The Not One Sparrow Prayer Group has changed it’s name to Shepherding All God’s Creatures Prayer Group!
We welcome you to join us in praying for companion animals, farmed animals, wildlife and the people who care for them!
We also want to thank Ben DeVries for creating the original group, Not One Sparrow Prayer Group, and for passing on the baton to us. As a tribute to Ben (Ben you say all of this so very well, thank you!), I’d like to share some of his introduction from 2011 (the full introduction can be found on the SAGC Prayer Group page under files):
“So often as Christians, we’re aware of how vital a role prayer is supposed to play in every aspect of our lives and in the world at large, but it still gets neglected or de-emphasized for seemingly more urgent demands on our time and energy. That certainly goes for me. Now, I know there are some who seem to be specially gifted and even called to a ministry of prayer, but on some level, perhaps more so than many of us currently practice, it needs to be an integral part of our spiritual and practical lives, including our concern for others and God’s creatures.
Here’s some of what the apostle Paul had to say about how we’re not only called to pray, but how much comfort it can bring us:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18, all passages New International Version)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)….
As theologian Karl Barth once wrote in a powerful little book on the Lord’s prayer,
(God) invites us to participate in his work … If we pray, “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, ” we place ourselves at God’s side, nothing less than that. God invites us to join his designs and his action. …
Therein is the true collaboration. God invites us to address ourselves to him while understanding that his cause and ours are intimately united, that our cause is comprehended within his. (Prayer (50th Anniversary Edition), Westminster John Knox ’02; pg 27, 30)
Sometimes, if not much of the time, all we can do is pray. But prayer is not at all a last resort, a last ditch effort. In fact, it’s the first thing we are always asked to do, and can do, and it’s the vital glue which undergirds and upholds everything else which we will ever attempt.” ~Ben DeVries
We hope you’ll join the prayer group on Facebook. When you do, please take a few moments to review the “Prayer Group Guidelines” listed under the Files tab on the menu bar, thank you! Please feel free to ask for prayer for your own companion animals, for the people who love them, and for any other issues of animal suffering which are weighing on your heart. If you have need for a more private prayer request or concern, please message us through SAGC blog menu item “contact us”, or through the SAGC Facebook page.