Prayer Works

God has been demonstrating that He is at work in so many areas that I've been praying about.   And, He has also been continuing to teach me about Prayer through a variety of means.

What a difference this past week has made.  While I had felt submerged with all that needed to be completed, I look back and am amazed at the progress made - property taxes paid, income taxes filed, blood tests taken, prescription refilled, doctor's and eye appt scheduled, car 30,000 mile maintenance completed, baby shower gift bought, and outline for next Bible Study series started.  It feels like He has lifted me back up on my feet and allowed me to cross off many of the items on my previously overwhelming TO DO List.

It has also been nice to have a break from teaching class (and I even had a break from teaching small group as well).  The area that I feel the prayers the most, is that the atmosphere of the class has gone back to being less confrontational.   Although I can see that while the critics have merely stopped voicing their disagreements verbally, they still grumble amongst themselves.   My prayer is that this will not erupt one day; and that over time, the truth will become clear to all.

It's encouraging to see that God is using the COA outreach.   We are giving away more Bibles, and there is now a need for helpers to talk to or pray with people who come up after the message. I'm prompted to remember to pray over the Bibles that we order, so that God may use them to touch the lives that we give them to.   Also, just yesterday, a person shared that she had heard a story from someone at another church who had said that a woman who was homeless and "lived" along the river bank was so grateful for the food that was provided at COA, since that was her only meals each day and it is one of the things that helped sustain her through her pregnancy.

The message in worship yesterday was on "Becoming a People of Prayer".  God's desire to stay connected with us is not dependent on our connection with Him: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  (Romans 5:8)  Yet, God is still concerned about our prayer life.  We are asked to be devoted to prayer (Col 4:2), given the model for prayer (Luke 11:1-13), commanded to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), and are told to pray in order to be healed and that the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective (James 5:16).

While prayer is key to living a more powerful Christian life, yet we still struggle because there are several "connection breakers" that can get in the way:

1. Selfishness (James 4:3) - with wrong motives, prayer can fall powerless to the ground; but, when motives are right, it gives way to worship
2. Harbored Sin (Isaiah 59:1-2) - God doesn't move, so if we feel far from God, it is likely that we have moved away due to our sin and are holding Him at arms length
3. Idols (Ezekiel 14:3) - Is God our first priority?  We all have idols, for as Col 3:5 says, practices of our earthly nature are considered idolatry
4. Stinginess (Prov 21:13) - surprisingly generosity empowers prayer; and 1 Tim 6:17 tells us to place our hope in God and not in their wealth
5. An Unforgiving Spirit (Mark 11:25) - In the OT, forgiveness was motivated by receiving forgiveness in return; but, in the NT, we have already been forgiven, so we must forgive
6. Disrespect in marriage (1 Peter 3:7) - relationship with spouse can affect prayer
7. Underestimating the power of persistence (Luke 18:1-8) - it takes courage to persevere; and giving up shows lack of faith

Suggestions for a breakthrough in our prayer life:

1. Start with simple heartfelt thanksgiving
2. Ask to reveal connection breakers in our attitudes, behaviors, and choices
3. Ask God to meet and come alongside you for victory over connection breakers
4. Be intentional about spending time daily connecting
5. Practice "breath-prayers" - continual unceasing prayer, like breathing

Then, in the evening, we heard Stories from the Field from one of our church missionary couples.  They said the focus of their ministry is to PRAY!  They talked about walking through the fields in Wales just lifting up those they minister to in prayer.   It was interesting to hear that while the church in the western world is dwindling, the global church is growing, particularly in Asia and Africa.   Many organizations now have also implemented "preventative care", rather than having to deal with crisis or even missionaries who drop out due to the challenges of being "alone" in the mission field.  This particular organization, Pioneers, deals mainly with Relief (e.g. providing fish) and Development (e.g. teaching how to fish) in remote regions of the world.