The Necessity of Prayer.  Someone once said, “You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning.  You can tell how popular the pastor is by who comes on Sunday night.  But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.”

I know what you’re thinking, “we don’t even have prayer meetings anymore -  That’s out of date.”  Maybe that kind of thinking is part of the problem.  I believe we have let the culture influence the church, instead of the church influencing the culture.  I agree, some things need to change. But some disciplines of the faith must never change - prayer being one of those.

Yes, we are to pray alone, in our “prayer closet.”  But we desperately need to come together corporately as the body of Christ and PRAY!   Jesus said, “…my house shall be called a house of prayer…”  Matthew 21:13   So why is it so hard to get God’s people together, specifically for prayer?!   Jim Cymbala, the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York, author of “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” said, “…the future will depend upon our times of prayer.”  Pastor Jim’s ministry is an example of what God will do through prayer, and I am thankful for his example.  But our greatest example is Jesus.  In the gospel of Luke we read that it was while He was praying in the Jordan that the spirit descended.  It was while He spent a night in prayer that He chose 12 disciples.  When He was dying on the cross Jesus was praying for those who persecuted Him.  It was while He was praying that He was transfigured.  The scripture say that the disciples went to bed, but Jesus went to pray - as was His custom.  Why pray?   I think Jesus answered that for us - so church lets PRAY!  See you Wednesday! 

inHISservice,

Pastor Rodney