On Prayer

I don’t know about you, but I’ve prayed a lot lately. For many things. With four sons, there is always something about which to pray—a son who lost a wonderful job to AI. A son to be granted a most heartfelt plea. Add in our girls, the-daughter-of-our-hearts and our two granddaughters and their needs, and that is a lot. But then, our prayers extend to other family members and multiple friends.

The idea for this post came from the sermon our pastor, Dr. Justin Alexander, preached this past Sunday. Our church is at the beginning of 21 days of prayer for our church.  We are seeking God’s guidance for the future of our church, First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, North Carolina. It’s a big church with many programs. The good news is, we are growing by leaps and bounds.

That sounds like a good problem to have. Our children’s and our youth programs are going strong, and we always have room for more. Every Sunday, we have five services, three traditional in the main sanctuary and two modern worship services in what we call the 316 Center. We have a big staff of pastors and a big board of Deacons. A choir and an orchestra and a praise team. We have First Baptist Academy which is a half-day preschool that prepares children for kindergarten and elementary school. We have something for just about everyone. And our church’s motto says, Lift Up Jesus. Love People. If you’re looking for a church home, prayerfully consider FBCH. We’d love to have you.

On Prayer @DDuPreeWilliams #Prayer #GiveGodTheGlory #PrayWithoutCeasing Share on X

MY HUSBAND’S AND MY RECENT PRAYERS

• A newly married grand-nephew and his bride
• A beloved niece as she navigates difficult waters and big responsibilities in the workplace
• Our grand, and great-grand nieces and nephews and their parents as they head back to school
• Cousins facing the loss of a spouse and those with some big health issues
• Friends’ book launches
• Dear friends who’ve lost a spouse or other family members
• Our area and the victims of Hurricane Helene and the Texas flood victims
• Giving thanks to God for 52 years of marriage this past Monday

GOOD NEWS

The good news is, God wants us to seek Him in all things. According to my search, the Bible mentions prayer and its variations, pray and praying, 650 times. I found a website, questionsgod.com which has a Prayers of the Bible reading plan. By the way, the first time prayer is mentioned in the Bible is Genesis 4:26 ESV, At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. And don’t forget Matthew 6:9-13 in which Jesus teaches His disciples to pray in what is now known as The Lord’s Prayer. We pray this every Sunday in our church.

To me, the most important thing to remember as we pray is that God is Sovereign. His ways are not our ways. His timing is always perfect. He knows the plans He has for us, is omniscient, and He can see things we can and will never see or know. When we pray, we need to be in His will for our lives and accept His answer be it no, yes, or wait.

GIVE GOD THE GLORY

Waiting isn’t easy, but as stated above, God’s timing is perfect. Go ahead and pray, but then, get out of God’s way. And don’t forget to give Him the glory whatever His answer may be.

I’m praying for you today. If you have specific needs, don’t hesitate to contact me via my email. The best way. It’s my full name at gmail.

Blessings, y’all!

An oldie and an all-time favorite!