Prayer

I have been learning a lot about prayer lately. You see my wife Betty is a prayer warrior. In fact, she really doesn't think she is praying until she is down on her knees in prayer. She does this often. She has for most of her adult life. Sometimes she comes to me and says, "Jim, we have to be praying more!" I usually think, what do you mean? You are always praying! But, I don't say it. Betty has many testimonies of how God has provided for her and protected her in the past. She accredits this to prayer.

I'm reminded often here that this place that I'm living is not always as safe as my home was in the states. I know that Satan is directing the lives of many here because they have given in to his temptations. Evil and darkness can be seen without going too far. But that is what makes this place such a ministry field. And, in the middle of all of this is where we can find God working! We need not be afraid because God will protect and provide for us. We DO need to be in contact with Him through prayer however.

I would like to share with you a devotional someone recently sent to me in regards to this:

Prayer Comes First        Did you expect any less 
The king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king…
Nehemiah 2:4-5

       
When Reverend William Gale was principal of Brainerd Indian School in Hot Springs, South Dakota, the furnace had to be replaced in the girls' dorm. Knowing the girls were cold, Gale made this a matter of earnest prayer. He grew so burdened that he prayed into the night; and between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m., he took a pencil and square, went to the girls' dorm, and marked out a rectangular area. He asked God for a furnace to fit the hole. The next day he told his carpenters to saw and frame the space. They suggested he wait until a furnace was found, but finally did as he requested. Later that morning, a man drove up in a pickup truck containing a gas furnace he wanted to donate to the school. Taking it to the dorm, they were amazed to find it fit perfectly into the hole. *

Just as Nehemiah prayed before answering the king and just as Reverend Gale prayed in expectation of God's provision, we should begin every task for the Lord Jesus with prayer. He has an answer to fit every need.

There are three secrets to the success of our work: prayer, prayer, and more prayer.
Billy Graham