I have experienced this so many times now that I am convinced it makes all the difference. I have arrived feeling weighed down by many concerns, but have left feeling uplifted with my faith strengthened and hope renewed. What happened in between arriving and leaving, was a prayer meeting.  

 

Praying with others has been a game changer in my life, family and leadership, as many others will share a similar testimony. Frank shared in an interview last Sunday, that being prayed for in person by others, caused his apprehension about his upcoming major surgery to evaporate. It’s one of the great blessings of corporate prayer, that somehow a deposit of the peace and power of God is made into the deepest parts of our souls. 

 

I feel very expectant about our Awaken week of prayer, that awakenings will happen in our lives and church, but also how this week is significant in how the Lord will awaken more people to himself among our families, friends, and neighbourhoods. 

 

Here are a few encouragements as we come to pray this week. 

 

Tonight, at our 5.30pm service we have a baptism of a young man whose life has been awakened to Jesus. It’s hard to kick-off the week of prayer in a better way than this! Also read Ps Henry’s report of the youth camp on page 9, as God worked so powerfully last weekend. PTL!

 

Coming up are opportunities to share Jesus with others through our guest artist Peter Shurley next Sunday, and then at our Easter services. These opportunities follow a powerful season and week of prayer, which means the ground has been prepared for harvest. 

 

I can’t think of many times in The Grove’s history when I have heard as many stories of hearts opening to Jesus, and people being awakened to him in new ways. It’s nothing of us, but purely an increase of the grace of God being poured out despite our weaknesses. 

 

We have loved studying the Prayer Course this term, and on Wednesday night another large group joined in the auditorium. It was a powerful night, and a few people said to me the same comment. “Each week it seems to be getting better and better”. On one hand that is the quality of the teaching, but on the other, it’s the increase of faith in the room as the result of prayer. 

 

God is at work, and perhaps we are on the verge of something we have longed for and prayed for many years. We can’t manufacture an awakening, but we can pray, and God loves to work through the prayer’s of his church.  

 

Praying with you, 

Marty.