“As I approached the new year, I knew I wanted to be spiritually closer to God. I have always struggled with praying daily. Early in
-Amber Heil
“Lithia and my first day of prayer
-Rick Barber
As I fasted from food, social media, and TV on various days this week, I saw how distractions get in the way of my devotion to God. Isaiah 58:6 speaks of fasting not being just a day to humble oneself. When I fasted in the past, I looked forward to ending the fast more than I focused on drawing closer to God. This week has shown me that social media, TV, and food are not bad, but should be enjoyed in moderation. This whole 40 experience has been great so far, and I can’t wait to see what else God has in store for us.
-Carol Chapman
Ok, one of my prayers is to be a better witness for Jesus. Not just in my safety net (church, friends, etc.) I prayed to let me be a witness to people that needed Jesus. It’s easy to talk about Jesus to other Christians and on Sunday at church. I prayed that God would put people in my midst that I normally would not talk to about Jesus.
So, today one of my patients was a man who is a very affluent attorney in Highland Park. I have been cleaning his teeth for 7 years, every 4 months. He is a very intellectual, proud man. I asked him if anything has changed with his Health History. He answered, “Yes, I have been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.” He went on and said, “The doctor has given me a year to live.” I waited and prayed. I then asked him if he knew Jesus. I could tell this man was totally in shock that anyone would dare to ask him such a question. He answered sharply, “of course.” I told him how trials are so much easier to go through when they are covered in prayer. I could see how his pride was melting. (Okay, I know y’all know exactly what I did next.)
Yes, I told him about my church and about the 40 days of prayer. I handed him my book. He gave it back to me and said, “I’ll go buy, one, I don’t want to take yours.” I told him I wanted him to have it. He grabbed my hand and said, “thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. Little does he know I was blessed just as much, if not more than he was.! Thank you JESUS…. By the way, I just ordered more books from Amazon!!!
– Jackie Pollan
A major spiritual marker in Ginger and mine’s marriage has been spending time together in the Word and praying over our family, jobs, ministries and church family. We discovered that the best time for us is early in the morning before the day starts. We have missed some days here and there, especially during the holidays and during our relaxed summer schedule. But we are always ready to get back to our special time together as soon as we can. When we were challenged to do the 40 Days of Prayer, it was an easy decision to say yes. What I didn’t know was how much impact the study and prayer time would have on us.
Circling 5 prayer items was a bit daunting. We actually had to pray about how to find 5 specific things. Quickly the Lord showed us four areas to pray over. The last one came through one of our daily devotions. So our fifth prayer item is for God to give us a surprise. That’s definitely a bold request and maybe even a little scary. We are looking forward to seeing God answer our prayers over the 5 areas we have circled. And we don’t plan to stop praying until we see an answer. I hope your prayer journey is taking you to new and exciting places with the Lord.
Bro. Mike Sellers
Executive Pastor
