In Acts chapter 12 we learn that the heathen king—Herod—arrested a number of the church’s leaders in order to curry favor with the Jews. Yet, the saints were not heartless; they cried out to God for a miracle. And, as usual, God did it! Once again we learn, nothing can stop a child of God when they are living for God!
As the saints gathered for prayer, God dispatched an angel to free Peter from prison. Do you see the importance of corporate prayer? It’s great to pray by yourself, and for that intercessory time to be sweet and life-giving. But, it’s a whole different experience when brothers and sisters in Christ bring their faith to the prayer room for a time of corporate travail and intercession. We need individual and corporate times of prayer to complete our prayer lives.
During this journey ask God to rescue people from the clutches of the evil one, like Peter was rescued. Be specific! Call individual names before the Lord. So that when the answer comes, you can only attribute glory to God.
During this journey, try to connect with the corporate prayer opportunities at our church. We offer corporate times of prayer at the midweek services—Wednesdays @ 6:30 p.m. in Montclair and Thursdays @ 6:30 p.m. in Rockaway. There are two additional times of corporate prayer: 1) Every Friday night starting @ 8:00 p.m. and running through the entire night, some 50-70 intercessors gather at the West Campus for a night of prayer. [This meeting has never been made public but it has been going on for several months now.] They offer 3-hour shifts if you can’t stay the whole night. 2) Every quarter, we offer the Encounter with God services followed by a night of prayer. Look for the dates. You become unstoppable when your prayer life is unceasing!
Drawing strength from No Easy Road—a wonderful book about prayer by Dick Eastman—“To learn prayer men [people] must pray. We learn prayer’s deepest depths in prayer, not from books. We reach prayer’s highest heights in prayer, not from sermons. The only place to learn prayer, is in prayer, bent and broken on our knees.”
And everyone said: AMEN!
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ReplyDeleteThank you for such a powerful reflection on prayer. You gave a sermon on the anatomy of a prayer a couple of months ago that literally transformed my prayer life. The sermon dissected the three elements of prayer: Asking, Seeking and Knocking. It served to remind me that when in prayer we must be intentional and thoughtful about where we are in our life's journey and what we are asking of God.
ReplyDeleteMay God continue to bless, keep and guide you and your family.
T.C.
I have recently, within this year, changed the whole structure of my prayers. My prayers consisted of me asking God to do several things for me, without glorifying the Lord for what He has already done for me.
ReplyDeleteNow, when I pray I use the three elements of prayer, as Coach TC mentioned, Asking, Seeking, Knocking. Ever since I changed my way of praying, I have truly witnessed all of my prayers being answered.
For Operation: Take Back, I have my list of people that I want to take back from the enemy! I am so grateful to be in this mission and I KNOW that the Lord WILL deliver!
Bless you, your family, and our congregation as we "Go and get back OUR STUFF!"
-Keila