When I hear a call to prayer, I often reflect on one particular moment in seminary when a student asked the professor if we could take a moment to pray (this was about six or so years ago when the Amish community was struck by the shooting tragedy in Pennsylvania). The professor, David Augsburger, was slow in response.  He stood still with his hand on his chin, and then responded… “Why?”  … the class was shocked and silent. Then he said, “And how should we pray?” All of us adjusted in our seats, as we were unsure of what to say.  Finally, one by one we began to express the why and how of a Christian community’s prayers of intercession for those in need. The tears began to flow, and hearts began to wrestle with life, theology, relationships, and tragedy… all these things we took time to consider… then we prayed! It was one of the most powerful and focused prayer gatherings I’ve been part of.  It could simply have been one student’s prayer for the disheartened and wounded Amish community, but it turned out to be a praying community doing their best to honestly approach God and wrestle with the realities of our fallen world—it was a Spirit led prayer meeting.  I thank God for a Professor who was willing to make us “squirm” a bit and grow up from the prayer duty check list approach—an approach that simply moves on after making requests without engaging in the reality of life and the Living God whom we seek.

So, when I ask you to pray for our special services—or anything else—I do so having contemplated the “why and how” for quite some time. You see, we’re not approaching the “Cosmic Genie in the Sky”—no, we’re coming to the Living God!  Our intent should never be to ask His blessing on efforts of ours, as though we simply need to gain his attention and stamp-of-approval on our event. It has been well said: Don’t ask God to bless what you’re doing, until you’ve asked to be lead in the things He is blessing! In other words, let’s seek Him with hearts that understand why we’re seeking Him, and let’s be found doing the actions we know He will bless.

In short, my desire is that we’d think and pray. Be still and quiet in His presence, and let the why and how of our prayer be settled in our hearts. We come into prayer from the desire to abide in Him. (John 15); therefore, our prayer is the activity of the abiding life. In this relationship we are free to ask for His blessing.  In fact, the early church sought God for extraordinary things—boldness, empowerment, open doors, timely and redeemed actions, and most importantly God’s leading. They did ask for His blessing, but their hearts desired the greater working which God was doing—not simply their success in what they were doing.

We pray out of the longing in our hearts for others to know Him as we know Him, and are know by Him—it’s right that we want to see others share in the Father’s love. We ask that God would stretch out His hand and touch hearts, open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and send the Holy Spirit to convict hearts and reveal Jesus as Savior and Lord—that many would place their trust in Him at this time, receiving Him as Savior and thus begin new life in Him… Oh that He will grant repentance and faith to many at this time.

We pray that people will be draw to the services for this reason, and we pray that we would serve and act in the ways that please God and make room for His presence and power. We pray that pride would be far from us, and each step and every word and action would be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit!

As we pray, we know also that the enemy is active—he blinds people to the Gospel and he also comes to steal away the seed planted in hearts; however, God is greater than Satan and his minions, and therefore we seek the Father through Jesus our Lord asking simply yet boldly that the enemy would be bound having no influence in our gathering!

Obviously, there’s much more to say about prayer. This was written with the desire to stir hearts and cause us to reflect—and then pray! Let’s pray Church! Thank you for standing with me.

 LORD bless you all,

 Pastor Mark