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Following Jesus
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His Name Is
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Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

(262) 763-3021

Email:
Pastor Scott Carson

Secretary Patti Hall

PASTOR'S PENS 2006

Grace Church of Burlington July 30, 2006 “Without time for prayer, nothing can be accomplished.”      W. Graham Scroggie             T. W. Hunt, the author of Prayer Life, made this observation, “If we examine the expansion of the church in the Book of Acts and the Epistles, we see convincing proof of the power of prayer. The early church had innumerable obstacles. Christianity was unknown and it was opposed by the authorities wherever it spread, it suffered constantly from false accusations and rumors...but by the end of the first century, it had spread in exactly the geographic pattern commissioned by Jesus—Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth. This rapid geographical and ideological shift could have been accomplished only by supernatural forces. The instrument of expansion was the church and the force the church was using was prayer.”   From its earliest days the Church has always been at its best when its people have been people of prayer. If we want to see God’s power in our church that was in the early church then we should pray as they prayed. We should look at prayer as they did, as an indispensable source of unbelievable power. Acts 2 says the early disciples “gave themselves continually to prayer.” We must give ourselves to it as well...when we meet in our Adult Bible Fellowships, in a small group or Bible study, when we fellowship together, and in our own personal devotions. The fact is, if we are to be a powerful church we must be a prayerful church.             One of the best ways to learn something is to learn it from a master. One of the great models of a powerful prayer life was the Apostle Paul. For the next several weeks we’re going to be examining Paul’s Prayers that we find recorded in the New Testament. But as we launch out on this new study, let me suggest a couple of truths that I hope you remember throughout, and long after, we’ve completed this study...             1) Prayer really does change things. When it looks like everything is against us, when it looks like we can’t possibly win, when it looks like it is the end and we are about to be overwhelmed...it is then that we need to remember that prayer changes things because prayer releases God’s power. That power may come in the form of wisdom; an idea you desperately need and can’t come up with yourself. It may come in the form of courage greater than you could ever muster. It may come in the form of confidence or perseverance, a changed attitude toward a spouse or a child or a parent, a changed circumstance, or maybe even outright miracles. But, however it comes, God’s prevailing power is released in the lives of people who pray. Prayer really does change things.             That was certainly the case in the early church. The fact is that our prayers...even when our faith is so weak all it enables us to do is ask...our prayers change things. God acts in us and through us in response to our prayers. God wants us to cooperate with Him and often He will not act through us without our asking. So why would our Almighty God act in this way? Why would He wait on our prayers? Well, because He created us for fellowship with Him. We were made to partner with Him. This is what Jesus meant when He told Peter in Matthew 16:19, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Our prayers make a difference. Our Heavenly Father acts in response to them! As Walter Wink puts it, “History belongs to the intercessors—those who believe and pray the future into being.”             2) Prayer really changes people. This is a comforting truth because if people don’t change what good would it really do to change things? Prayer made shy Moses into a leader and softened the cruel heart of Pharaoh. It kept discouraged Elijah from quitting. It turned the fanatical persecutor Saul into a globe-trotting apostle. Prayer changed Peter. Remember? While imprisoned, Peter was so full of faith and peace that he could sleep deeply, even though he thought he would be killed the next day. Just a few years earlier Peter had been a different man. He’d lied to avoid imprisonment. He’d fled because of his fear. But not anymore. After this experience he was even more fearless. It’s also believed that he headed to Rome, the very seat of Roman power, to boldly share the love of Jesus Christ. All this because prayer changes people. Prayer in which we open our hearts to God and listen for His response makes us more like Him. Someone said prayer enables us to “think His thoughts after Him.” It opens our eyes to our sin and shows us how we need to change to be more conformed to be like Jesus.              I hope that this study of Paul’s Prayers brings about spiritual change in you and in your prayer life. As Richard Foster writes, “To pray is to change. This is a great grace. How good of God to provide a path whereby our lives can be taken over by love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and self control.”