The Need For Prayer

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Eternal Walk Ministry has taken the prayer team mentioned in last month’s blog and is in the process of introducing it to the church.

We have scheduled two sermons, a men’s retreat, and a 13-week adult Sunday School class, all on the subject of prayer. The goal is to increase our faith and dependence on God through regular prayer.

We are in a spiritual war against sin and prayer is our weapon.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his

power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)

The Lord goes before us and with us. By His power, we achieve His purposes.

The Spiritual World

Spirits are in control. We are spiritual beings; God is spiritual, and so is Satan. Since the spiritual world affects and controls the physical, it makes sense to pray to God who is sovereign over all creation, spiritual and physical.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

We fight the “powers of this world” by prayer and supplication to our sovereign God. It is important to see the world from a spiritual view. By this we better understand Satan’s goal and see how God is working through it all. 

The book of Revelations gives us a glimpse into the spiritual, helping us to understand what is going on in the world today and preparing us for the future. If we only view the world from a physical perspective, we can never fully understand.

Unity in Prayer

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you. (Deuteronomy 3:22)

The more the church prays in unity, the more the Lord fights for us, for persecuted Christians around the world, for our local government, and our local congregation.

Through prayer, we overcome sin in our own lives and in the lives of others, and keep the focus of the church on Christ. God acts when we pray, especially in unity, because we know all things are possible for God.  

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

We pray and walk in obedience to the Lord’s will because we are his servants. He is faithful to answer our prayers, giving us victory in our lives.

Our number one goal is to create a church that is unified in prayer, having many people in the church all praying for the same thing. Secondly, we want to walk in obedience to the good and perfect will of God, because obedience pleases Him.

The more obediently we walk, the more pleasing we are to the Lord, and the more He answers our prayers.

How to Pray

I thought I knew how to pray, but recently I have been learning how to pray with the authority of the believer, endowed to us by God. We should all learn to pray by faith according to this authority.

And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Below are a few scriptures about how we should pray:

  • Pray using God’s promises in scripture

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. (Job 22:26)

  • Pray without doubt

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)

  • Pray for the glory of God

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13)

The aforementioned sermons, men’s retreat, and Sunday School class on prayer will cover the need for prayer, how to pray, and faith in prayer. 

The purpose of the retreat is to really get the men of the church to understand the need for prayer and its power, especially corporate prayer. We can overestimate the need for prayer and how it brings us closer to the Lord. 

Prayer Team Goals

The goal of the prayer team is to model Jesus’ prayer life, praying with faith, praying with dependence on God, and praying without doubt.

We want to make prayer a fundamental element of our lives and instill in our hearts the desire to communicate with God through prayer by:

  • Helping people not only pray but commune with the Lord throughout their day
  • Emphasizing the need for prayer because God is sovereign over everything in Heaven and on Earth
  • Depending on the Lord, rather than ourselves. He is willing to guide us through every detail of our lives through the indwelling Holy Spirit. If we are to be light for Christ, we must remain in Him, which means we are dependent on Christ.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

The Eternal Walk Ministry prayer team is grateful for the opportunity to emphasize the power of prayer and the need for it in the church. 

The team will be providing a list of prayer requests. This list will include prayer requests for our church and church family, but will also extend outside of our local church family to include prayers for persecuted Christians and our government. 

We thank you all for coming together with us in unified prayer.