The Power of Collective Prayer

Sunday, the Macedonia Church had it's Prayer and Installation Service. I have been preaching through the Armour of God and it has been a blessing to me personally but I think, also to the people of Macedonia. I say this only based on each Sunday I am noticing it is not as hard to preach because the series has taken a life of its own, To God be the Glory.

I was scheduled by preaching calendar to be in Vs 17 Sunday and do the Helmet of Salvation, but God redirected us and we skipped down to vs. 18.. I explained the purpose of this verse and then our church discovered the power in this verse. Sunday, the people of Macedonia preached and they did a wonderful job.

Most people don't realize there are different kinds of prayer. But according to this verse, God has actually made many forms of prayer available to us to use as needed, such as the prayer of faith, the prayer of intercession, the prayer of consecration, and the prayer of agreement.

Sometimes life can be difficult and challenging. For one thing, the devil doesn't want you to be blessed or successful in your endeavors. So in order to face the inevitable attacks that arise against your marriage, finances, body, job, and career, you must come to realize that prayer is indispensable. You cannot succeed as a Christian without an active and effective prayer life.

No matter how anointed, skilled, or gifted you may be or how bold and courageous you think you are, you simply cannot maintain a victorious position in life apart from prayer. Without prayer, you can be sure of absolute and total defeat. But as you develop a lifestyle of prayer, taking advantage of every form of prayer available to you, you will find that victory is yours in the midst of every challenge!

Thank God for the Belt of Truth and the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Shield of Faith and our Feet Shod with the Preparation of Peace, Sword of the Spirit and the Helmet of Salvation, BUT TO GO OUT TO BATTLE WITHOUT PRAYING IS A RECIPE FOR DEFEAT EVERY TIME.

If you want to grow in your spiritual walk, you need to make prayer a central part of your life. But in order for prayer to be the great adventure God wants it to be in your life, you must understand that there are all kinds of ways to pray. Don't get stuck with just one form of prayer! The Bible tells us that there are several kinds of prayer, and you need to learn to use every kind of prayer that's available to you.

Other translations of Ephesians 6:18 include:
"Use every kind of prayer..." (Goodspeed)
"Pray... with all manner of prayer..." (amp)
"Pray... with all kinds of prayers...." (niv)
"Pray... with all kinds of prayers that are available for you to use...." (rev)

Sunday we prayed. The first prayer was from the pulpit and every prayer following was from the pews, covering Area Churches, Pastors, prayer for the Macedonia Pastor, Deacons, Trustees, Finances, Women's and Men's Ministries, Youth and Children, Choral and Fine Arts, Ushers and Nurses, Praise Dancers. From the young to the old we tried to put into practice vs. 18.

It is amazing to watch God move, Last year this prayer service had an excitement to it, People were shouting and running and we had to pull people from under the pews. This year was a somber experience, crying, emotional; the burden of ministry was felt, the realization that we must pray like this everyday not just during an installation service was evident.

So I am writing this to let you know, we prayed for you, we prayed for your family, your church, your pastor, your ministry, We want you to succeed and God's best enacted in your life and on your behalf. As we pray for you, please pray for us as well.

WE ARE MACEDONIA AND GOD HAS CALLED US TO HELP SOMEBODY

Owens

The Shield of Faith

A SAFARI HUNTER was once stopped in his tracks by a curious scene in the jungle. A bird was dancing around her nest of eggs as a huge snake made its way toward them up the trunk of the tree. The bird screeched and flailed in vain as the hungry snake drew closer by the second. Her eggs were in mortal danger. Suddenly the bird flew away, as if running from the snake. But within a few seconds she returned with a small leaf in her mouth. She reached the nest just as the snake was about to strike. Quickly the mother bird draped the leaf over her eggs and then flew away to a nearby branch. The hunter was shocked to see the snake hesitate. It froze as if it had encountered a deadly foe. Slowly it recoiled from the nest and went away.

The hunter was puzzled by this curious scene and later asked some natives about it. They laughed and explained that the leaf the mother bird used to cover her eggs was poisonous to the deadly snake. The serpent knew instinctively to back away. The shield was small and flimsy, but it was the one thing that the snake most feared.

"In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan," writes Paul (Ephesians 6:16). It's naive to believe that the enemy is a dormant foe who minds his own business. He is a cunning and crafty adversary who will do anything to catch us off guard and bring us down. His arrows are sharp and sure, and his aim is deadly. He attacks when we least expect it and will try to devour the thing that we most cherish—our relationship with God.

Faith is the shield that keeps his arrows at bay. It is the guard that we hold before us to protect us from the fire of his wrath. Without it, we have no hope of survival.

And what is this life-saving faith made of? It consists of a deep belief in God's promises and a trust in his words of truth. We believe that God's purposes are higher than our frailties. We trust that even in the midst of battle, his will is being fulfilled. We have faith that someday the war will end, and we will be brought home to eternal glory.

Embracing Eternity: Living Each Day with a Heart Toward Heaven.