2 Chronicles 6:40

“Now, O my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.”

Monthly Prayer Highlight

The Church ReGathered
Saturdays and Sundays Beginning June 6–7
bellevue.org

Bellevue will begin to offer in-person Worship Services beginning the first weekend of June. We ask that you pray for our church leadership during this time as they make decisions, pray for those who will meet with us that they will feel safe on our campus, and pray those who do not know Jesus Christ will be drawn to our campus and come to know Him as Savior and Lord.

June Prayer Needs

Ministerial Assistants at Bellevue
bellevue.org/intern
We recently welcomed a number of new Ministerial Assistants (MAs) to our intern program. Please pray for the following as they work and serve at Bellevue this summer/year:

• Each MA will be cared for with intentional hospitality.
• Existing MAs will welcome new MAs into their fold and minister to those unfamiliar with Bellevue and Memphis.
• These future leaders will have a clear direction of their calling as they work in ministry this summer/year.

A Day of Prayer and Fasting
Wednesday, June 3
bellevue.org/prayer
As a church, we are setting aside the third day of every month in 2020 as a day of prayer and fasting. Whether you fast from a meal or for the entire day, please seek God’s presence and power. During your 30 minutes of prayer, please pray for healing from Coronavirus specifically. A prayer guide will be available online at bellevue.org/prayer beginning June 2, and we also ask for you to specially be in prayer for our ReGathering of in-person Worship Services beginning June 6.

Father’s Day
Sunday, June 21
Please be in prayer for the following as we celebrate this special holiday:

• Fathers everywhere will know they are seen and loved by God and by those they love.
• They will be led and strengthened by God to lead their family in a way that honors and glorifies Him.
• The fathers who feel the pressures of this world building and weighing on their shoulders will know they do not bear their burdens alone but can cast all their anxieties onto the Lord.
• Husbands and wives who are trying to have children will be comforted knowing their prayers and desires are heard by our heavenly Father.
• All who have lost a father will be comforted on this day.

Pray for our Church Leadership
We are called to pray for our church leadership. Join us in praying for Bro. Steve and other staff members in the following ways:

Pray for Bro. Steve

• To hear God’s voice
  • “Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). This is a prayer that is always at the forefront of Bro. Steve’s requests. “Nothing has the potential to change your life like the whisper of God. Nothing will determine your destiny more than your ability to hear His still small voice” (Mark Batterson). Pray Bro. Steve will hear God’s voice especially during these days when we are dealing with issues we have never dealt with before.
• Wisdom
  • Even after God speaks, it can be difficult to know exactly how to live that out. Paul prayed for believers, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17). Pray that as Bro. Steve seeks God, God will give him the personal wisdom he needs to lead our congregation.
• To be strong and courageous
  • Again, leading God’s people in ways they have never been before requires these virtues. God repeatedly charged Joshua, “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). Pray Bro. Steve will follow in the steps of Joshua and will experience God’s power and wisdom upon him.

Pray for Church Staff

• Wisdom and discernment
  • Under the leadership of the Office of the Pastor, the staff is leading out in the areas they oversee or serve in. It is a new normal for us all. “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding…Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace” (Proverbs 3:13, 17). Pray God will open our eyes, so we will see the path of peace for His church.
• Love
  • In the midst of hectic, changing times, it is possible to shift your focus from the main thing to peripheral issues. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another” (John 13:35). Pray the staff will stay focused on becoming more like Jesus.
• Health
  • “Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14). Several staff members are presently dealing with serious health issues. Please pray for these to be healed and for all of the staff to walk in God’s healing power.

Pray for our Pastors’ Families 

In addition to praying for our pastors spiritually, pray for them relationally. Pray for their families—their wives, children, and grandchildren. Pray that their families stay firmly rooted in God’s Word and are daily led by His Spirit. Pray that their children grow up to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And, pray for their other family members—siblings, parents, in-laws, etc.—that all of their family relationships be pleasing to the Lord

What Do You Believe About Prayer

Bellevue family, your consistency and passion to pray is proof of what you believe about prayer. Those who don’t consistently and passionately pray don’t because prayer is not that important to them. But, those of you who invest focused, priority time to prayer do it because you truly believe prayer is essential to life.

The Psalmist was one example of a person who believed in prayer—

“I love the LORD, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore, I shall call upon Him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1–2).

He was convinced in his heart that when he prayed, the living God heard his voice. But not only does God hear, He “inclines His ear.” As a loving parent or grandparent would, God ‘leans over’ to catch every word.

As we commit ourselves to engage in prayer for the month of June, I want to encourage you to test yourself, what do you really believe about prayer?

• Is this prayer newsletter something you get to “see what is going on,” or is it something you use to pray? If prayer is something you think about but don’t energetically and passionately engage in, admit it. In other words, it does neither you nor the Kingdom of God any good for you to receive a prayer newsletter if you don’t pray!
• If prayer is something you engage in consistently and fervently, thank God for His grace and pray! And while you are at it, pray for others that God will pour out on them, “the Spirit of grace and supplication” (Zechariah 12:10).

In closing, prayer is a heart and a habit issue. God wants to give you a heart to pray and He will—as you pray and discipline yourself.

If you are looking for a book that will stir your heart to prayer, I recommend The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson. Someone said the best book on prayer is one that after you’ve read some of it, you are compelled to put it down and go pray. The Circle Maker does that for me every time.

Bill Street
Minister of Evangelism, Discipleship, and Prayer