Prayer

Paul encouraged the church he planted in the city of Ephesus to ‘pray… at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…’ So that’s what we’re trying to do on Monday nights.

We pray for all the saints gathered along the 7 Mile Road… often by name, often by affinity (children, students, pastors, husbands, wives, ESPN-addicts), often based on aknowledge of a particular need, and often just because we long for God’s glory and their joy to collide in their lives. If you on the journey with us you will be prayed for… supplication for the saints. We also pray for our preachers, because in that same passage Paul implores the church to ‘(pray) also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel…” And so if there is any power or clarity or oomph in our pulpit, it’s because we’ve prayed that our pulpit would be a place of courage where the mystery of the Gospel is shouted. And we pray by name for other churches and pastors. And we pray that God would forge an intense unity at our church. And we pray… you get the point.

When we begin we usually try to remind ourselves that amazingly we participate with God’s redemptive work through prayer… he ordains our prayer as a means toward accomlishing His work. Wild. And it makes you pray with great faith.

~ by Matthew Kruse on September 18, 2007.