WAKE UP CALL

Every Wednesday morning at 6:30 am, the volunteers in our church's Youth Ministry rise and shine to come together via conference call for brief fellowship and prayer. We pray for growth and effectiveness in the ministry and for one another - sharing our individual prayer requests and praise reports. The sharing is a blessing in itself. I cannot put into words how thankful I am to God for this family of faith and the fellowship with other believers who are committed to personal spiritual growth and the growth of those around them. I feel blessed beyond measure just to be able to start my day with two things I love people and prayer.

O, how I love to talk to the Lord. I recognize prayer as a tremendous privilege and I cherish nothing more than my personal relationship with God, of which prayer is an integral part. I am currently reading The Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer and I think my thoughts & feelings on Wednesday morning can be summed up in her words:

"Prayer is a personal relationship, an intimate activity that takes place primarily between God and an individual. But as believers, we do not exist in a vacuum. We are part of God's family, we are connected to the body of Christ, and part of the power of the Christian life is found in our relationships with other people. God uses them to sharpen us, to strengthen us, to help us, to celebrate with us, to walk with us through the ups and downs of everyday life....Sometimes we pray for the people around us and sometimes we pray with them. When we pray for them, we are praying prayers of intercession, and when we pray with them, we are praying prayers of agreement....The prayer of agreement brings the power of multiplication, and the blessing of God into a situation."
- Joyce Meyer

Yes, I think that sums it up. And now a prayer:

Thank you O God, for the tremendous privilege of prayer and for your darling Son, Jesus Christ who made it possible for us to approach a Holy God and even taught us how to pray. Thank you for placing me in the midst of people whom I can encourage, and whom I can be encouraged by, as we seek collectively and individually, to grow spiritually and to have a deeper, richer relationship with you. You are an awesome, awesome God!


"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." [Matthew 18:20,KJV]