A Praying Church: Knees Bowed

Two weeks ago I shared a vision for this church that the Lord has impressed on our leaders. It is "to be a praying church who reaches out and challenges everyone to follow Jesus completely." Southeast has embraced that vision with open arms, but I am always quick to point out that it is not who we are yet. Last week Kyle challenged the typical paradigm for prayer by encouraging us to go even beyond an appointed prayer time and instead to be in prayer constantly, even with our eyes open. Earlier this year I attended the National Day of Prayer service in Washington D.C. Senate Chaplain, Barry Black, made a powerful point as he referred to a question that Jesus disciples asked him in Luke 11:1: "Lord, teach us to pray." He said that instead of asking for advice on how to feed a multitude or to walk on water, they asked him about prayer. They realized that power was released as Jesus prayed. In the early church in Acts we find this same dependence upon Gods power being released through prayer.