We believe that prayer undergirds everything that we do; that prayer is the motivating force, and the power of the Holy Spirit is how we are able to be fruitful. We want to continue to undergird ARM in prayer, therefore, we are inviting you to join us for a light breakfast on on Friday, November 19, 2021, at 200 N 26th Street, Opelika, AL 36801, from 7:30am – 8:00am. We will be praying for some of our homeowners, and the overall ministry of ARM. We hope that you will join us, the tickets are free to come, and if you would like to make a donation for the breakfast when you register or on the morning of the event, we would greatly appreciate it. You may use the link below for more details and registration:
In the Bible, prayer is defined as worship that includes all the attitudes of the human spirit in its approach to God. The Christian worships God when he adores, confesses, praises and supplicates him in prayer. This highest activity of which the human spirit is capable may also be thought of as communion with God, so long as due emphasis is laid upon divine initiative. A man prays because God has already touched his spirit.
Prayer is possible because the triune God is personal, and has so revealed himself that men and women, made in His image, may address Him by name. Because God is holy, sin breaks the fellowship in which prayer is acceptable to him. God’s gracious work of salvation restores and renews that fellowship through Jesus Christ. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, prayed to His heavenly Father in unbroken communion. Jesus began His public ministry in prayer (Luke 3:21); He prayed in solitude before dawn (Mark 1:35); and marked the turning points of His ministry with periods of prayer (Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:18). And before Jesus went to the cross, He agonized in prayer, submitting to His Father’s will (Matthew 26:36–44).
The Lord promises to hear and answer our prayers as we pray according to His will (1 John. 5:14, 15). To pray according to God’s will means to make God’s Word the guide for our prayers, to seek that His revealed will should be done on earth as in heaven. Prayer seeks God’s will in faith, believing in His power to answer in His created universe (Matthew 21:21, 22). Faith does not use prayer as a technique to alter consciousness, but as an address to the living God. On the other hand, prayer is not made pointless by the sovereign power of God. Our prayers, no less than their answers, are part of His design. It is God’s will and promise: that prayer indeed changes things (James 5:16–18).
The communion of prayer deepens faith and love for God, not only as we draw near to Him, but as we reach out in intercession for fellow Christians and for a lost world.
Let us pray for the impoverished, hungry, and neglected all over the world; that their cries for daily bread serve as an inspiration to serve and aide their needs with compassion and mercy amongst those that have been blessed to have more. Indeed, the image of God is alive in every human being, regardless of their financial, social, cultural status; or their residential dwelling. Every person deserves a sense of dignity and respect that should never be broken, infringed or dishonored.
Let us pray that the hearts of those who are joyous in their abundance and prosperities, have their hearts lifted up to meet the needs of those less fortunate; and that partnerships may be created and strengthened in shared desires of compassion, to act in solidarity, and share their time, energy, skills, talents and abundance, with no hidden agendas, to bring about the change that answers the cries of the poor and afflicted.
The heart of the biblical doctrine of prayer is well expressed by B. F. Westcott: “True prayer—the prayer that must be answered—is the personal recognition and acceptance of the divine will (Mark. 11:24). It follows that the hearing of prayer which teaches obedience is not so much the granting of a specific petition, which is assumed by the petitioner to be the way to the end desired, but the assurance that what is granted does most effectively lead to the end. Thus we are taught that Christ learned that every detail of His life and passion contributed to the accomplishment of the work, which He came to fulfil, and so He was most perfectly ‘heard’. In this sense He was ‘heard for his godly fear’.”
Yours faithfully,
Rev. Anthony Cook
Director of Housing Ministry
Alabama Rural Ministry
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