Peter Dubbelman
Minister of Administration
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Paul urged that “first of all, requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone,” a theme that dominated his life and letters. Resultantly, those in Colossae were told “to devote themselves to prayer,” the Thessalonians needed to “pray constantly” and Paul relentlessly prayed for those who received his letters. Naturally, the Church’s greatest theologian and church planter should have this perspective, for prayer is the primary way to penetrate human or satanic obstacles, an integral part of missions, a link to God’s blessings, and the portal into the Lord’s vastness. It is powerful and effective; a vital component to penetrating the barrier of anyone’s darkened heart, and something that should therefore be done as a first priority!
A mother may be hindered from conversing with her daughter, because she has “closed” her ears; but through prayer, this mom can still be a fundamental part of God reaching her daughter. Similarly, an employee may not be able to witness at work, but every co-worker’s heart can be challenged via prayer. Martin Luther, who said, "I have so much work to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer," had Paul’s same perspective on the preeminence of prayer.
Philip's translation of 1 Cor 12:22-24 depicts the body of Christ as follows: “The parts which do not look beautiful have a deeper beauty in the work they do, while the parts which look beautiful may not be at all essential to life? But God has harmonized the whole body by giving importance of function to the parts which lack apparent importance.” To the undiscerning, prayer appears to be both unbeautiful and unimportant, but it is not a task of endurance but a privilege of partaking in God’s divine nature and plans; an indispensable gift, essential to the vitality and advancement of the Church. John Knox of Scotland was known as a person given to prayer. In fact, Queen Mary of England stated that she feared his prayers more than all the armies of Europe. One night while John and others were in prayer for Scotland, he stated that deliverance had come to his county. He could not tell what happened, but he knew something had occurred. John later learned that during that very prayer session, Queen Mary died. May we, as Jesus’ followers, grasp prayer’s importance so that like our Lord we may pray, first of all.
Terry and Matthew Bradham, along with others, have played an integral part in establishing an active prayer room in our church. You don’t need to come into this space to pray; however, in it you’ll find daily, weekly, and monthly prayer requests and an atmosphere conducive to prayer.
A mother may be hindered from conversing with her daughter, because she has “closed” her ears; but through prayer, this mom can still be a fundamental part of God reaching her daughter. Similarly, an employee may not be able to witness at work, but every co-worker’s heart can be challenged via prayer. Martin Luther, who said, "I have so much work to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer," had Paul’s same perspective on the preeminence of prayer.
Philip's translation of 1 Cor 12:22-24 depicts the body of Christ as follows: “The parts which do not look beautiful have a deeper beauty in the work they do, while the parts which look beautiful may not be at all essential to life? But God has harmonized the whole body by giving importance of function to the parts which lack apparent importance.” To the undiscerning, prayer appears to be both unbeautiful and unimportant, but it is not a task of endurance but a privilege of partaking in God’s divine nature and plans; an indispensable gift, essential to the vitality and advancement of the Church. John Knox of Scotland was known as a person given to prayer. In fact, Queen Mary of England stated that she feared his prayers more than all the armies of Europe. One night while John and others were in prayer for Scotland, he stated that deliverance had come to his county. He could not tell what happened, but he knew something had occurred. John later learned that during that very prayer session, Queen Mary died. May we, as Jesus’ followers, grasp prayer’s importance so that like our Lord we may pray, first of all.
Terry and Matthew Bradham, along with others, have played an integral part in establishing an active prayer room in our church. You don’t need to come into this space to pray; however, in it you’ll find daily, weekly, and monthly prayer requests and an atmosphere conducive to prayer.
If you’d like to take a 30 minute prayer shift in this room, please contact Terry Bradham For a look at the open prayer slots click here.
