JOIN ME IN A TIME OF PRAYER

My Dear Friends,

As a freshman English major at Marshall University, I was interested to learn that languages, including English, never remain static. You can find a good example of this by reading the King James Version of the Bible (1611) and compare it with a more modern translation. Languages change over time!

As do human institutions, including churches. As I look ourselves over since coming to be with you 23 years ago, I do not see the same church building and church family. Age finally caught up with our beautiful structure and we remodeled. The remodeling and repairs and such have continued! (Currently we are installing additional cameras in our parking lots.) Death, aging, adding, and subtracting have combined to change our church family. Technology has certainly added a new dimension to our worship services.

What I am getting at is that we, as a divine/human institution need to always be on the lookout for new opportunities and new challenges. That can be a scary process, but it is a necessary one. I am sure the first question we might ask is “Where do we go from here?” And, we don’t know the answer to that, do we?

Remember what Jim Cymbala (Pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of the book that sparked our church’s prayer revival) said? He said when you don’t know what to do, pray. Pray. Pray some more. Pray again. Pray loud. Pray soft. Pray silently. Pray aloud. Pray together. Pray alone. Just pray.

Join me, please in such a time of prayer. Though there are many different ways we can pray, may I suggest a version of The Jesus Prayer that I use daily, modified just a bit for our purposes here? It is this:

“Lord Jesus, forgive me,  a miserable sinner. Make haste to come and help me. May your will be done in my life and in the life of Your church.”

Don’t pray this unless you are ready to see change. Change for the better. Change in you. Change in the life of our church.

As the Apostle James reminds us (James 5:16), The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

God bless you! Michael