Thoughts on Prayer from the
Heart of a Pastor
by Pastor Wilmer J. Olszewski

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." — 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

Pray, Pray, Pray! I'm reminded of the Steven Curtis Chapman song, "Let Us Pray." In the song, Chapman encourages us by stating, "let us pray every moment of the day, it is the right time, let us pray without end and when we finish start again, like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray." During this year we are making a special effort to call the church to prayer. Many individuals have commented that our church has a good prayer ministry and that they can sense that the Holy Spirit is here. Praise the Lord for the truth of His presence with us, but we need to grow deeper in our relationship with Him. We will see more conversions, more growth in the Lord, and more miracles as we pray. The challenge is to pray continually for the work that God wants to do in our midst.

The passage in II Thessalonians gives us several things to pray for:

• Pray that God may count us worthy of the calling. Do you realize how awesome a privilege it is to minister to others?
• Pray that God will fulfill every purpose that is prompted by your faith. Do you have a reason for serving the Lord? Let the Lord show you through prayer how to use your gifts and talents and how to increase your faith.
• Pray that the name of the lord will be glorified. Are you praying that everything you do brings glory to the name of the Lord? Are we praying that the work done in the church will bring glory to the name of Jesus?

It is important to pray and for this reason I challenge you to make prayer a significant part of your every day and of your life. I encourage the church to make prayer a significant ministry of this church. In receiving this challenge, I urge you to do the following:

• Pray regularly.
• Commit to praying and fasting on the third Monday of each month for the vision of the Church.
• Find a ministry or leader in the church that you can pray for and with on a regular basis.
• Support the prayer ministry of the church.

As you finish reading this, pray that the Lord Jesus will be glorified in your life, in your home, and in the life of the Church. I'm praying for conversions, growth, miracles, and you!