CONTINUED CALL TO PRAY - Hampshire county

December, 2013

Psalm 109:4, "I give myself unto prayer"
Colossians 4:2, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving"

At the close of a year and then upon the beginning of a New Year it is an opportunity to evaluate.  We should ponder what we was able to do and what we left undone.  No greater words of regret for a wasted life than, 'what might have been'.  So this gives us a moment to answer the question about where we are and where we are going.  Circumstances of life are always happening around us in our homes, churches and county.  We have seen times of rejoicing, and times of sorrow; times of victory and times of defeat; times of advancement and times of losing ground.  What does this past year say about you?  What will the next year say about you?

At the heart of all this for the church and each personal Christian is our prayer life.  The prayer life is what enables us to walk in Spirit and prevail over the circumstances of our life.  The failure in our prayer life is what allows for defeats, greater tragedies and for Satan to advance in our homes, county and nation.  At the heart of this spiritual battle is Satan coming against the church and our own personal walk with Christ.  Show me the church getting on fire for the cause of Christ, and I will show you where the devil will douse a bucket of water on that fire.  Show me a Christian that resolves in a New Year to do better and be better in service for their Lord and I will show you the devil putting up road blocks and stumbling obstacles to keep them and trip them up from their holy vow.  It is the prayer life that suffers the most because of Satan's attacks.  We lose heart, we lose focus, we have weak faith.

With all the tragedies that befall our county, our families, and our own life, one would think we would be the most active in prayer for God's help and mercy.  But the truth is, that most only think of prayer and are active in prayer when tragedy really hits.  When the doctor gives the news, 'that's its cancer' - we give ourselves to prayer;  when our families are in strife and trouble - 'I need to pray';  when our churches are weak and at odds - 'we need to pray'.  The truth is, that it is trials and troubles that force God's Own people to consider their prayer life.  It will be revealed in heaven how many strife's, trials and assaults of our enemy we could have prevented had we been in prayer all along. 

It is a sad statement for our own county, that too many of our churches go week after week with no hour of prayer.  Simply doing what we have always done, because that's what we do is not sufficient.  We sing 'Sweet Hour of Prayer' and in honesty, we couldn't answer when the last time we prayed an hour.  Out of 52 weeks last year, how much corporate praying did your church do each week?  How much prayer did you do for Your Lord's Kingdom?  And with no prayer, there is no power by God's hand.  Now many will immediately answer with, 'but we have the numbers'.  The ball games have numbers; the bars have numbers; the concerts and suppers have numbers. So what about numbers?  Is there Spiritual life and power within? 

"The Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save; neither His ear is heavy that He cannot hear; But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear."  Brethren, we can't go on like this!  Drugs are ravaging our loved ones;  almost an entire younger generation is being raised in our county without any knowledge of God or His Word;  too many homes are dealing with tragedies of death and dying without hope and the presence of Christ.  Out of a population of 24,000 (rounded off estimate) we only have 2,500 people in church on any given Sunday morning.  Barely 10% are active in church and faithful in serving; and yet we wonder why God is absent from our schools, our homes and our county?  Is it not because our sins have hid His face from us and He will not hear our prayers? 

Then what shall we do?  Let us repent and cry out to Him for mercy.  He is merciful and longsuffering; He is willing that none should perish.  Let us go to His throne together and seek His face for help. 

Brethren, we have kept weekly prayer meetings at Zoar and Fox's Hollow beseeching you to join us on behalf of our county.  During times of death and dying, cancer, tragedies, calamities, drug and alcohol usage, physical and emotional abuse in homes and to our kids we have prayed; praying for the 90 churches in our county, praying for revival to come to Christ's churches here; praying against the sin, the lostness, the blindness of men's souls, we have continued.  'When evil comes in like a flood' and evil has come to our county, then 'God raises a standard against it', this standard is the prayer meeting.  Brethren let's return to where our power in God is at, let's return to prayer - corporately, individually and let us be obedient as we have been instructed, 'continue in prayer'.