Prayer Devotionals for Week of Sept. 28
Wednesday September 30
Carol Barlow
When teaching in our English as a Second Language (ESL) program, I include a short Bible study each week. My prayer is that the students will learn about God and Christianity. One year a student from China listened very intently and at the end of the semester indicated she wanted to become a Christian. The story of the flood and the rainbow had touched her heart and given her hope. Later she and her son professed their faith and Sophia was baptized at HGBC. Soon after, her family moved to Houston where her husband eventually professed his faith and allowed the son to be baptized. In addition, her mother in China began attending an underground church.
God spoke to Sophia through the rainbow. Isaiah 55:11 says:
“So My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”
Thursday October 1
Mary Dohlman
“Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:4
Every day worldwide, it is estimated that 153,000 people will die. Of that number, about 66,000 will never have heard the gospel.
Prayer is the way to achieve God’s desire for all men to be saved. Prayer is the foundation of missions – both near and far. With prayer, no passport, visa, or work permit is needed. There is no distance too far or place inaccessible for prayer. Prayer has no restrictions.
We need to pray for: all men (1 Tim. 2:1): the nations (Psalm 2:8); workers (Matt. 9:38); and pray faithfully (Romans 12:12). Let us be a part of missions through faithful prayer.
“The history of missions is the history of answered prayer.” – Samuel Zwemer
Friday October 2
Stuart Sumrall
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2
Twenty years ago, I was serving as the pastor to a small congregation in East Texas. The church had previously been through a split a few years earlier, and I was struggling to gain the confidence of some of the people. A wise local pastor told me the following about his own experience. “I had to learn the difference between union, unanimity, and unity.”
He explained, “You can tie two cats together by their tails and make a union…but you won’t see much unity! Or you can spend all of your energy striving for unanimity, but even if you attain it, you’d have an unhealthy church because the church is a body. Each part is unique, each functions differently, but each must be present and working together for the body to be healthy. That’s unity.”
Twenty years later I still think about that. As a local church we are a diverse body of believers. We bring different backgrounds, different spiritual gifts, different talents, and different opinions with us. And yet when we come together in love for a common purpose (Philippians 2:2), God makes us into a whole that is far greater than the sum of our parts.
I hope you’ll plan to participate in our prayer gathering tomorrow morning, beginning at 10:00 am in the Worship Center. We will pray throughout our church campus, asking God to help us be the people He has called us to be so that we may accomplish all that He has commissioned us to do.