About us | January 2009We are people who believe in praying...
- Because along with praise, prayer is what we do...
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"When you pray," Jesus instructed, assuming that we would without specifying how often because praying should be as natural for a believer as breathing. Do you think to breathe, or just do it? In the same way, prayer is communion, as well as communication with God—an intimate act of sharing the life that flows from him to us, and us to him in the words of our mouth and meditations of our heart. So we pray as readily as we breathe—in fact, we breathe the air of heaven which is the life of the Holy Spirit who brings to us the presence of God in Jesus...
- We pray...Following the example of Jesus and what he taught...
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"Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed," the gospel writer Luke tells us (5:15); but he also tells us that Jesus publically combined prayer with praise, openly declaring on one occasion, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them unto children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure" (10:21).
- Jesus is supremely interested in the good pleasure of God, his Father. Why? Because he loves his Father supremely; and this means he loves what his Father loves; for example, the Father‘s good pleasure of doing good for the entire creation, you and I included. So Jesus came to us to do God‘s good pleasure by giving himself to die on a cross and rise again that through his resurrection life God's good pleasure might flow into a new creation conceived in the womb of an empty tomb by the power of the Holy Spirit as surely as Jesus was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
- However, contrary to the opinion of most, to partake of God's good pleasure to the fullest, we must become as little children in order to trust God completely as did Jesus. Only in this way can optimum good find its way into all we are and do. "Let the little children come unto me, and do not hinder them," Jesus instructed, "for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it." For this reason, we pray, "Father, helps us to become as little chldren..."
- It follows that we pray for...Those things that are the focus of God‘s good pleasure, his will to restore...
- ...all things, and set right what is wrong. This means we pray for the coming of his kingdom into all of life so that abundance of blessing might flow like a river. Prayer is not trying to convince God to do what we want, but rather entering into what he desires for all people, including you, me and those around us. He desires our good—life more abundantly! Thus, "Seek first the kingdom of God," Jesus said. And modeling prayer for us, he prayed, "Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come..." Where God‘s kingdom comes things are set right through people of the kingdom who see accurately, speak truthfully, and act accordingly. So we pray, "Your kingdom come, Father, into every part of our life. Come into us, our families, the life of our churches, communities, nations, and world. For this we ask and believe. Amen"
- This means we pray that...The Holy Spirit will enable...
- ...grand symphonies of intercession preparing for the heavenly news of God's great victory in Jesus to flow into creation in all of its wonderful dimensions. In other words, we pray for great victories to come! "They raised their voices together in prayer to God," Luke writes, recording the prayer of the first believers in Jesus in Jerusalem long ago. Interestingly, because their prayer invoked the sovereignty of God—that is, the sovereign rule of his kingdom—it was a kingdom prayer, and is as up to date as today‘s news on the Internet.
- They prayed, "Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David.... Now Lord...enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
- The result? They got good news! God is on the throne! Luke observes that "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken...." Mini earthquake? Who knows. We do know that according to Luke, "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." (See, Acts 4:23-31). There followed an entire generation of the Holy Spirit‘s supernatural working in and through these believers into the society around them. You can read about this in the Bible‘s book of Acts.
- We do not duplicate the past in the present. But we follow the same instructions of Jesus, apply the same principles of prayer, depend upon the same Person of holy power, the Holy Spirit of God, and expect results tailored by him for present needs of people and purposes of God.
- This means We believe in the fire of the Holy Spirit expressed in anointed worship, praise, and prayer that glorifies God in what he has done even as such integrated intercession prepares the way for his coming into what he will do.
- So we pray that...Through his word working in us he will bring glory to his name...
- ...and good to us by enabling us to cooperate with the working of his will in and through us. God is sovereign and does not depend upon us; but within a continuum of possibilities he invites us to participate, seek, and effect optimum good in potential outcomes. In short, what we do or, conversely, fail to do, makes a difference. God seeks children who joyfully cooperate with him. Thus, we rejoice that by the power of God's word through the Holy Spirit God is changing us into people who are able to bring glory to him by releasing positive change into the world around us beginning with our families, friends, churches and local communities, but reaching out to all the world.
