Praying Churches – Sunday Thought For The Day

Friday evening at the conclusion of our church service, as my wife and I started to leave I observed something I don’t believe I have ever witnessed in all of my years as a Christian.  There were groups of people gathered together around the church praying with one another.

The message Pastor preached had been on Pentecost; but he hadn’t instructed us to pray with one another before we left; it was just spontaneous.  It was something beautiful to behold.  There was a palpable presence of the Holy Spirit.

The experience brings me to the following quotes by Charles Spurgeon and A. J. Gossip.  Let us pray together that the quotes by these two servants of God, will spur us to be more committed to embracing the power and efficacy of prayer.  Let us ask the Lord to burden us to walk in fellowship through faithful prayer.  Let us etch the truth of these words in our hearts and commit to be more biblically and spiritually one with our God.

Prayer not only makes a difference in our relationship with God, but it makes a difference in the usefulness of our church.  A church not led by prayer, is a church not led by God.

The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by its prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of His absence will be slothfulness in prayer. — Charles Spurgeon

Christ holds that prayer is a tremendous power which achieves what, without it, was a sheer impossibility. And this amazing thing you can set into operation. And the fact that you are not so using it, and simply don’t believe in it and its efficiency and efficacy as our fathers did, and that so many nowadays agree with you, is certainly a major reason why the churches are so cold, and the promises seem so tardy of fulfillment. — A. J. Gossip

READ:

Acts 2:1-4 (KJV)

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.