“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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 Lord’s people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph. 6:14-20).
After the members of our fellowship decided to meet at the site of the future Center of Influence to pray together, we made it a weekly activity. Afterward, we take a prayer walk together through the surrounding neighborhood. We all have noticed a difference. Before we started these prayer sessions, the construction had stopped for about two months due to broken equipment and other unknown factors.
But since we began our on-site prayers, each week we’ve seen progress in the construction and answers to our other prayers as well. We have been praying for the construction crews and their families and for their work to move forward without further delays. The electrical wiring in the floors is now finished, the floors have been poured and prepared for tile, the windowsills have been installed, the walls have been prepped for paint, and we have seen many more signs of progress.
We prayed that God would lead us to people in whom His Spirit is working and that we would be bold and invite them to begin Bible studies. Since then, two of our young adults now have started regular Bible studies with friends, and two of those friends have now joined our Sabbath worship. Also, a woman I had helped when she was having difficulty nursing her baby has asked Sean and me to have Bible studies with her whole family!
We prayed about the sudden, debilitating pain that two of our members were experiencing, which landed them in the hospital. After our special times of prayer, the pain completely left both of them.
We prayed for all of those working in the fields around the world and for all of their supporters and prayer warriors. We look forward to hearing how those prayers have been answered.
This week, perhaps you can join us in prayer. We are in need of new monthly donors to help our project carry on. Also, we are praying for an especially active young-adult church member who has been experiencing persecution from family members. He is one of the two people who experienced healing from pain and is actively leading Bible studies. Pray that he and the rest of us will never forget to put on the armor of God, to pray always, and to speak boldly about the gospel of peace.
