“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.” -Psalm 67:1-2

We are going to take a break from our Gospel Jump-Start Series this week. During the sermon yesterday we briefly looked at Psalm 67. The Psalm is a prayer asking the Lord to bless Israel for the purpose of making Him known to all the earth, and this toward the end of the nations praising Him for His saving power. The church has been called to proclaim the gospel, God’s saving power, to all nations (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). Therefore, I believe it is right for us to ask for God’s blessing for the same purpose, proclaiming His greatness to all nations (by nations I mean locally and abroad, not only foreign missions). However, what kind of blessing should we be praying for? Here are some ways I am asking the Lord to bless NewBranch in light of this Psalm:

Gospel Growth/Fruit

  • That we would glory more and more in the Gospel - As we are continually amazed by grace, we will continually be compelled to proclaim the grace by which we are amazed.

  • That we would grow in our discipleship…in our helping one another follow Jesus -

    • That we would continually be stirring one another up to love and good works. (Heb. 10:24-25).

    • Also, if we aren’t committed to discipleship, which is teaching others to obey all that Christ has commanded, why would God add to our number by conversion growth? It pleases Him to entrust baby Christians to a church that is committed to their maturity through discipleship.

  • Christlikeness - that we would grow in holiness looking more and more like Jesus. God is glorified by His people when they look like His Son.

  • Conversion growth - that the Lord would give fruit to our evangelism by adding to our number those who will glory in His saving power. 

  • That the Lord would add to our number more laborers - And this for His glory and for further Gospel proclamation.

  • That the Gospel would produce more and more financial generosity in us - For the sake of the Gospel going forward.

  • That the Lord would raise up goers - pastors, missionaries, and cross-cultural supporters.

These are a few things we can pray for as a church asking the Lord to bless us so His saving power can be made known among all nations. 

Written by Matt Baker