Max Lucado invites you to PRAY
We are unaccustomed to such images: Health workers clad in head-to-toe protective gear. Emergency response teams loading and unloading patients into awaiting ambulances. A journalist kneeling in the desert wearing an orange jump suit and somber face. Standing over him, a man in a mask wielding a blade; then using it to do the unthinkable.
Ebola. ISIS. World plague? Barbarism?
Are we living in a science fiction novel? Parents want to protect their kids. Hospitals want to help the sick. The world seems on edge. We feel helpless. Is there anything we can do? Absolutely!
It is time for us to pray. Here is my idea: PrayFirst- an Online Prayer Gathering, livestreamed on Monday, October 20, from 6:00 to 6:30 pm CST. We will join our hearts and ask God to help us. Can you join us for prayer? Can you help get the word out? Ask your church to announce it. Use your social media outlets. Tell your friends. Share the link below and #prayfirst. We really need help. We really need to pray.
Prayer is a pathway to solidarity. Rather than point fingers or cast blame, let’s bend knees and seek help. None of us has all the solutions, but all of us can pray. All of us, all over the world, are in this together. Let’s stand together in prayer.
Prayer leads to peace. According to the Apostle Paul, the first fruit of prayer is peace: “…let your requests be made known to God…and the peace of God will guard your hearts.” -Phil. 4:6-7Let’s take a stand against panic. Nothing good comes from a raging sense of fear. The best decisions are made in an atmosphere of calm. Prayer helps create this atmosphere.
Prayer moves the heart of God.“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” -James 5:16 NKJVScripture is replete with this assurance:
“Always pray and never lose hope.” -Lk. 18:1 NCV “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer out of it, my Father in heaven goes into action.” -Mt. 18:19 MSG And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. -1 Jn. 5:14 NLTYour prayers matter. Most likely, you won’t be researching ways to cure the virus or defeat the terrorists, but you can do this. You can lift your prayers to God. Let’s do. Let’s join our hearts and pray.
Join us on Monday: October 20, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. CST
Wherever you are in the world, log on and pray.
–Max
October 17, 2014
