Every morning there is an essential part of my routine I never leave out. If I skip it, I don\u2019t function as well, I lack focus, and I\u2019m \u201coff\u201d all day. It has been part of my morning routine since I was sixteen years old. Without it, I am grouchy, moody, and less productive.<\/p>\n
I wish I was talking about prayer. I\u2019m actually talking about coffee (I\u2019m sure some of you reading this figured that out from the first sentence). Isn\u2019t it funny, though, that we think of certain things as so important that cannot live without them.<\/p>\n
There is an aspect of our relationship with Christ that is absolutely critical and easily forgotten or dropped. I am speaking, of course, of prayer. Martin Luther, the great reformer who changed the course of both Church history and human history, is reputed to have said, \u201cI have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three hours! Have you ever spent three hours in prayer before beginning your day? I have not. Granted, Luther was a minister, and prayer is one of the major responsibilities of the minister, but most people I know struggle to string together fifteen to twenty minutes a day to do regular devotions. Perhaps that is why so many Christians and so many churches find themselves with tepid, half-hearted faith experience.<\/p>\n
Next Sunday evening, we are doing something that has not been done in the fourteen years I have served as your pastor \u2013 we are holding a prayer meeting. Our purpose is simple \u2013 to humbly approach God in prayer. We will engage in confession, intercession, and seeking God\u2019s direction for the church.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t expect anything magical or immediate to happen. I am thinking of this more as a beginning of a stronger prayer life for our congregation. If I may be honest, we are very good at worrying about the church, but we lack in spiritual matters. If we want things to be different at Charles Town Presbyterian Church, we need to be different, and that begins with God
\nworking through us in prayer.<\/p>\n
Prayer is the thing most needed in our lives, and skipping it only makes us less focused, less hopeful, and less productive for the kingdom of God. Please plan on joining us next Sunday evening for mid-year prayer in the sanctuary at 7pm.<\/p>\n
Blessings,<\/p>\n
Pastor John<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Next Sunday evening, we are holding a prayer meeting. Our purpose is simple \u2013 to humbly approach God in prayer. We will engage in confession, intercession, and seeking God\u2019s direction for the church. Please click to read why! Continue reading