A Church with a Heart for our Community

December 5th Tuesday

Greetings to you in the name of the One who is called the “Hope of the world”, Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! I trust that you had a great weekend as you entered into the season of Advent…and a good Monday. These days will get busy as we journey towards Christmas, so make sure your take time to rest and reflect. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to wrap Himself around you – physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and relationally.

Last night was our final Bible study in a series called ‘Vertical Church’ and it was about…”unceasing prayer brings the glory down” which, of course, was about prayer. The teaching was built around a specific scripture verse: “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it–the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”  Jeremiah 33:2-3. We were reminded about the importance of ‘LORD’ over ‘Lord’ – that ‘LORD’ signified that Gd was using His personal name to communicate the invitation to pray.

It is good to be aware that prayer is not something we thought up but something that God desires from His people. However there was one part of the lesson that was significant to me, and that was the invitation to “call” … not think or speak or whisper. ‘Call’, we were told suggests an expression of … urgency, intensity, and fervency, perhaps – with emotion. The meaning behind ‘call’ is closely related to ‘cry’ … so we could read the verse…”Cry out to me…”.

We had a good discussion about the that concept-and when was the last time we heard ‘urgent, intense, fervent’ prayer…or when we the last time we, personally, prayed in such a manner. We were referred to James 5:16…the urgent, intense, fervent prayer of a righteous man/woman is powerful and effective. Later as I pondered the lesson, it seemed like God was challenging me in my prayer life and the style-method that was mine. “Thus says the LORD (personally and intimately to me and you) “call – cry – let go” – stop being so proper and reserved”. As I was savouring this moment, God said that I should share it with you…so, get some “call out” in your prayers.

Blessings on you!