The Strength of The Church

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“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God‘s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18).

People have prayed for each other during illness and trials; people have prayed for me when I have been preaching the Word of God; people have prayed for one another in times of personal crisis and loss; people have prayed when the enemy sought to attack us from without, as well as from within; people have prayed for God to move in mighty and powerful ways, in individual's lives and in churches…..Partnering in prayer is not a new concept, in fact, it is as old as God’s Holy Word……Moses prayed for Joshua as he battled; Jesus prayed in the garden; the disciples prayed for God’s power in the upper room, and then Peter preached and three thousand people were saved.

I have prayed throughout my entire life; I prayed as a child as early as I can remember…..As I became a Christian and learned more about prayer and about how to pray, I have prayed even more and more as I have grown as a Christ follower....I have looked to other Christian leaders for examples for my prayer life….Of course, my parents were the ultimate family examples, as they raised me to take prayer seriously, but the one individual who really helped make me understand how POWERFUL prayer can be was my good friend Steve Saunders…..When I lived in Vienna, WV, back in the early to mid eighties, Steve and I became not just hunting buddies, but also prayer partners; we spent many late night hours on our knees at the church we attended together praying for individuals, our families, each other, our pastor and his family, our church, our friends, our music ministries, the spiritually lost individuals, and much, much more.

God used Steve to make an impact in my spiritual life --- and since then, my prayer life has never been the same; it has been getting better and better!!!

When we pray, we do not change God’s mind or heart, but instead, we bring our minds and hearts in line with God’s will for our lives, and the lives of those we are praying for…..When we pray, we partner with the supernatural!!!

THERE IS POWER IN PERSISTENT PRAYING…..THERE IS POWER IN A PRAYING CHURCH…..POWERFUL PERSISTENT PRAYING WITHIN THE CHURCH IS WHAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN GOD’S WORK!!!!!

THE STRENGTH OF ANY CHRIST CHURCH IS NOT FOUND IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ATTENDING SERVICES; OR IN THE PROGRAMS OFFERED; OR IN THE COMMUNITY EVENTS SPONSORED; OR IN HOW GREAT A SPEAKER THE PASTOR IS………

THE TRUE STRENGTH OF THE CHURCH IS FOUND IN THE PRAYER LIVES AND THE OBEDIENCE OF IT’S INDIVIDUALS!!!!!

WILL YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND PRAY???

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