yourself at odds with some of what the text is saying or with what it is calling you to do. Be honest with your struggles before God and wrestle with then in prayer.

Today, you may take a few moments to pray around, through, and with our text, allowing the text to shape, mold and structure your requests as we have in the past. Allow the Spirit to guide your thoughts as you grapple with the implications of this passage on your life.


To Consider As We Pray
“As base a thing as money often is, yet it can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor. It can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.”  (A.W. Tozer)

"Christian giving is to be marked by self-sacrifice and self-forgetfulness, not by self-congratulation."  (John Stott)


One Thing to Do Today
Paul calls us to live a life of sacrificial, compassionate and generous giving. Our goal today is to put that ideal into practice. Your mission is to find a need and to give generously to it (however you want to define it). It can be as simple as giving food to a homeless person, giving some time to a soup kitchen or serving in some ministry. Or it can be far more complex. Give a one-time gift to an international relief ministry or get involved in some cause. Whatever you choose to do be compassionate, be generous and be grateful that God has enabled you to bless others through the gift of giving.


Closing Prayer:
Abba Father, pour out your love upon us so that we may love you and love our neighbor as ourselves. Give us wisdom that we may engage our world with your truth. Give us compassion that we may speak with tenderness. Give us courage that we may always be faithful and give us hearts of faith that we may seek your glory in everything we do. Today, we give ourselves to you, body, soul and spirit and ask that you advance your kingdom in us and through us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.