Tag Archives: Prayer

Pastor Mark Batterson Says The Power of Prayer Is Underestimated

The lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. says that Christians have been losing sight of the power of a single prayer.

Mark Batterson was speaking at LiderVision, a Christian leadership conference for Hispanic pastors, when he shared with the pastors how his church exploded because of the power of God working through a consistent, single prayer.

Batterson said he and his wife started the church with 20 people during a 1996 blizzard that shut down the nation’s capital for days.  For the next five years, he preached every Sunday and the church’s faithful members prayed for one thing:  for God to provide the growth in whatever way He saw fit to do.

Then a reporter from the Washington Post came to attend a service and asked if she could do a quick interview with Pastor Batterson.  He expected it to be buried in the religion section but hoped a few people could see it and visit.  Instead, the article appeared on the front page of the Washington Post.

Immediately, the church’s attendance doubled.

“God can do more in one day than we can accomplish in a thousand lifetimes. One day, God is going to show up and He’s going to show off His power in our lives,” Batterson said.  “The more I pray, the more coincidences happen and I don’t believe they’re coincidences, they’re providences because there’s a God that orders my footsteps and when I pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on me, look out!”

Batterson says Christians need to remember the power of a single prayer and take steps of faith to allow God to answer those prayers.

“If you want God to do something, you’ve got to do something different; you’ve got to take that step of faith. Here’s the challenge, we want God to reveal the second step before we take the first step because that doesn’t require any faith. In fact, we wish the Lord ‘s Prayer said, ‘Give us this year, our yearly bread’ but He gives the one day and one step revelation.”

Legendary West Virginia Coach Banned From Graduation

A legendary West Virginia high school football coach has been banned from speaking at graduation because a few people objected to his references to God in last year’s speech.

Despite an overwhelming majority of students, parents and faculty wanting Leon McCoy to speak at the 2014 graduation of Winfield High School, he was told he would not be welcomed back because a few people didn’t want to be exposed to someone mentioning God.

“There were complaints on me allowing prayer and so forth. Unfortunately, the law says we can’t do that,” school principal Bruce McGrew told the Charleston Daily Mail. “I don’t like it and by no means agree with it. … It’s a difficult situation when I am forced to do something as part of my job.”

McCoy said he understands the decision.  He said that in the past Christians were allowed to speak in public with their views but now laws keep them from being able to share their beliefs.

Several students and parents plan to protest graduation, saying that a handful of anti-Christianists should not be able to dictate a ceremony for everyone else.

Arizona Students Refuse To Remove Prayer From Graduation

Despite an administrator’s attempt to get prayer removed from the Pima Unified School District’s graduation, students made sure that God was given praise during the event.

Superintendent Sean Rickert had ordered the removal of prayer from the graduation event because he wanted to make sure he wasn’t violating the rights of any student who didn’t want to participate in or hear a prayer at the event.  He said that he made the decision on his own without any threats of legal action against the school.

Community members and students were outraged at Rickert’s actions, and when the Superintendent and other school officials refused to change their mind on the matter, students took the matter into their own hands.

Not only did students present prayers as part of the ceremony, many graduates made a silent protest by handing a marble to the superintendent as they graduated, an indication they believed he had “lost his marbles” with his actions.

“My class wanted God in our graduation and we weren’t going to take no for an answer,” said Esperanza Gonzalez, one of the students who prayed at the event.  “The world keeps saying ‘no to God, no to God’ unless you’re in prison, so we said yes to God because He has helped us throughout our entire high school career.”

Church’s “Drive Thru Prayer Box” Stirs Community

An idea to reach people who were illegally cutting through a church’s parking lot to avoid an intersection is causing a stir in a Tennessee town.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church of Jackson, Tennessee set up a “drive thru prayer box” where drivers who were cutting through their parking lot could stop and write a prayer request on a 3 by 5 note card.  The church was hoping it could be a way to advertise the church to those in the area and also to pray for their community.

Now, the church is receiving attention from the entire community and churches around the country.

“Now that [an] article has been published in the local newspaper, the number [of prayer requests] has grown substantially,” Barry Matthews of the church told the Christian Post. “We’re seeing requests that just grab your heart.”

Matthews says the church has also been flooded with calls from other churches facing the same problem of drivers cutting through their parking lots wanting to know how to set up their own “drive thru prayer station” ministries.

“They’re telling us this is an answer to their prayers,” Matthews said.

Someone is Waiting Beyond Your “Yes!”

It’s amazing how the Kingdom of God works. Little seeds sown throughout your life have the ability to produce so much fruit – fruit in the form of souls won to the Lord! While the devil will tell you that the things you do for God don’t amount to much, or that what you’ve done has all been ‘undone’ by circumstances and events, remember that he is a liar and that’s what he does best!

There is no greater thing that you can do than to sow seeds into the fields where God has placed you because some of those seeds will land on fertile soil and can produce a harvest greater than you could ever imagine or hope for. It has been that way with me and all the ministry throughout my life, and especially at Heritage USA. Some of the seeds sown back then have produced such surprising results that I am amazed today!  Continue reading →

Supreme Court Approves Prayers At Town Meetings

In what’s being hailed as a victory in the battle to defend Americans’ religious freedom, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that it is Constitutional for government meetings to have a prayer spoken at the opening of the gathering.

The decision was specifically praised for the very clear response to the issue.

“Even if [the decision] did uphold prayer in public legislative sessions, I wasn’t sure how clear that would be. This is crystal clear,” Rev. Rob Schenck told the Christian Post. “I would say, from reading the opinion, this is going to give very clear guidance in the future and it’s going to frustrate a lot of people who will attempt to get prayer at legislative sessions or any kind of public gathering shut down.”

The court’s five conservative justices said the prayers at the opening of the meetings were for the participants in the meeting and not for the general public.

Those who have tried to eliminate Christianity from public life were expectedly upset with the court’s decision.  Rob Boston of the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State said the court’s ruling upholding religious freedom was “out of step with the realties of modern-day America.”

“The majority opinion makes it clear that legislative prayer often isn’t coercive because the adults being exposed to it have options, such as leaving the room,” Boston said before making a threat.  “So, if any misguided religious right activists out there is thinking this decision opens the door for a return of official school prayer, they can forget it.”

Atheist Group Attacks Acclaimed Baseball Coach

The virulent anti-Christian Freedom From Religion Foundation is attacking the 2013 National Baseball Coach of the Year because he would lead his team in a prayer before they took the field.

Larry Turner of Owasso High School teaches his baseball players to do more than just play the game.  The team also visits war veterans in hospitals and teaches the sport to children who want to compete in the Special Olympics.

Now, the aggressive anti-Christian FFRF says a “concerned citizen” filed a complaint with them over the coach leading the team in prayer.  The Freedom From Religion Foundation routinely files complaints all over the country where it is not located on behalf of anonymous people they do not provide evidence of truly existing.

The group did say in their letter they have no actual evidence of the coach leading the prayers, just the allegations of an unnamed source.

The anti-Christian group has been focusing this year on high school coaches who may lead or participate in prayers with their teams before games.

The school has not yet responded to the demands of the FFRF.

President Hosts Easter Prayer Breakfast

An Easter Prayer Breakfast was held at the White House Monday.

Invitations to the breakfast were sent to members of various denominations.  The President addressed the crowd to speak about Christ and His love.

“We’re reminded how He loves us, so deeply, that He gave his only begotten Son so that we might live through Him. And in these Holy Days, we recall all that Jesus endured for us – the scorn of the crowds and the pain of the crucifixion, in our Christian religious tradition we celebrate the glory of the Resurrection – all so that we might be forgiven of our sins and granted everlasting life,” President Obama said.

The President also used the occasion to speak about the tragedy at Jewish community centers in Overland Park, Kansas, saying that nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering for worship.

The President then encouraged the Christians in attendance to not “remain on the sidelines.”

“I want to thank you for your ministries, for your good works, for the marching you do for justice and dignity and inclusion, for the ministries that all of you attend to and have helped organize throughout your communities each and every day to feed the hungry and house the homeless and educate children who so desperately need an education,” the President said. “You have made a difference in so many different ways, not only here in the United States but overseas as well.”

National Day of Prayer May 1st

This year the National Day of Prayer will be on Thursday, May 1st. We invite you to join with us as we pray for America. This day of prayer is a vital part of our American heritage. The first call to prayer was made in 1775. The Continental Congress asked all the colonies to pray and ask God for wisdom in the formation of a nation.

This recognition of the importance of prayer has continued throughout America’s history. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln called for a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer”. A joint resolution was made by Congress in 1952 which was signed by President Harry Truman declaring that day an annual, national day of prayer. Then in 1988 President Reagan set the national day of prayer to be observed on the first Thursday of May every year.

The Chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force, Mrs. Shirley Dobson, wife of Family Talk founder, Dr. James Dobson has selected the theme for this year to be: “One Voice, United in Prayer” in agreement with Romans 15:6 – “So that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Shirley Dobson requests: “In these few remaining days leading up to the 2014 National Day of Prayer on May 1 – and on that occasion, in particular – it’s my prayer that the Body of Christ will recommit itself to vigilant and unceasing intercession. If we do not weary in this, there’s no telling how powerfully God will answer!”

The Jim Bakker Show and Morningside Church acknowledge that prayer is of utmost importance. Without the foundation of prayer in our life or ministry, nothing of lasting value can be accomplished.

God has chosen prayer as the method that He responds to and works through to bring His will to this earth. It is vital that we pray for God’s will to be done on earth and in our lives. His will is revealed in His Word. Jesus prayed to the Father in Heaven, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Now, if Jesus needed to pray for the Father’s will to be done, how much more do we need to!

Pastor John Hagee will be on the Jim Bakker Show on the National Day of Prayer. We believe that the timing of this is very significant. Join with us in prayer on May 1st for the righteous to rule our nation and for the leaders of our country to know God in a personal intimate way. Pray for them to seek His face, His will and desires for our nation. I think we can all agree that this is a critical time for our nation. Let’s continually pray for our leaders and our nation.

God is a good God and He desires to bless our nation, but how can we be blessed if we are turning away from Him and His ways? That is where the intercession of God’s people can truly make a difference. We start with ourselves individually, humbling ourselves before the Lord, repenting of our sins, turning away from them and following God. THEN the Lord will heal our land.

II Chronicles 7:14—“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

May God bless America as we once again turn our hearts back to Him!