As we approach St. Patrick’s day, we are reminded of the influence of faith in Jesus Christ that came to Ireland. It is faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour that has the power to impact our whole world. Some of us have travelled to several different places in our world and some of us have never been far from home. Whatever our travelling experience, we can know that there are people all around our world who share our Christian faith. They too are praying at this time for God to help us. This past week, I saw a post from friends of ours who are currently travelling in Europe. They spent some time in Germany and shared pictures of their experiences in Cologne. They spoke with an artist who was there with other artists creating chalk art pictures in support of world peace. In describing these fascinating chalk art pictures our friends saw, they wrote of the artists, “They sit there all day drawing. If it doesn’t rain they are back the next day. If it rains, they go back and start over.” The determination of these artists in continuing to promote their message of peace and if necessary to start over repeatedly, really spoke to me about our faith in God and our commitment to prayer. When we read in Scripture about being equipped for the battle against sin we read, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:10-18) We can all look to our God who is strong and commit to keep on praying. We can pray about what is happening in The Ukraine and we can pray about what is happening in our lives each day. Beautiful pictures of faith can be witnessed as people like us again and again refuse to let what has been washed away, prevent us from drawing again. Please join us for our weekly WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow March 16th at 1 pm.
Praying for us to have determination as we keep praying on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, Pastor Lola
Our strong God thank You that You have equipped us for living the complexities of life here on earth. We daily recognize how much we need You. We cannot fight the battle with sin by ourselves. We cannot hope for peace in our world without You. We cannot manage the challenges of our personal lives without You helping us. We come to You now thanking You for people throughout history who have trusted you. We thank you that the legacy of their faith inspires us to turn to You. Our parents and grandparents lived through extremely difficult circumstances and held on to their faith in You and we want to do the same. Thank You God for all the ways that people are being motivated to seek peace and to seek You. Our prayers extend for those in The Ukraine who continue to pray and to struggle to know how to find courage for what each day brings. We stand with them in our prayers and ask that their prayers will draw them closer to You to find reserves of strength and resolve that only You can provide. Help us to be prepared for what You ask us to step into as we wield the weapons of faith. Keep us on our feet praying and acting on Your behalf. We pray our God that truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation will be more than words. Teach us how to apply them. Remind us that Your Word is indispensable in being fully equipped for this battle with sin. Please show us how essential prayer is to responding as You want, to what is going on in our world. We thank You that we are not alone in our prayers for peace in our world. We pray that we will be empowered to keep praying and not to give in to discouragement. Continue to fill our hearts with compassion for how others are being affected by the events in our world. We are grateful that we experience relative safety here, but we refuse to disregard those who cannot feel safe to sleep at night. And God for all the concerns affecting us and our families we come to You to meet these needs. Thank You God that we do not have to limit our prayers to just a few. We know that we can pray about anything and everything all the time. As we are praying now, we thank You for answered prayers we have seen in recent days. Our faith in You is recharged every time we recognize that You do hear and answer our prayers. Please guard us against putting time limits on Your answers. Thank You God that our lives continue to be blessed by answers to prayers You brought about several years ago. Thank You for the intricate and seemingly most unlikely of ways that You have brought answers to our consistent prayers. We do pray for those we know with various health concerns and our persistent prayer is for healing. We remember in our prayers today those who have experienced the passing of loved ones and still feel the pain of loss and missing them. Thank You God that we can be completely honest in our prayers. Please show us clearly what You require of each of us in living our faith in You in ways that will reveal that You are a God Who acts in response to faithful prayers. And God where there are new things for us yet to discover about Who You are and how You are, we want to know You more fully. We pray that us knowing You more will lead us to trust You more. We commit all to You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN.