Dear Mayfair Bible Church,
Wow… time rapidly coasts by when you’re having fun! I’ve so deeply enjoyed preaching God’s life-changing Word over these past five weeks together. I praise the Lord for the insatiable hunger He has given you for the Scriptures. And I give thanks to Christ for His love at work in and through you. My heart was also overwhelmed with joy this past Sunday night when so many of you returned to engage in prayers of confession, intercession, and praise. For those of you who missed our Church-Wide Call to Prayer event, you may click HERE to access our 2018 Prayer Guide.
Undoubtedly, we all desire to move forward into greater Christ-likeness and spiritual maturity in 2018. Yet the only way we will move forward, both individually and collectively, is on our knees in fervent prayer. In E.M. Bounds’ pithy book, The Power of Prayer, he reminds us:
“Paul lived on his knees, that the Ephesian Church might measure the heights, breadths, and depths of an unmeasurable saintliness, and ‘be filled with all the fullness of God. . . .
The praying which makes a prayerful ministry is not a little praying put in as we put flavor to give it a pleasant smack, but the praying must be in the body, and form the blood and bones. Prayer is no petty duty, put into a corner; no piecemeal performance made out of the fragments of time which have been snatched from business and other engagements of life; but it means that the best of our time, the heart of our time and strength must be given.”
For this reason, God is pressing on my soul to call all of us (myself included) to devoted, persevering prayer. Prayer is the beginning, the middle, and the end of every other outflow of faith. All ministry, work, and service must come out of an intimate relationship with God and prayer is the source of that communion (see James 1:5; 5:13-16).
The most vital work is not first serving, teaching, preaching, exhorting, evangelizing, giving, or even Bible reading (all good things) – but prayer! Prayer must preface, saturate, and finish all we do as Christians. Prayer isn’t merely the bookends or a magnet on the fridge of the Christian life. It’s the foundation. Prayer is the way we put on the armor of God, and how we are empowered by God and obedient to God (see Ephesians 6:18-19).
In James chapter 5, we discover 6 key reasons why we should pray (though the Bible is filled with hundreds of reasons why we should pray). Here are the six:
1. Prayer changes our perspective (5:13a; cf. 1:5)
2. Prayer leads to praise (5:13b; cf. Acts 16:22-26)
3. Prayer restores the sick (5:14-15)
4. Prayer demonstrates our faith (5:15a)
5. Prayer results in forgiveness (5:15b-16a)
6. Prayer unleashes God’s power (5: 16b-18; cf. 1 Kgs. 8:42)
So let us pray. I ask that you continue to uphold all your elders and deacons – and the rest of Mayfair Bible Church – in your prayers. Someone once wisely quipped, “A family that prays together, stays together.” And undoubtedly, the local church is a family. So let’s devote ourselves to prayer for one another and for those without Christ in our community.
Going forward, keep on the lookout for a new, private Facebook Group called “Mayfair @ Prayer” which will help all of us stay tuned to prayer needs within the church family. We’ll also be holding the REFOCUS Prayer gathering each Wednesday from 7-8 pm and scheduling other times of corporate prayer. May God’s grace and truth be displayed in all we do!
In Christ Alone,
Share the video below with your friends and family to invite them to REFOCUS:
