Prayer

Prayer is . . .

drawing near to God through faith in quiet contemplation and with bold requests. Prayer is one of the most underused weapons in our spiritual arsenal. Paul encouraged the Ephesians to put on the armor of God to fight the spiritual battle, but he emphasized above all that prayer be made on all occasions (Ephesians 6:18). Jesus also reminded his followers to pray through his example of often withdrawing to a quiet place to pray (e.g. Matthew 14:23).

In many churches prayer has been relegated to a particular meeting or to a particular group of members. Prayer, however, is one of the six primary purposes of the church, and as such, should be fundamental to everything that happens in the church. The articles in this section provide suggestions that will aid churches in building a wide-reaching prayer ministry and in increasing the intentionality of prayer within the local body.

"Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything,
by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God."

Philippians 4:6 NIV