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 Finding Power In Prayer
Early morning’s not primetime for everyone, but according to Jeremy Kwon, pastor of the Mountain View Korean Church, there’s evidence that important spiritual battles are won at the break of day. The church members are discovering there’s power and healing that comes from their Sunday morning prayer sessions. At 6 a.m. every week, approximately 30 people meet at the church. Those who can’t make it have been challenged to start 777 Prayers, which is praying about seven topics of prayer every day for seven days at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The members also completed a 24-hour chain prayer for 10 days while a team from the church went on a mission trip to Indonesia. The prayer service has attracted more than regular church members. In fact, a physician and his wife attend regularly and have become interested in the Adventist lifestyle and begun regular Bible studies. They were baptized this past summer. Their expertise has added another element to the prayer meetings because they lead the group in a stretching-exercise program that will be an additional outreach tool for the community. “God is so good and He has answered all our prayers,” says Kwon. “The church has come together as one again and has become much stronger to carry His mission forward.” Six a.m. in Hanford Considering the House of Hope has around 60 members, having between five and 10 members meet daily for prayer is astounding. Several years ago, a few members began praying early in the morning a couple days a week for their new pastor. “Just to know that people are praying for you makes you feel good,” says Pastor Kenny Fraser. “I felt I had to be a part of it.” The early-morning prayer sessions have grown from two days a week to every day meeting at 6 a.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. on the weekends. For an hour members come together to read scripture, share how God has blessed them and talk about special needs. Prayer topics include missing members, unchurched in the community, church leaders and the country. “We had one lady we started to pray for about two years ago and last year she joined the church and she’s now our church clerk,” he says. “We are the prayer warriors. It’s a power group.” Wednesday Mornings in Oakhurst Church members were also integral in initiating the prayer service at the Oakhurst Seventh-day Adventist Church. “In the fall of 2004, the Lord laid it on my heart to begin a prayer ministry. I told him I needed a break, but He wouldn't let go of me,” says Karen Bergh, an 18-year member of Oakhurst. “I went to our pastor, Jerry Finneman and told him what had been put on my heart.” It was perfect timing because Finneman had just returned from a seminar about prayer and had the same inspiration. Bergh made an announcement in church inviting people to contact her if they were interested and now, nearly two years later, the group is going strong. Averaging six to eight members, the group meets on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. On Sabbath morning, the group meets at 8:30 a.m. and walks through the church praying for the upcoming service. “We have a prayer chain and have started a prayer walk in conjunction with the nondenominational Mountain Ministerial Association,” says Bergh. “It’s a program to have someone walking and praying every day in Oakhurst’s less fortunate area.” And there have been miracles, says Bergh. The church has gone from a sedate congregation to being on fire waiting for what God has in store for them. A wood-cutting program that provides firewood to those in need was going to have to take a winter hiatus due to weather, but they prayed that God would hold the weather back every Thursday morning. He’s answered their prayer and they’ve never had to cancel due to weather. They prayed the same prayer for the Monday homeless lunch program held in an outside park and so far, God has held the rain and the snow off until after every person has finished eating. “The proof of our change is evident every Sabbath in church when we share praise for what God has done to us and through us,” says Bergh. “We’re praying and getting answers and giving Him the glory." ______________________________ Dee Reed writes from southern California. Reprinted with permission from the September 2006 issue of the Pacific Union Recorder. |
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