Seize the Moment
Theme of the week: The Power of Praying Together
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
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Key Bible Verse: Devote yourselves to prayer. (Colossians 4:2) Dig Deeper: Acts 4:24-31
John Holecek attended the first church I served right out of seminary. John is a bold believer whose life was radically turned around by God. A prodigal son come home, he went from drug abuse and wild living in the 1960s to smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War.
One Sunday morning John and I were talking after worship when someone approached us and began to share a problem. I was responding with a well-intended "I'll pray for you" (meaning later, on my own), when John jumped on the moment: "Yes! Let's pray right now! That way we won't forget to do it later!" He [then] bowed his head and prayed aloud, caring for the person and his need in a wonderful way. That moment taught me a lesson: Prayer with others is an opportunity that is not to be missed.
Learning to pray together has been a slow work of grace in my life. It didn't come naturally for me, and I still have a lot to learn. But God is faithful. He continues to surprise me with his kindness, presence, and power. The truth is that some of the sweetest moments of my life have been spent praying with others.
—James Banks in The Lost Art of
Praying Together
My Response: When someone asks for my prayers, do I feel comfortable praying for them right on the spot? Why or why not?
Thought to Apply: What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.—E. M. Bounds (pastor, writer)
Adapted from The Lost Art of
Praying Together (Discovery House, 2009) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.
Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Heavenly Father, show me the importance of praying regularly with others; help me to overcome any fears or misconceptions I have about praying out loud; reveal to me the power to be found through praying with fellow believers.
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