First, welcome to this blog. We will be posting something new at least once a week. I hope you return to take a look at what’s going on with us, and hopefully it will be a source of encouragement to you as you seek to define what it means to live out a lifestyle of prayer. Please feel free to leave comments to any of our blog posts. I hope these posts will entice some good discussion on prayer and any related topics.
There are going to be a few contributors to this blog, which will hopefully give us some good perspective on different experiences that our group, fotbwny, is having in this journey we call a lifestyle of prayer. Being a father of 4, and a full-time worker at a local non-profit organization, I can say that a lifestyle of prayer certainly isn’t what I thought it would look like when I started. I suppose that’s part of the discovery in our relationship with God – to figure out the particulars. I remember being a new, Spirit-filled Christian, and thinking that I would be a full-time intercessor who spoke God’s Word to those who needed to hear it. In my mind, the picture was that I would be living in a secluded place all by myself, with a torn-up old bible in one hand, and some grasshoppers for supper in the other hand. I imagined that this call to prayer was going to have me fasting for days, even months, on end and being taken somewhere on the other side of the earth where I would speak with angels and maybe even the Lord Himself!
Little did I know that God’s plan for my life included a much easier road, physically (not such extreme fasting), and a very fulfilling relationship with my family (I’m not secluded in some hut all alone). In those early days of not knowing as much, I planned that I would be able to recite much (if not all) of the Bible and know what big events would come to the world ahead of time. It’s funny how lofty my goals were. My heart was certainly there, but I had some growing up to do.
As I read through the New Testament, I am continually reminded at how much effort Jesus put to focus on the 12 guys around Him. He spent much time building those relationships and nurturing their spirits through personal teaching. It seems to me that if I spent time with Jesus alongside the 12, there would be a good sense of comradery and depth to the friendships that I’d have with Jesus and those twelve disciples. It seemed like this was something that was built and it took effort to sustain it. I’m encouraged that Jesus chose this close friendship to be the foundation on which to introduce Himself; there were many miracles performed, there was the truth of God being taught, and there were many eyes being opened – spiritually.
Lately our group has been focusing on healing. We’ve all felt the Holy Spirit speaking to us individually about praying for healing. Unfortunately, we have noticed an increase in the friends and family around us who are suffering from various ailments. We are determined to continue asking God for an outpouring of healing on our loved ones. What’s really great is that I’m part of a community of friends who feel the same sense of urgency for justice. We are being roused to fight for those close to us. God is using this as an opportunity to show us His heart for people in this region. S0 we’re learning this on a small scale as we pray for our loved ones, and it gives us insight as we petition God to release healing on a bigger scale (Western New York and Southern Ontario). I’m humbled that God would bring together a group of individuals who desire to see the greater works being released in this generation. We may not see large crowds gathering with us lakeside, or be called to feed five thousand with a few loaves and fishes, but we do have the blessing of God knitting our hearts together as we pursue the knowledge of Him. I think we’re realizing that effectiveness in prayer isn’t about counting the numbers who are praying beside you. Instead, it’s about seeing that our hearts and minds are aligning with the God of the Bible, the Infinite and Beautiful One who beckons us to come discover who He is – and agree with what He desires to do in prayer. Thus, we press in to pray for the release of what He’s promised in His Word, and He’s faithfully releasing understanding on our hearts and minds about His ways. We sometimes even see people healed.
I desire to see this generation commit to prayer like never before – for the sake of God’s kindgom being released on this region. More than this, I desire that this generation would come to a deeper, and continual, revelation of this man Jesus Christ – in whom we have eternal life (John 17:3, Eph 3:14-21) So, Lord Come! Yes, even to Southern Ontario, even to Western New York. We know you love us.
- Kevin