The Effect of Prayer (March'05 article for church magazine)
Do you believe that God will answer your prayers, no matter how simple or complex you make them ? (James 1.6). Do you ask God for answers with the right reasons behind the prayer ? (James 4.2-3).
It’s funny really how sometimes flippantly we treat this gift of praying to God. Oh yes, we might pray “Lord, heal Joanna from her migraines” or “Lord, give John relieve from his knee pains”, but deep down do we really expect an answer ? Do we pray for clear weather on a grey morning when in the afternoon a Christian/Church event is take place … … … And then when God does answer that prayer, are we open enough with each other so that Joanna actually comes and says her migraines have gone (and not just yesterday, but that they have gone forever). Or John with his arthritic knees can now go running again and cycling with his children.
What I am trying to actually get at is the question of where is Prayer placed in our lives, privately and in the church. Not that I expect an answer as there you are only answerable to God. But let me make a couple of my own observations as (still) a relative newcomer to VBC of just over a year here:
(a) The 24/7 Prayer Weeks, interest is always shown to participate and for it to take place, but when it comes to the crunch of actually committing oneself, only a handful come forward.
(b) Seek My Face – again the chance for the Church to come together for prayer. But where is the Church Prayer life when less than 10% of the congregation come along ? Are we all that busy on a Sunday evening … … I remember when I first became a Christian it was very unusual (and that as a busy student) NOT to go to a church meeting in the morning and in the evening on a Sunday (7th day of rest and all that).
(c) Prayer Team – did you know we have one ? And what is it for ? Apart from organising events like the Walking the Labyrinth, its recent focus is (so it appears to me at least) to concentrate on maintaining two articles in the monthly church magazine (Prayer Diary and Prayer Focus).
(d) Prayer Chains – which were described in the last church magzine edition, incorporated under the Pastoral Care Team, are hardly used and may be ineffective as their importance is not understood.
And, one more comment, I get told that to have “The Prayer Team” as an agenda item at a church meeting, is a first in recent times.
Overall from these observations I get a very disjointed, despondent, down trodden picture of Prayer in our church. Now I know we do have a handful of real Prayer Warriors at VBC, and Folks thank God for you – keep going, as I know you will. But I ask You (yes You the reader, including myself) how do You expect to take a stand for Christ, to stand firm (see Ephesians), to see Gods Power now, and His glorious provisions, if our Prayer Priority is as it is ?
As an Engineer I would say that all the major components of the Prayer Machine are present, but they are strewn all over the floor. Or to pick on the picture we have received recently, the motor of our big, clean boat needs to be reassembled so that we can go out fishing onto the Lake (Luke 5), as I expect every true Christian would want to do.
The above is not meant as criticism, even if it may appear so, as I am talking to myself here too. But personally I feel that meetings and events like “Seek my Face” and “24/7” need to be joined up with the Prayer Team and the Prayer Chains, and become one integral, fundamental part of the Church Leadership Team. In Prayer and through Prayer can we stand against the ‘old adversary’s aim’ of “divide and conquer” as is in evidence these days everywhere.
It’s funny really how sometimes flippantly we treat this gift of praying to God. Oh yes, we might pray “Lord, heal Joanna from her migraines” or “Lord, give John relieve from his knee pains”, but deep down do we really expect an answer ? Do we pray for clear weather on a grey morning when in the afternoon a Christian/Church event is take place … … … And then when God does answer that prayer, are we open enough with each other so that Joanna actually comes and says her migraines have gone (and not just yesterday, but that they have gone forever). Or John with his arthritic knees can now go running again and cycling with his children.
What I am trying to actually get at is the question of where is Prayer placed in our lives, privately and in the church. Not that I expect an answer as there you are only answerable to God. But let me make a couple of my own observations as (still) a relative newcomer to VBC of just over a year here:
(a) The 24/7 Prayer Weeks, interest is always shown to participate and for it to take place, but when it comes to the crunch of actually committing oneself, only a handful come forward.
(b) Seek My Face – again the chance for the Church to come together for prayer. But where is the Church Prayer life when less than 10% of the congregation come along ? Are we all that busy on a Sunday evening … … I remember when I first became a Christian it was very unusual (and that as a busy student) NOT to go to a church meeting in the morning and in the evening on a Sunday (7th day of rest and all that).
(c) Prayer Team – did you know we have one ? And what is it for ? Apart from organising events like the Walking the Labyrinth, its recent focus is (so it appears to me at least) to concentrate on maintaining two articles in the monthly church magazine (Prayer Diary and Prayer Focus).
(d) Prayer Chains – which were described in the last church magzine edition, incorporated under the Pastoral Care Team, are hardly used and may be ineffective as their importance is not understood.
And, one more comment, I get told that to have “The Prayer Team” as an agenda item at a church meeting, is a first in recent times.
Overall from these observations I get a very disjointed, despondent, down trodden picture of Prayer in our church. Now I know we do have a handful of real Prayer Warriors at VBC, and Folks thank God for you – keep going, as I know you will. But I ask You (yes You the reader, including myself) how do You expect to take a stand for Christ, to stand firm (see Ephesians), to see Gods Power now, and His glorious provisions, if our Prayer Priority is as it is ?
As an Engineer I would say that all the major components of the Prayer Machine are present, but they are strewn all over the floor. Or to pick on the picture we have received recently, the motor of our big, clean boat needs to be reassembled so that we can go out fishing onto the Lake (Luke 5), as I expect every true Christian would want to do.
The above is not meant as criticism, even if it may appear so, as I am talking to myself here too. But personally I feel that meetings and events like “Seek my Face” and “24/7” need to be joined up with the Prayer Team and the Prayer Chains, and become one integral, fundamental part of the Church Leadership Team. In Prayer and through Prayer can we stand against the ‘old adversary’s aim’ of “divide and conquer” as is in evidence these days everywhere.
posted by Daddy_Stony @ 12:45
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home