MORE PRAYER please
The Invitation
MORE PRAYER please!
In Jim Cymbala's book, "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire", he reminds us, "The most powerful weapon in the Christian's arsenal is prayer. It moves the hand of God and changes the heart of man."
The Challenge of Ministry Today
As God invites us to sacrifice time and resources in different Ministry ventures it is amazing to see what happens. Through those sacrifices lost people get saved and saved people are built up in their faith. Again Jim Cymbala notes, "The fire of God is not a metaphor, it is a reality. It consumes sin and purifies the heart." Honestly such a fire sounds ominous but it is actually marvelous. We want our hearts to be purified. We want to see people released from the bondage of their sin.
However, among ministry leaders and volunteers across North America the experience of spiritual fatigue and emotional burnout is unequivocally on the rise. And this while the spiritual strongholds of those who are ministered too often seem to remain unaffected by our programs and efforts. Veteran leaders in ministry might be tempted to point to the post-covid stats which highlight increased challenges with stress, mental health and addiction along with decreased numbers of resources, volunteers and places where one might hope to experience a sense of healthy community, etc.
Yet the Apostle Paul, facing the same opposition as Jesus did from the elite Jewish religious authorities and the pagan Roman tyrants simply declares, “... our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV) Thus the challenge ultimately remains, we desperately need MORE PRAYER in North America. We need MORE PRAYER in order to support, encourage and empower our Christian Ministries and Volunteers. We need MORE PRAYER in order to see spiritual breakthroughs for those who are stuck in losing cycles of sin and desperation.
How To Effectively Have MORE PRAYER?
Both prayer and dynamite are powerful. When it comes to dynamite the difference between an Explosives Expert and a Hillbilly in a field is the expert's ability to consistently direct and target the power. So how might we target and direct this general call for MORE PRAYER? We understand how on this treadmill called life, it is hard to metaphorically get on our knees. Especially when we know full well that the treadmill is not going to stop! So just as Explosive Experts use a calculated formula which takes into consideration the specific circumstances and needs of a given situation could we adopt a concentrated prayer formula such as this:
Once a week + 3 people (virtually or in-person) + 30 minutes + 1 Scripture passage
+ 1 worship song (YouTube or other) + 1 Almighty God.
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The Most Important Invitation You Will Get Today
If you accept this mission today you will have two partners to pray with (Two because if one is unavailable one week you still have a prayer partner; note Matthew 18:19, “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”). Each week you will receive an invitation to pray at the time your group of 3 has arranged with the above mentioned scripture passage and worship song link. It is that simple. However the objective is paramount: to intentionally pray for the individuals and families struggling through the very real battles of trauma, mental health and addiction. To lift before God the first responders, program staff, community leaders and many caring people working in the trenches to make a difference.
The bottom line is we need MORE PRAYER, the truth is we need you. Will you please respond to this invitation today simply by typing, “Yes, more prayer please” in an email to, tracy@southpointcc.ca . Then you will be contacted by one of our MORE PRAYER Team Members to arrange a preferred weekly prayer time and contact method.