The Power of Prayer

Tonight is week 3 of our prayer group--and I could not be more excited to pray at Fairview park!!!

 

If you weren't sure if there was power in prayer before this group, hopefully God has shown His faithfulness to you by now. If not, KEEP PRAYING and get ready to be blown away by the love and goodness of our heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe! Often times when we pray, we are asking for specific things... but God's greatest gift and best answer to our prayers is Himself, His presence. Tonight when we pray, and always... remember that He is with you, closer than your breath.

 

Praise stories:

Last week a member of the community sent the church a note sharing an encounter she had with a "pray-er" at Miller Park. Here is what she said:

"On Monday evening, June 10, 2013, while my husband and I were fishing at Miller Park, I was approached by a young lady named Allison (I don’t recall her last name.) She was a very pretty young lady, but I would soon find or see another (beauty) about her. She asked me if she could pray with me and I agreed. We discussed briefly some of my prayer needs and it was when she began to pray for me that I saw the other side of her– nearly as pretty as her face, oh the beauty of holiness that flowed from within this vessel of God. She prayed a prayer of wisdom, not seeking to arouse emotion, but simply to reach the ears of God on my behalf.

 

After the prayer, she sat and talked with me for a while and allowed me to tell her about how I met Jesus and about my family and as I sat there watching the look on her face, as she was sincerely concerned with me. I thank you for leading and teaching young people in this type of ministry. And I thank Allison for being bold for Jesus.

 

The one thing I didn’t tell Allison, as we talked, was that I am a minister, called by God to share the good news to all people, but on June 10, 2013, I needed the good news! God gave her just what to pray for. I woke up on Tuesday with the same problems, the same physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual needs, but because of Allison I woke with a stronger feeling, a new hope, and the blessing of being touched by an angel. I am 71 years old, and God never ceases to amaze me. In closing I will say God bless you Eastview ministries and an added double and multiplied portion of the Holy Spirit for Allison."

 

 

It may seem strange to walk around parks and surrounding neighborhoods praying and starting conversations with complete strangers, hoping they accept the invitation to come to the throne of grace with you. I'll never forget the majority of responses at our first NYC team meeting... almost everyone was anxious, a little fearful, and super intimidated about "evangelism." I'm certain that's what our enemy, the thief would want... to steal our voice, and kill our boldness, confidence, and witness, and destroy the good news we've been commissioned to share. I can't imagine the devastation satan must have felt when one of our team members prayed out loud for the very first time last week at Franklin Park. Or how angry he must have been when our friend Tiffany threw out the alcohol she had just purchased.

We are seeing small and large victories already, and the God stories will continue to be too many to list here. God has gone before us, orchestrating and ordaining divine appointments. The greatest thing we can do with our voices and lives is to be willing.... God takes care of the rest.

 

"You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you. I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms." Jeremiah 1:7-9

 

For me personally, I am so tired of being a coward. I get so caught up in myself and my insecurities... I am done with that. It's Eastview's time to emulate the fearless, ridiculous, and dangerous witness of the people in Scripture. My prayer for tonight is that God would take away our timidity and visit us, empower us, change us.

 

Acts 4:31 "After they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness."

What did the disciples do?

They just gathered and prayed. God took care of the rest. God poured out His Spirit so we could be His witnesses.

 

Tonight, let's gather and pray. We don't need to have the wisdom or the words. We don't need to muster up any strength. God will supply the power. The Holy Spirit will give us the courage. All we need is willingness.

 

Chapter 3--Fresh Wind Fresh Fire:

"I was abandoned on that rooftop, turning blue... but by God's grace someone discovered me and called 911. The paramedics came and revived me. I felt so bad about myself, I was sure nobody thought I was worth anything."

 

"Go inside the church?? No way. I was sure Jesus could never love someone as strung out as I was."

 

"Finally I hit bottom, at the end of a five-or-six-day crack binge. It was a Tuesday night when I ran out of money. For some reason I drove to the church--I don't know why. That night I found myself at the altar shedding tears I couldn't stop. 'Oh God, I need you in my life. Help me, please.' It was the moment of final surrender for me. From that point on, I began to believe God loved me. And with this newfound faith came hope and a slowly growing confidence. I knew--I really knew deep down--that God loved me and accepted me and I could relax in His love. I was free of the chains that had bound me for so many years."

 

"There's nobody too dirty, too far gone for her to care about. She is a living example of the power of God to puck up the downtrodden, the self-loathing, the addicted, and redeem them for His glory."

 

"The more we pray, the more we sense our need to pray. And the more we sense a need to pray, the more we want to pray."