The Power of Prayer

It is said that when Charles Haddon Spurgeon preached at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, a company of some 12 men met for prayer in a room below the pulpit.  Certainly, there was a prayer room in the basement of that church which Spurgeon referred to as the powerhouse of the church.  Inspired by this story, I will often give myself to prayer discreetly when others are faithfully preaching God’s word.

At times, prayer comes easily.  On other occasions, I sense a spiritual battle, and will therefore intensify my prayers. On some such occasions, I have sensed the breakthrough and release as the battle has been one, and the ministry has been fruitful.  Certainly, I can testify to the fact that the most fruitful evangelistic mission during the 25 years in which I was part of a team working with small churches, mostly in rural areas, have been because there was earnest prayer.  The fruitless occasions were when the church we were working with made little effort in prayer.

But this was much more than prayers being said.  These were occasions of spiritual wrestling, when the promises of God were claimed confidently and passionately, and when prayers were made against the spiritual forces that wanted nothing to come of our labours.  One of the most interesting insights into prayer in the New Testament can be found in Colossians 4: 12, where we read, “Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. “.  The Greek word translated here in the NIV means to contend or fight for.  The English word “agony” is derived from the Greek word, and people used to talk about someone agonizing in prayer.  This clearly implies prayer that requires effort – but not necessarily shouting!

By the time you read this it is probably that our webinar on Mission Through Prayer will have taken place.  It is running from 9.00 to 9.45 on Saturday 24^th June.  If it is not too late, you can find the link to join the webinar on the website at www.ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk.  In this webinar, I plan to share the stories of three exceptional situations where earnest prayer led to wonderful blessings as people came to faith in Christ.

I have a good number of favourite Bible verses on the subject of prayer and its effectiveness.  In Acts 12 we read of an impossible situation with Peter in prison.  He is chained between two guards and behind two guarded locked doors.  Yet, he is miraculously set free because the church was praying ceaselessly for him.  In the letter written by James (probably a brother of Jesus), he refers to an experience of Elijah.  He points out that basically, he was no different from you or me.  Several translations describe the prayer as earnest.  We know that despite the lack of evidence, Elijah kept praying and looking expectedly for the answer until it finally came.  It’s yet another valuable insight into prayer that works.  Before the Day of Pentecost, the mother and brothers of Jesus met with other disciples and “devoted themselves to prayer” (See Acts 1:4).

If we want to see God at work in our churches then we must take prayer seriously, making time for it as a priority, and labouring at it until the answer comes.  There is no alternative.

No one can be sure who was the first to quote that there are no atheists in foxholes (a battlefield term).  I believe that many more people pray than we might imagine.  I also think that many would love to know more about prayer.  Partly for that reason, we ran an eight-day outreach encouraging people to pray in three villages.  I have no means of determining how many people started to pray that week, or who have continued to pray, but I believe that this is potentially a powerful way of helping people come to know God.  It can be an evangelistic tool.  For this reason, I will be explaining during the webinar on 24^th June, the strategy we used.  If the opportunity to attend the webinar has gone and you missed it, look up the Free Online Seminars section of www.ruralmissionsolutions.org.uk where you will find a video recording of the webinar.  It should appear there by 28^th June.

I hope that I might have encouraged or even inspired you to put more effort into prayer and make it a priority.  I certainly need to hear that message myself.  Please pray for those who attend the webinar, and for others who will see it on the website or on YouTube.

Current Items for Praise & Prayer

Give thanks with me that the problem with my neck is much improved.

Last Sunday morning, 18^th, I was called in to give support to another prison chaplain as we were expecting a visiting team with a ministry in song.  When I arrived at the prison I discovered that the singing group had cancelled because their lead singer had a vocal problem.  My colleague and I had only minutes to put together an alternative programme based on their Bible readings.  It was an exceptionally good service and well attended.  Give thanks that it caused a buzz in the prison and pray that the message we shared will have ongoing impact among the prison population.

The theme of the past week seems to have been ‘partnership’.  Please pray for the colleagues with whom I share ministry.

Pray for a fruitful outcome from Saturday’s webinar on Mission Through Prayer.

Sunday 25^th June – Northampton Congregational Church in the morning and a civic service in Market Harborough in the afternoon.

Monday 26^th – School Assembly, Lubenham, Leics.

Tuesday 27^th – Regular ministry at Prison, Leics

Thursday 29^th – participating in the Churches Group for Evangelization (London)

Friday to Sunday 30^th – 2^nd – providing vocational guidance and support on a students’ training weekend in Nottingham, in my capacity as a member of a Pastoral Care Board.

Sunday 2^nd July – Clarendon Park Congregational Church, Leicester

Thank you for your prayers on my behalf.  I need them.

Barry

A Simple Thank You

No doubt you have heard, or possibly used, the expression, “A simple thank you would do”.  I was brought up to remember my please and thank you, and found it strange in my first experience of cross cultural evangelism to find that, although there was a word for ‘please’, it wasn’t used when normally asking for something.  It seemed wrong, somehow.  Similarly, some cultures seem to make more of saying ‘thank you’ than others.  But I suspect the need to feel appreciated is universal.

I recently stepped down from a position in which I have served for possibly seventeen years. I was given several very nice expressions of thanks from the platform and a very nice large box of chocolates.  While this was very much appreciated, I did feel that an occasional thank you through the years of service might have been more encouraging.  Some of my activities use immediate feedback forms.  These have the potential for being encouraging, such as one received following a Safeguarding Course on which I had taught.  High scores and comments such as “the best event I have ever been on” left me amazed and personally thankful to God for privilege of serving in this way.  Another encouragement was a simple thank you card from someone at a church where I had taken a service for the first time.

In many churches, though not all, it is normal for the minister to stand at the door to say goodbye to members of the congregation.  Happily, the opportunity for further fellowship over coffee often saves me from the embarrassment that comes from those who either genuinely wish to express appreciation or who simply feel it the right thing to do.  My funniest experience of this came after I had led a service and spoken on the topic of humility.  I knew that God had used it but, afterwards, people didn’t know whether to say it was a good service!

Of course, it is good to hear something such as “The Lord spoke to me through your ministry today”.  I sometimes jokingly suggest it would be good to hear an occasional “Ouch” as well as a “Hallelujah”.  I read somewhere of a situation where a lady leaving church said to the minister, “I always get something from your sermons.  Each one is better than the next one!”  I’m sure she just got her words mixed up!

On most occasions when I have served in any way, a simple “Thanks” is more than enough.  I try to remember this when I have had a prayer answered – especially when it is not a major matter, and it would be all too easy not to say thank you. For example, at the end of a safe journey, or where there has been a provision of a perfect parking space.

I have wondered whether the man who fell among thieves got to say thank you to the Samaritan who saved his life (Luke 10).  Out of ten men who were cured of leprosy only one came back to give thanks to Jesus – and he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:16).  Naaman wanted to give effusive thanks for his healing, but learned that it was inappropriate for Elisha to accept payment for what God gave through grace (2Kings 5:1-18).

In the Hebrew Scriptures, almost half of the references to giving thanks appear in Psalms.  But a provision was made for thanksgiving as part of an offering at the Temple.  There are more references to thanks in the New Testament than in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Apart from those that refer to food in the gospels, the references are spread throughout the letters, and often linked with prayer.  This includes one of my favourite verses on prayer in Philippians 4:6. Here we are told not to be anxious but to pray with thanksgiving.

As someone who is conscious of his need for help in so many ways, I found myself reflecting on two school teachers who would come to my aid as they saw me running to school, having missed the only bus.  Ted Selman taught French and a lift from him meant riding in his luxurious Triumph Mayflower car.  Arthur Escort taught metalwork and rode to school on a 650cc motorbike. Whether cosseted in luxury of deep leather seats in a car that whispered its way, or perched on the back of the throaty motorcycle, I was thankful they did not pass me by,

Of course, their acts of kindness responding to my tardiness would now seem inappropriate today.  But who has shown you some kindness, prayed for you, encouraged you recently?  Have you expressed thanks to them?  Or maybe, there is someone on a spiritual journey that could do with a ‘lift’ for which they might be very grateful.  Above all, why not make a list of just the last five blessings that have come your way, and take a few moments to say thank you to God.

As Psalm 107 repeatedly exhorts us, ”Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.”

Items for Praise & Prayer

Please give thanks to God for his gracious blessing on our ministry over the last few weeks.

Please give thanks for safe journeys, often in hazardous conditions.

Please give thanks for those who stand with us in prayer and have stood with us in practical ways.

Please pray as I have been struggling to work with a painful neck problem.

Saturday 17^th June – Pray for a mission support group meeting.

Sunday 18^th June – Please pray for ministry and for the Chaplaincy Team at HMP Gartree

Monday 19^th June – Please pray for heads of rural mission organisations meeting.

Tuesday 20^th June – Please pray for my regular ministry at HMP Gartree

Wednesday 21^st June - Please pray for a meeting of the Churches Rural Group

Thursday 22^nd June – Please pray for the preparation for Holiday at Home in Harborough

Friday 23^rd June – Please pray for the family of a dear friend and colleague, John Arnold,who died suddenly recently.  He was a past partner in rural mission, recently serving as a hospital chaplain.

Saturday 24^th June – Please pray for the webinar on prayer going out at 9.00 on the internet.

Sunday 25^th June – Please pray as I lead the meeting at Northampton in the morning and share in a civic service in Market Harborough in the afternoon.

I give thanks – for you and for your prayers.

Barry