February 3, 2003

TOGETHER:
Pray fervently during global crisis
___In the current world crisis, people will be praying more than normal. As the threat of war grows, all of us will be asking God to guide our leaders to work for peace, making open warfare the very last option chosen.
___For those who have loved ones, fellow church members or friends whose lives are at risk, the prayers will grow more and more urgent.
___Many men and women who serve in our nation's armed forces are members of Texas Baptist churches. The director of missions in the Killeen area, near Fort Hood, told me disruption and pain are evident. He said the morale of the troops is high, but so is the cost to families. I ask all our Texas Baptist people to pray for these military

CHARLES WADE Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

men and women and their families. I urge you to pray for the chaplains and pastors who are encouraging and ministering to these brave souls.
___Of course, we will pray for all those in need, not just our Baptist family. But I particularly want our Texas Baptist churches, pastors and chaplains to know their brothers and sisters across this state are praying for them as they minister to one another and stand by one another.
___Here are some things I have learned about prayer:
___ God answers the prayers of people who are not yet Christians.
___God answered Cornelius' prayer and sent Peter to tell him the good news of Christ (Acts 10:1-4, 34-38). I have seen God draw unbelievers to himself by answering their everyday kinds of prayers and convincing them of his presence and love for them.
___ Don't put limits on what God will do.
___He is able above all that "we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3: 20). Our mistake is that we do not ask for enough.
___ The hardest prayer to pray is the one Jesus prayed the night before his death on the cross.
___He prayed three times that long night, "Not my will, but thine be done" (Matthew 26:36-43). If you have ever been at the point where you were afraid of what God's will might be, you know how difficult it is to release your dreams and hopes and loved ones to God's will. But it is in this prayer that God is released to do the most saving and redemptive acts in our lives.
___ The heart of prayer is in the model prayer of our Lord.
___He taught us to pray, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done" (Matthew 6:10). We cannot honestly pray these words and still hold on to the prideful notion that we know what ought to be done and God should do it. Prayer is more about getting us ready to do what God wants done than it is about getting God to do what we want done.
___ God answers many more prayers than we remember.
___He hears us when we call to him. Jesus reminds us that no father is more attentive to his children than our heavenly Father is to us (Matthew 7:7-11).
___ When we pray for specific lost individuals, God opens the door for us to talk to them about spiritual things.
___Sometimes it takes a long time for someone to believe the gospel, but it is worth the praying and the waiting (Romans 10:1-2; Matthew 9:35-38).
___There have been many books and sermons on prayer. But it is more important to pray than to read about prayer or hear about prayer. Just do it!
___We are loved.

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