I’m so thankful for prayer week at Springs of Grace for lots of reasons and I especially love Prayer Week Secret Church – which is usually the best attended meeting during Prayer Week (apart from Sundays). The teaching was a rich blessing (you can listen to them here (https://springsofgrace.church/sermons/secret-church-part-1/ and here https://springsofgrace.church/sermons/secret-church-part-2/ and here https://springsofgrace.church/sermons/secret-church-part-3/) and I love having my heart drawn to concentrate on issues that I don’t think and pray about enough. Like the plight of our brothers and sisters in the most dangerous countries to live as a Christian and praying for our dear sister, Christina, in jail in one of those countries.

Being reminded that abortion happens in the dark and because it happens in the dark, we are prone to ignore it or forget about it. – Reminded about how abortion intentionally targets and impacts our black fellow image bearers and their community disproportionately; and the church’s tendency to grow silent on a social justice issue that is no longer popular to embrace in many circles. Reminded that the pro-life mantra has been used to gain power but those who have power have done very little with that power to actually stop abortion and how we should pray for leadership that follows through and leverages their influence to protect the most vulnerable. It was helpful to think about the Kurdish people and the gospel efforts there. Helped by thinking about those caught in the sex industry and to pray for those who are laboring with the gospel in those environments and the barriers and challenges they face – while hoping in a gospel of our Savior who can make all things new. It was great to pray specifically together for our missionaries in the Middle East, the Philippines, and Ukraine.

I was particularly staggered by the information about addictions – 130 people a day die in the United States of opioid use and another 241 die a day in the United States of alcohol related deaths.  That doesn’t even consider the toil on other nations. If 3 planes a day were crashing in our country with a total of 371 people dying every day, my level of concern would be higher. These deaths are happening in the dark – without it being on my mental radar. Last night, I trust, helped that to change. I can’t be neutral or apathetic about these going into eternity – many without the Lord.

All those things were wonderful but at the end of the night I wrote down four reasons I love corporate prayer (praying together with God’s people). Here they are.

1. I love praying with God’s people because of what I learn about God from other Christians in their prayers.
2. I love praying with God’s people because of what I see and hear of the love and work of God in other Christians’ lives as they pray.
3. I love praying with God’s people because of the help I get in how to pray and different ways to pray and think about needs from the prayers of others.
4. I love praying with God’s people because of the encouragement it gives me to believe God to hear and answer prayer as I hear the confidence and hope of other brothers and sisters as they pray.

Let me encourage you to pray but also to regularly find time to pray together with brothers and sisters in Christ.

A CHURCH THAT IS DEVOTED TO PRAYER IS A CHURCH THAT KNOWS THAT GOD’S MISSION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PURSUIT ON EARTH. IT IS A CHURCH THAT KNOWS IT CANNOT SUCCEED WITHOUT GOD. – Francis Chan from his book “Multiply”

Hope to see you Sunday,

Pastor Joe