Where were you last Sunday evening between 5:30 and 6:30? (Sounds like a question they would ask on Law and Order, huh?) I can tell you where twenty people were. They were gathered for prayer in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church. Here's what happened:
Eric Briscoe, who serves as one of our elders, began the meeting by drawing our attention to the first verse of Psalm 116: "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy." If we are believers, there are many times that the Lord has heard our cries for mercy. But the initial cry was calling on Him to save us, much like the tax collector in Luke 18:13, who "standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'"
The next twenty minutes were spent doing nothing but thanking God for saving us. Multiple prayers were offered to God, one right after the other, each one being its own unique testimony of God's saving power. In hearing one another's prayers to God, we were blessed to learn how each one came to faith in Christ. Each story was different. Each account was precious.
Eric then took us back to Scripture, this time to Psalm 66:18: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear." We were reminded that sin hinders our prayers. Confession is therefore a big part of the Christian life. In his New Testament epistle, James reminds us that we are healed as we confess our sins and faults to one another and pray for one another (5:16). The congregation was encouraged to confess any known sins, and even to ask God to search their hearts, exposing any blind areas (Psalm 139:23-24). We could pray silently or allowed, however the Spirit of God led us. Many confessions were vocalized, and we realized that in one form or another, we are all guilty of many of the same sins. As we prayed, our confessions of sin were mingled with renewed thankfulness for God's forgiveness and mercy in Christ.
After this portion of our prayer time was ended, Eric asked for the names of five people who are unsaved and therefore in desperate need of God's saving mercy and grace. Immediately five names were shared, most of whom had heard the gospel but had yet to believe. Several fervent prayers were offered on their behalf, confident cries to God for their salvation.
One hour last Sunday, twenty souls joined their hearts together in thanksgiving to God for His awesome salvation ... poured out their hearts together in sincere and contrite confession ... and prayed with great fervor for the salvation of lost loved ones and friends. In the midst of it all, we were reminded just how great and merciful our Father in heaven is to us His children. We left on a spiritual high, more intimate with God and one another than we had been sixty minutes earlier.
All this took place one hour last Sunday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. How did you spend that hour?
Eric Briscoe, who serves as one of our elders, began the meeting by drawing our attention to the first verse of Psalm 116: "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy." If we are believers, there are many times that the Lord has heard our cries for mercy. But the initial cry was calling on Him to save us, much like the tax collector in Luke 18:13, who "standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'"
The next twenty minutes were spent doing nothing but thanking God for saving us. Multiple prayers were offered to God, one right after the other, each one being its own unique testimony of God's saving power. In hearing one another's prayers to God, we were blessed to learn how each one came to faith in Christ. Each story was different. Each account was precious.
Eric then took us back to Scripture, this time to Psalm 66:18: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear." We were reminded that sin hinders our prayers. Confession is therefore a big part of the Christian life. In his New Testament epistle, James reminds us that we are healed as we confess our sins and faults to one another and pray for one another (5:16). The congregation was encouraged to confess any known sins, and even to ask God to search their hearts, exposing any blind areas (Psalm 139:23-24). We could pray silently or allowed, however the Spirit of God led us. Many confessions were vocalized, and we realized that in one form or another, we are all guilty of many of the same sins. As we prayed, our confessions of sin were mingled with renewed thankfulness for God's forgiveness and mercy in Christ.
After this portion of our prayer time was ended, Eric asked for the names of five people who are unsaved and therefore in desperate need of God's saving mercy and grace. Immediately five names were shared, most of whom had heard the gospel but had yet to believe. Several fervent prayers were offered on their behalf, confident cries to God for their salvation.
One hour last Sunday, twenty souls joined their hearts together in thanksgiving to God for His awesome salvation ... poured out their hearts together in sincere and contrite confession ... and prayed with great fervor for the salvation of lost loved ones and friends. In the midst of it all, we were reminded just how great and merciful our Father in heaven is to us His children. We left on a spiritual high, more intimate with God and one another than we had been sixty minutes earlier.
All this took place one hour last Sunday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. How did you spend that hour?