Starting from this Tuesday, we will begin our Lighthouses of Prayer ministry. We are doing this in response to the challenge God has given us during this year??s fall retreat in the area of prayer in our lives. We all know in our heads that persistent and fervent prayer is absolutely vital for any Christ follower and God??s church to grow and mature in Christ. However, it is not that easy developing a prayerful life on our own especially when we are spiritually young. We need support, encouragement and challenge from one another in order for us to develop the habit of prayer. And when we do our part as best as we know how, God will certainly honor our sincere effort by doing His part in helping us become men and women of prayer. We do the possible, and then, God does the impossible. In fact, God delights in us when we make an earnest attempt to develop our prayer life because it is through prayer and His Word we overcome the temptations of the devil and expand God??s kingdom in this world
??Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another?Xand all the more as you see the Day approaching.?? (Hebrews 10: 25)
??And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.?? (Ephesians 6: 18)
Therefore, prayer is not an option for us. It is a must for all Christ followers. Furthermore, we must continue to learn and train ourselves to become better and stronger prayer warriors! And I believe that Lighthouses of Prayer could be an invaluable tool for many of you who yearn to cultivate and improve your prayer life, grow in faith, and draw closer to God.
Every Tuesday morning at 6AM before we go to work or school, we will gather together at six different Lighthouses that are located all over the city of Houston (To find the Lighthouse that is nearest your home, please look at the yellow insert in your bulletin today!). And under the leadership of the facilitator of your Lighthouse, you will pray until 6:50AM. It will be very important for all the Lighthouses to end the prayer no later than by 6:50AM since many of us will need to go to work or school immediately after the prayer.
This ministry will strengthen our already strong prayer ministry here at New Life. For those who are relatively new to New Life, let me introduce to you our current prayer ministry where you can participate and serve.
House of Prayer
Every first Wednesday of each month at 7PM, we gather together in the trailer for the purpose of praising God, getting equipped with the Word, partaking of the Lord??s Supper and praying for various needs corporately and individually.
Sunday morning intercessory prayer
Married men, single men, married women and single women take one month at a time (Married men are responsible for January, single men February, married women March, single women April and the rotation repeats itself) to come to church on Sunday morning at 9:45AM to pray and intercede on behalf of our world, nation, state, city, church and families. We take the first ten minutes for refreshments and then spend the rest of the time to pray. This takes place in The Upper Room next to the gym lounge.
Monday morning men??s prayer
Every Monday morning, both married and single men gather together at the trailer at 6AM for the purpose of accountability and prayer.
Quarterly Monday morning prayer for all
During the months of January, April, July and October, we take a break from Monday morning men??s prayer and invite the entire church to come to the trailer at 6AM for corporate and individual prayers. During these Mondays, our lay leaders take turns to share their 15-minute testimonial messages before the prayer time!
I will visit all the Lighthouses in the future to encourage and support you. However, I will not regularly participate in any one of them. I come to church at 5:30AM every morning except on Tuesdays and begin my day by spending an hour and thirty minutes praying for you and New Life. And on Saturdays I participate in the Korean Speaking Congregation??s (KSC) Early Dawn Prayer at 6:30AM. As many of you know, Tuesdays are my off days and I would like to spend at least one morning out of each week to drive my kids to school or see them getting into the school bus! ??
I am very thankful for those of you who are taking the ownership of this ministry without much guidance and instruction from me and running with it. This is a sign of New Life maturing and growing in Christ!
I pray that our hearts, homes and church will set ablaze for God through the Lighthouse of Prayer!
Your pastor,
Eric
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