Thursday, December 19, 2024

Sister Tarpley: A Small Group That Prays

Sister Rachel Lewis, Sister Elma (Sister “Tee”) Turner, last lunch for 2018 because Sister “Tee” is moving back to Connecticut. (Image: Sis. Tarpley / NDG)

By: Sister Shirley Tarpley, NDG Religion Editor

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.  When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’

Luke 11:1

God is calling out a remnant of Christians’ believers throughout the world who understand the role of prayer in their community and work place.  These people have learned that prayer is not a five-minute exercise in the morning devotion time, but it is a vital strategic tool to discern and know God’s will and purposes in their work lives.  You see they have learned that their lives are their ministries to God and others.  These men and women have entered into covenant relationships with intercessory prayer partners who help discern the activities they should be involved in.  Some even have paid staff, who intercede for the decisions and activities in which they will be involved. They are a small trace of believers who know that skill and technique are not enough to fulfill God’s purposes.

A servant of the Lord has well said:  Prayer is the rail for God’s work.  Indeed, prayer is to God’s will as rails are to a train.  The locomotive is full of power:  it is capable of running a thousand miles a day.  But if there are no rails, it cannot move forward a single inch.  If it dares to move without them, it will soon sink into the earth.  It may be able to travel over great distances, yet it cannot go to any place where no rails have been laid.  And such is the relation between prayer and God’s work.  Without any doubt God is almighty and He works mightily, but He will not and cannot work if you and I do not labor together with Him in prayer, prepare the way for His will, and pray “with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:18) to grant Him the maneuverability to so work.

Many are the things, which God wills to do, and would like to do, but His hands are bound because His children do not sympathize with Him and have not prayed so as to prepare ways for Him.  Let me say to all who have wholly given themselves to God: Do examine yourselves and see if in this respect you have limited Him day after day.

Is prayer a vital part of your strategic business practices?  Put prayer on the front lines, instead of making it an afterthought.  You will begin to see renewed power in your work life.
Thank God for all of the special people He has placed in your life to complete you.  Thank God for your friends who are truly friends, for your Christian brothers and sisters.  Pray now for those who do not have a special person to complete their lives.  Ask God to send the right person along who can be the one to offer them some encouragement, friendship, loving guidance, unconditional love, and to just be there for them.  Pray that a bond of Christian love with develop and that both people will be uplifted.  Ask God to forgive you for not always letting the special people know how much they mean to you, and to help you to show them their importance in your life.   Praise God and thank Him for always being there for you also, and for His promise to never leave nor forsake you.  Pray in Jesus’ name, He is the one who paid the price for you to go boldly you God.

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