Prayer and the Annual Review

Prayer is the heartbeat of the church, both in public worship and in the personal discipleship of the individual Christian.The liturgical focus for prayer at the Annual Review is the Methodist Covenant Renewal Service. The powerful words of this service reflect the central theme "I am no longer my own, but thine". It roots the consideration of discipleship in the area of money, in the wider and richer recommitment of the whole life of the believer to God. As one Methodist writer puts it, "At the heart of Christian devotion is a sense that we are not our own, but that through God's claim upon us in Christ through baptism, we are God's servants. From time to time, Christians need to make a solemn renewal of the covenant, lest we hold back from God what we once gave to God but over time have hoarded for ourselves." (From an article by Daniel Benedict)

Some reflection on the importance of prayer is offered on the page Why Prayer Matters. The Prayer section of this web site also offers a wide range of liturgical material and advice on praying in the local church.

• Research for the Giving Campaign in 2004 noted how, within faith communities, giving is promoted and sustained by "public sanction". Extempore, intercessory and liturgical prayer are formative of that culture of giving.
• Prayer makes an organic connection between spirituality, worship and the sometimes taboo subject of money. When the use of money and the challenge to review giving is embedded in prayer and worship, it begins to change the way in which we think about the issue.
• The issue of money can be a most sensitive matter both in the corporate life of the church and in the heart of the individual believer. Prayer, in all its forms, puts into words both the anxieties and the spiritual aspirations of those who are praying. Through prayer the grace and generosity of God, that should be mirrored in the lives of His people, can be increased.