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Honest, Simple, and Persistant
In his book, “Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?” Philip Yancey points out that Jesus gave very few rules for prayer. “His teaching reduces down to three general principles: Keep it honest, keep it simple, and keep it up.”
Honest: “They who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24) Coming into the Lord’s presence requires that we do so with our spirits, not just our bodies, and in the Holy Spirit. Further, we must come in truth. Whatever else ‘truth’ means here, it clearly requires honesty on the part of the worshiper. It’s not a prayer until you are honest with God.
Simple: “Ask and you shall receive,” Jesus taught (Matthew 7:7). What could be simpler? Ask Him for what you need. Does the definition of prayer come any clearer than this?
Keep it up: "Won't God give his chosen people justice when they cry out to him for help day and night? Is he slow to help them?" (Luke 18:7) Don't forget the parable of the persistent widow that precedes this verse. Jesus told it so that his disciples would always pray and not lose heart.
The instruction to keep it honest, keep it simple, and keep it up says little about the methods we use in praying. How we pray is not nearly as important as that we do it in the first place.
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God bless you,
Stephen M Young II
Thanksgiving Fellowship
5 Scriptural Prayer Guides
Here are five things from scripture that should guide our prayer.
- God has promised that if ‘My people will humble themselves and pray and seek My face (do His will) and turn from their wicked ways (repent), then from Heaven I will hear their prayers and forgive their sins and heal their land’. 2 Chronicles 7:14
- We have been commanded to ask for the nations and the uttermost parts of the earth as our inheritance. We will have no inheritance in the kingdom of God if we do not pray. Psalm 2:8
- We have been told that the harvest has been ready for the last 2000 years. We have been specifically commanded to pray to the Lord of the harvest for the laborers. Matthew 9:37-38
- We have been asked to pray for the kings and those who rule and have authority over us so that we will live in peace. 1 Timothy 2:1-2
- Finally, we have been commanded to pray without ceasing. 2 Thessalonians 5: 17
The destiny of our nation depends entirely on intercessors. Unless God has been moved with massive relentless agonizing intercession and repentance no strategy will work. Prayerlessness is at the root of all fruitlessness. All failure to move God is failure to pray. We can cook up reports but only our intercession can change the nation. Psalm 126:5-6
Therefore, He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:25
God Bless,
Bro Steve
The Prayer Garden
The only thing the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was 'how to pray.' This is because they saw His intimacy with the Father when He prayed.
Prayer is not a shopping list but intimate fellowship with the Father.
Our battle is not with flesh and blood, but sadly many of our prayers are in the flesh. “Lord, grant us...,” we say. Instead of bombarding the Father with a torrent of words, we ought to pray like Samuel, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening,”
Prayer is not just fruitless crying out to the Lord but it is also laboring for the harvest.
God chided Moses for crying aloud and commanded him to stretch out his rod over the sea (Exodus 14:15-16). The process of harvesting includes battling with the demons of weeds and predators, watering and manuring the crop, reaping the harvest, bringing in the sheaves, threshing, gathering and getting ready for the next harvest.
It requires tear-soaked prayers, sweat-soaked prayers and sometimes even blood-soaked prayers (like Stephen) to make unbelievers fellow heirs of the Body. Sadly the modern church is full of spiritual derelicts who pray but do not act.
As we pray tonight, ask God to speak to you and be ready to learn from Him. As we pray on behalf of those on our lists, make a commitment to be a tool in God's hand to answer those prayers. Go and encourage, go and share Jesus, go and stand in the gap, go and forgive, go and toil along side.
God Bless,
Bro Steve
Church-wide Thanksgiving Meal
Sunday November 11th will be our Thanksgiving Meal. It will be held after the Morning Worship Service. Bring your favorite dish and enjoy wonderful fellowship with your church family! Invite your family and friends to church, and partake in our meal afterwards!
Bro Steve’s Bulletin Insert
Dear Stevendale Baptist Church,
Keep praying for us as we transition into our ministry here in Baton Rouge and at Stevendale Baptist Church. This week, I expect we will have our first “normal” week with respect to routine. Our family is going through a period of culture shock, home-sickness, and adjustment to new roles and schedules, (and food). Nilson appears to be adjusting the quickest, except for the food part.
I am organizing my prayer calendar, so please give me a picture of you and your family, with your names written on the back. You can hand them to me personally or simply place them in the collection plate.
Sunday November 11th will be a big Sunday at Stevendale Baptist Church. First of all, we will be moving our Sunday school time from 9:15 to 9:00. Everyone will meet in the Fellowship Hall for 15 minutes together and then break into groups with a full hour for prayer and Bible study.
On that same Sunday, We will also have a Thanksgiving Fellowship Lunch following the morning worship service. I am looking forward to it.
In Him,
Bro Steve
Bro Steve's Bulletin Insert #6
After a week and three days we are finally starting to feel like we've got the ground under our feet. What a tremendous change we have been through!
Nilson started kindergarten on Tuesday and is enjoying the new experience. Loaise is adjusting to working from a home-office, an is feeling her way through all the technical difficulties of getting set up. I have been chasing after documents, setting up car insurance, getting the office organized and making runs to the store to get keys, uniforms, groceries, office items, and everything else you can imagine.
I am still trying to learn names and faces and places here at Stevendale Baptist Church. It is going to take me a few weeks to get a feel for the schedule and get into a rhythm.
As I get my office organized, I want to begin getting to know you and praying for you regularly. Here is how you can help me with that:
I would like each of you to put a picture of yourself or you and your family in the offering plate. Write your names on the back. I will collect those and make a prayer album. This way, I will be able to flip through each day, see your faces and pray for you by name.
Oh, and I should be getting a cell phone at some point this week. That number will be published in the bulletin once everything is in place.
God bless,
Bro Steve
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee... Matthew 4:12-13The stories of Jesus in Capernaum captivate me. My favorite verse in this series of stories is Mark 2:1. “A few days after Jesus returned to Capernaum, word got out that Jesus was home.” In actuality, he was in Simon Peter's house again, but he had made himself at home there.
It was in and near Capernaum that Jesus called the fishermen and the tax collector to follow him. He shared meals and slept in their homes.
Capernaum was the scene of many “mighty works” and miracles of our Lord. In this city, Jesus healed a centurion's son, a nobleman's son, Simon Peter's mother-in-law, and a paralytic. It was probably here also that He raised Jairus' daughter to life.
In Capernaum a little child was used to teach the disciples humility. In its synagogue, Jesus cast out an unclean spirit. and at another time there declared “I am the Bread of Life.”
Let us observe these events and learn together how to become better followers of Jesus.
Bro Steve’s Bulletin Insert #5
Next Sunday we finally arrive. It's been a long time coming. Thank you for being so patient. We have been very busy these last days, as you can imagine.
Bro Steve’s Bulletin Insert #4
Dear Stevendale Baptist Church,
As we look forward to what God is preparing, I want to ask you to look around at the pews next to you. I imagine there are only about 300 empty seats. Before these seats get filled, our church must decide in its heart what it's here for, because we have a major issue to deal with.
Bro Steve’s Bulletin Insert #3
Bro Willie Joe always signs his emails, “Have a great week in the Lord.” I can't tell you how many times our weeks have be one struggle, suffering, or stress after another. Most of those weeks turn out to be “great weeks in the Lord,” because God's hand was at work.
My prayer is that God's hand will ever be at work in our lives. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.
When I went deaf earlier this year, it took me by surprise. My deafness, however, led us to deep relationships with families we never would have known well otherwise.