Prayer at St Thomas's

Prayer is simply conversation with God and coming into His presence, that is meeting with God in a real sense in our everyday lives. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Prayer is partly about asking God to meet our needs and the needs of others, but it’s also a means of praise, thanksgiving, confession and committing things and situations to God. Most importantly prayer is also about listening to God in that conversation and being guided by Him.

We encourage our church family to pray together regularly and in a variety of settings and formats, to bring before Him the needs of the church, parish and the world, and to learn to listen to God, since fellowship and communication are at the heart of our Christian life. Here are some of the opportunities to engage with prayer at St Thomas’s:

Festival services and community services Every service offers an opportunity for people to ask for God’s help and blessing on themselves or someone they know, supported by the person leading the service.

Communion services. In addition to the prayers which take place during the service when you kneel at the altar rail to receive communion or a blessing there is an opportunity for silent prayer. You can say as much or little as you like.

Evening Prayer

The last Sunday of the month – join us at 5.30pm for a cuppa and a chat or at 6pm for a quiet and reflective said service.

Our Prayer Board

A place anyone can write and post a prayer request for any situation they wish to be prayed over.

Quiet reflective time

The church is open on Wednesday and Sunday from 11am-4pm for people to use the church for quiet reflection and personal prayer. The church has a number of prayer cards as well as creative resources to building a foundation of prayer.

The Derby Diocese 2027 Community of Prayer

St Thomas’s is committed as a church to being part of Derby Diocese’s Community of Prayer as is Biggin School who have made the same commitment to pray the Lord’s Prayer, the diocesan Vision Prayer and other prayers on the diocesan Cycle of Prayer. Individuals are welcome to join the diocese’s community of prayer. This will commit you to praying every day. The diocese may also occasionally suggest other relevant prayers that you may like to use. For more information follow the link.

https://derby.anglican.org/en/faith-and-life/2027-community-of-prayer.html

Daily Prayer for the morning, evening and into the night with the Church of England. Includes daily Bible readings and psalms from the lectionary. Also available as an App for mobile phones.

Lectio 365 is a free daily devotional resource that helps you pray the Bible every day. It can be found here: https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/