When they heard the report, all the believers lifted
their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord,
Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
I had the privilege of traveling to
Williamsburg, a city in Virginia rich with our nation’s history, for a time of
prayer and being inspired to lead others to pray for our government officials,
local, state and federal as well for the needs of our nation. Testimonies from pastors to all levels of
politicians talked about the impact of prayer as well as the influence that we
have on others when we choose to pray.
For more many years my life has been
shaped by the people who poured in to my life, and it really is an honor to be
part of the lives of great men and women who love of God and pray for
others. Some of the grateful people in
the world are the ones who few people recognize.
I speak of the Sunday School teacher
who began to shape my life when I was 5 or 6 years old. She is in heaven now, but what that precious
lady, and several more people like her, did for me continues to guide my life
today.
Move forward to the school teacher that
stopped or took some of her free time to help me be a better student and
prepared even more for the future. I can
point to several teachers that stepped up, beyond what they were paid to do,
and continue to make a difference in who I am and how I serve others.
There were pastors in my life, some
close and some not so close, that opened their lives to a young preacher that
had a desire to learn. These men gave me
inspiration or books or the opportunity to preach or time talking about church
life and so much more. I am indebted to
many, many people in ministry that continue to shape my life and even the
church that I am honored to lead.
Even some people I have never met have
shaped my life. Some of them are authors
who wrote great books. Some of people
who lived a very long time ago. Some
live in my day, but I only know them through their testimony or their
work. But they inspire me.
Rise during the night and cry out. Pour out your
hearts like water to the Lord. Lift up your hands to him in prayer, pleading for your children,
for in every street they are faint with hunger.
The greatest have a similar
characteristic or passion that makes them even greater. It is the desire to and the passion that
leads them to pray. Prayer is an
important part of the life of the person who is seeking God and seeking to
influence others. That teacher that
stopped to pray for me, that friend that sent a card saying they were praying
for me, that pastor who only met me for a few minutes that prayed, and lots of
others showed me how to pray.
Prayer is a big deal. Prayer shapes our lives. I again ask you to go to www.prayusa.com and commit with me to pray for our
nation and our leaders. Prayer must
characterize our churches, our families and our lives.
I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain.
How important is it for you to pray for others and
for yourself and even for our nation? It
ought to be part of our daily life.
Prayer helps us be together.
Prayer puts our hearts together.
We are one, we have many of the same goals and even passions when we
spend time seeking God together and for one another.
Prayer reminds us that God is able and that we need
God! Prayer makes us part of a larger
group of people!
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