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In our weekly Bible study and prayer at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church in Omaha, NE, we not only talked about revival but we also prayed for it!
May it come Lord Jesus!
This morning in my sermon I quoted the last words of Eric Liddell. He was also known as “The Flying Scotsman”. Liddell was the winner of the men’s 400 metres at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. His Olympic training and racing, and the religious convictions that influenced him, are depicted in the Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he is portrayed by fellow Scot Ian Charleson.
His last words were:
“It’s complete surrender!”
Liddell died of a brain tumor in a Japanese internment camp on February 21, 1945.
The Bible teaches that we Christians are to pray. Earlier today in my Sunday school class, we looked at Acts 2:42, a verse that describes the activities of the early Christians in Jerusalem: And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. My wife and I had the great opportunity to teach third, fourth and fifth graders how important it is to read our Bibles, to fellowship and to pray. These things help us grow as Christians.
Prayer, both individually and corporately, allows us to experience the joy of answered prayer and to see the power of God work among us. If God is going to work powerfully in our lives, then we cannot avoid the discipline of prayer. The neglect of prayer will simply translate into a life where the hand of God is rarely seen in our lives and in church. For people to come to Christ in large numbers, we at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church must be a house of prayer.
We must cry out to God day and night for people to come to Christ. Do we pray for at five people five minutes a day? God uses the prayers of his people on earth to work out his will in the world and in the lives of people. Ephesians 6:18 exhorts us to pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication and to keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
Our weapons are spiritual. Prayer is our most powerful resource to advance the kingdom of God on the earth. The Bible is clear: we absolutely must pray if lives are to be transformed by the Lord Jesus.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 33:3. God, through the prophet Jeremiah said: Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. God invites us to call to him! Earlier in chapter 29, verse 12, the Lord said: Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
God promises that when we call to him, he will answer us. What a great promise! God will answer us. He also promises that he will tell us great and hidden things that we have not previously known! God will reveal future things.
One the great books on the power of prayer in the local church is called Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Pastor Jim Cymbala. In it he writes:
If we call upon the Lord, He has promised in his Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to Himself, to pour out His Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, He has promised nothing—nothing at all. It’s as simple as that. No matter what I preach or what we claim to believe in our heads, the future will depend upon our times of prayer. This is the engine that drives the church.
Prayer is the engine that drives the church. Let us call to God! He promises to answer!
Pastor Bryan
This evening the elder’s of Harvey Oaks Baptist Church (Omaha, NE) met for our bi-weekly meeting. We spent the first portion of the meeting on our knees praying for the church and lifting up praises and supplications to the God Most High!
It was a sweet and powerful time! Thank you Jesus!
Dear HOBC Family,
This Sunday, I will preach on the foundation of prayer in our lives. Jesus set the example for us. Luke 5:16 says this about Jesus: “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” In my sermon, I will include this quote by Bruce Ware:
One great and glorious reason God devised prayer was to use it as a mechanism to draw us to himself, to help us to see how much we need him, to set before us constantly the realization that he is everything we are not, and he possesses everything that we lack. We are weak, but he is strong; we are foolish, but he is wise; we are untrustworthy, but he is faithful; we are ignorant, but he is infinitely knowledgeable; we are poor and empty, but he is rich and full.
I am looking forward to worshiping with you this Sunday!
Pastor Bryan
Yesterday (October 7), I drove outside the city limits of Omaha to pay a visit to a church member. Bill and I have known each other for years.
Bill is deeply concerned about the spiritual state of the church. After I parked my truck in his driveway, we walked out to his pond where there was a bench.
We chatted for a few minutes and then we spent a significant portion of time in prayer for our church.
We prayed for revival!
It was one of the most refreshing times of prayer I have ever had.
We plan to do to again!
May the Lord send revival!
Last evening, there was an elders meeting at Harvey Oaks Baptist Church. Each time the elders gather, we make sure that we spend the first portion in prayer and seeking the Lord. It was a good time of prayer.
Apart from prayer, nothing eternal will take place in our lives and in the church.
If we do not pray, revival will not come.
Let us continually seek the Lord in prayer so that He will refresh us!
bryanaloha
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