How to use a prayer altar on Sunday

From the Pastor’s Desk (262)

We pray because God told us to pray. We pray because God promised to us that He would hear and answer our prayers. This is what James said:

“13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16)

That’s why we have the prayer altars in the front for you to come out to and use on Sundays to receive prayers from the pastor. These prayer altars are very special for those who actually came out and used them in the past. There they shed their tears. There they repented of their sins, received God’s forgiveness and committed themselves once again to follow Christ more faithfully. There they prayed for a baby and eventually received one. There they prayed for a job and got an offer immediately. There they prayed for reconciliation with their loved ones and became one with each other. These prayer altars are the places of grace where God meets with us and shows Himself to us.

Other than the Sunday when we have baptism right after worship service, I stand in the front to pray for anyone who would come out to receive prayer at the altar. It is always very meaningful for me to do this for our members.

When you come out to receive prayer, I would love to take as much time as possible to hear your stories and prayer needs before you kneel at the prayer altar to be prayed over, but I cannot do that due to the time constraint and also others waiting in line. Therefore, please do the following when you want to come out to the front and receive prayer at the altar:

1. If you have any urgent prayer needs during the week that you would like for me to pray for, please write them down on your communication card that you see inside your bulletin as soon as you come and sit inside the sanctuary. During the closing song that we do right before the benediction, come out to the front, kneel at one of the prayer altars with your communication card in your hand and begin praying silently until I come to you to pray for you.

• If God speaks to you during worship and you would like to receive prayer for a specific need you have in your life, then write it down on the communication card as soon as you get prompted and do the same as above.

• Please know that it is perfectly fine to come out every Sunday to receive prayer. God delights in you who earnestly seek Him and I get encouraged by you who come out and ask for prayers.

• After praying for you, I will take your communication card and use it to pray for you during my early morning prayer for a week.

• If your prayer request gets answered after receiving the prayer from me, it would be encouraging for me to hear about it. Please write me an email sharing about it.

Coming out to the front during the closing song to kneel at the prayer altar and receive prayer after the benediction is a sign of trust and humility. I highly recommend that all the members of New Life do this at least once a year to experience God and His grace.

Your pastor,

Eric