Another great week at Calvary Church! God continues to answer prayer, but this is no reason for us to quit. Praying is what Christians do at all times. We shouldn’t just pray when an emergency arises or a problem comes our way or a need pops its head up. If we only pray when we are facing a crisis then we are not following the Lord’s will; in fact we are far from the Lord’s will. The Lord’s will is for us to be praying constantly.

“Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

“Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication…” (Ephesians 6:18)

Prayer is part of the fabric of the church (cf. Acts 2:42).

We are in a season right now that prayer is intensified, purposeful and intentional. This is a reminder to us that we are desperately dependent on God. This is a time when our focus shifts a little to some specific requests. This time will pass but our prayers must not. We should be praying everyday for His church. We will always find things to pray about; we just never run out of things to pray for. There will be times of intense and intentional praying for our children (VBS, camps, etc.); there will be times like that for our youth (Awaken Weekend, mission trip, etc.); and there will be opportunities to focus our prayer attention elsewhere. The point? We will always be praying for the church.

But today I am in praise mode (along with petition mode). I am praising God for another family that joined us on Sunday. Welcome to the family Ricky and Julie Moore! That makes #2; no, you’re not in second place! You represent an answer to prayer and we feel honored to have you become a part of what God is doing in His church. I am also praising God for an abundant offering. This is God’s church and He will pay the bills and take care of our needs. No need to worry or panic or manipulate, just trust.

I am also thanking the Lord for a phenomenal Awaken Weekend! Thank you to Kristy Hall and the youth crew who prayed, planned and participated to make this a life-changing weekend for our youth. You are awesome! I’ve heard so many good things about Jared Snead and his band. The prayer garden is a perfect addition to the life of Calvary Church. Thank you youth for your hard work on that and the windows.

Now let’s all grab a prayer rock and pray!

Grace & Peace,