Prayer is powerful

​Prayer is powerful.
Not because it’s magic.
Not because of the eloquent or simple words we use or say.
But because of WHO we talk to when we pray.
When we pray, we are before the Creator of the Universe, Almighty God, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega, the One who holds all things in his hands and who judges all things.
When we pray, we pray through Jesus who intercedes for us.
In Acts 7:55-56, Stephen is about to be stoned to death when he looks up and sees heaven opened. In his vision, he sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
And he PRAYS.
He says, “Lord, do not hold this against them”.
Prayer is powerful because it is God who answers them - sometimes in the most surprising ways.
Who should stand over Stephen’s death in approval, but Saul, the one whom God changes so radically he becomes crucial in building up the early church instead of tearing it down.
The Lord answers Stephen’s prayer. He does not hold Saul’s sin against him. Jesus had already paid for it. Instead he uses that experience to show that God’s love covers a multitude of sins.
Prayer is powerful because of who we pray to.
And HIS power can do what seems impossible for the spread of His kingdom.
So don’t give up praying.
Keep praying for our church, for God to bring in younger generations so there is still a church here in 20 years' time.
Pray that people, young and old, come to faith.
Pray for our Mission Action Plan as a church, that God would show us the way forward.
And pray for our Vicar Tanya today as she takes time to spend with God in prayer about all these things.
Keep praying. And ask that God would open our eyes to the surprising ways he might answer them for the spread of his Kingdom.

Rev. Amy