Week of Prayer

One of my favorite things to do is gather together with the church for prayer. Praying on your own is great, but there is a special dynamic when "two or three" gather. And it has an exponential effect as it grows to 20, 40, 75, 100....and up and up. I found John Lanferman's analogy last Sunday very helpful. He likened corporate (the whole church) prayer gatherings like lumping coals together. One coal will spark and flicker, but will eventually burn out. However, if you lump coals together, a fire breaks out.

I would encourage you to download it that message if you missed it.

Here's this week's prayer schedule:

Monday Night
Who: Wentzville Location
Where: Rick and Gayle Hein's House
When: 7 PM

Tuesday Night
Who: Leaders
Where: Kingshighway building
When: 5:30 PM
Childcare Provided

Wednesday Night
Who: City Location, Last Name A-L
Where: Kingshighway building
When: 7 PM
Childcare Provided

Thursday Night
Who: City Location, Last Name M-Z
Where: Kingshighway building
When: 7 PM
Childcare Provided

Friday Night
Who: EVERYONE!!!
Where: Kingshighway building
When: 7 PM
Childcare Provided


Finally, I wanted to pass along this thought from one of our members, Jamee Palmer. One of the things I really appreciate about what she says is that it's God's will not ours. Thanks Jamee for being a "living stone" and spurring us on in prayer!

In light of this upcoming week of prayer at Jubilee, I thought I'd share something I read in 1 Samuel a couple months ago that impacted me.

Here is the story: There was a man named Elkanah, and he had 2 wives: Hannah and Peninnah. Hannah was barren because "the Lord had closed her womb"--this indicates that it was not by chance or for punishment, but was under the Lord's sovereign control (1:5). Elkanah regularly sacrificed a double portion to the Lord on her behalf, but it wasn't until Hannah herself went to the temple and wept and poured out her heart to God that the big stuff happened (1:20). Eli the priest observed her praying silently and perceived that Hannah was drunk. When he rebuked her, (1:14) she explained that she was speaking out of vexation and great anxiety, not from drunkenness. Eli then said "the God of Israel grant your petition that you have made to Him" (1:17). Hannah went away and ate (after having fasted for a long time because of her sorrow), and her face was no longer sad.

Hannah's reaction after her experience praying in the temple shows that she had confidence and great faith that her prayer would be answered. She went away acting as if she had already received an answer from God, because she was so certain that He heard her.

God did hear, and He did answer. Hannah bore Samuel, and when she went back to the temple after he was weaned she was able to tell Eli, "I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to Him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord" (1:26-28).

Result: God is glorified.

There are several things we can take away from this story, but I want to point out one thing: When we pray, we are not only praying for our needs or desires to be met (as Hannah prayed for a child), but we are expecting God to answer according to His will, and ready to tell others about it when He does. Having our prayers answered is not an end in itself: it is also a means to glorify God. I am going to try to have this mindset when praying, and hopefully it will help my focus to be on the One who moves and answers, not just the answer itself.