Psalm 27:8 is one of my favorite verses. The Psalmist writes of how his heart longs to seek the Lord’s face. Seeking God’s face in prayer is an all too often overlooked part of being a follower of Christ. When it comes to prayer, how often do we pray simply because we want to be in God’s presence as opposed to wanting Him to act in some fashion for our benefit? The concept that prayer is about relationship is new for many people, but we must move toward becoming people who demonstrate that we love God by seeking His face and not only His hand.
Trinity Church has started 2009 by praying 24/7 for the first 12 days of the year. We are now 5 days into this prayer time. During our prayer time we are interceding for people, but our primary purpose is to simply seek God’s presence. It is great to hear from people who have been part of this event and their experiences. I am looking forward to hearing about your experience during the hour you spend in our new prayer space.
We pray expecting that God will show up and when God shows up amazing things happen, but that is not why we pray. We pray because we simply do not want to do anything, even good things without the presence of God (Exodus 33:14-15). We pray because we serve a God who loves us deeply and desires for us to love Him deeply as well. We pray because we have been given the opportunity in Christ(Matthew 7:7-8).
Trinity Church has begun a journey toward discovering what it means to be a church of prayer. There are sure to be many highs and lows along the way, but I look forward to the journey.
3 comments:
Dave, I want to thank you for teaching those of us that have been wondering how to be better Christians. I was saved and baptized in 2001, and I have been searching for many answers of how I am supposed to be in my life ever since. I know prayer is a major part of my Christian life, and I am excited about it for the first time ever. Working through the prayer room opened my heart and my soul to pray endlessly like we were told to do. Thanks for being my answer to many confused and lost prayers.
Wow! The room is awesome! It looks great and is such a comfortable place to chat with God. I am so amazed at what I learn "daily" as I talk with Him. The prayer room is an amazing tool to "teach" and "reteach" me how to pray. I am so much like an Israelite...forgetful and ST@P#D. When I do start off my day with prayer and devotion, God meets with me all day. When I don't...YIKES! I will admit that I have also seen some side effects in my life because Trinity is praying. The forces of evil are at work. We must remember Ephesians 6:12...We are NOT fighting against people made of flesh and blood (HUMANS), but against the evil rulers (SATAN) and authorities of the unseen world. Be alert...when someone or something challenges your "love others," GET ON YOUR KNEES! Blessings...
Kelly, you are SO right about the "side affects" of praying for others. In my experiences, it seems to happen like clock-work. When God moves on my heart and mind to pray and pour part of me out on behalf of others, all sorts of crazy, out of the ordinary things start happening to me and to my family. I think the spiritual forces against God and His people do no want to give up ground where we may be encroaching when we are pouring ourselves out for others, in sync with God's Spirit. I can't put it into words just right, but that's the best way for me to describe it.
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