I believe that churches in seasons of transition are vulnerable to attack from the enemy. He cannot defeat us, but he gets frustrated when the Lord sparks change for the kingdom and he has potential to lose ground. I don’t know that I have a chapter and verse for this, but I have seen it in my experience and I have witnessed it already since being here.
In a way this is a good sign. It may mean the Lord is wanting to do something here among us that He hasn’t been doing. But it is also a reason to pause and seek the Lord in prayer. That is what our God has been impressing on me over the last few weeks–for us to spend time seeking His face for this next season at Lake Hills.
What Are We Praying For?
There are two main emphases of prayer I want us to focus on: (1) protection from spiritual attacks and (2) commitment of the future of Lake Hills to Him.
1. Protection
Jesus told us to pray this in “The Lord’s Prayer.” There he said, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). Jesus prayed in John 17:15: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” In 2 Thessalonians 3:3 we are promised that the Lord will do just that: “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.”
We need to ask for this from the Lord during this season–to deliver our marriages from evil, our children, our church, our life groups, our music ministry, our leadership, etc. I hope you’ll join me in doing so.
Below I’ll show how I suggest we do this, but before then, there’s a second thing I want us to pray about.
2. Commitment
We need to commit the future of Lake Hills to Jesus Christ. We are here for His purposes. We serve at the pleasure of King Jesus. We are not here to do what we want to do, but what He wants to do. We are His servants and the sheep of His pasture.
The Bible says in Psalm 37:5 “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act.” We all know that we want nothing more than to see God move among us–for His kingdom to come and His will to be done.
I don’t want to look back on my time as Pastor at Lake Hills and take pride in the things we’ve accomplished. I want to look back and say, “Wow, God did some things that were way better and bigger than we ever could have done!” I want to say, “Look what Jesus did!”
Already we’ve seen some of that in our personal lives with all the doors that God opened for us to be here. It’s really breathtaking! But wouldn’t it be amazing for Him to keep working in us as an entire church, and not just in bringing a new pastor to Lake Hills?
The Scripture the Spirit has impressed on me is that passage from Psalm 37:5. Let’s commit our way to the Lord, trust in Him and watch Him act.
How Will We Pray?
Several folks have helped me determine three aspects to our prayer initiative called Pray 40. Here’s the first:
1. Concert of Prayer–Sunday, July 23, 6-7:30PM
A concert of prayer is an extended time of dedicated prayer and singing to God as a church family. We will all meet in the main building auditorium on Sunday night, July 23 from 6–7:30PM. Childcare will be available. I will lead us in various types of prayer–personal, in couples, in groups, all together, in various ways and over various topics. Interspersed we’ll sing songs of worship to our God or commitment to Him in a simple way. God has spoken to me so clearly in concerts of prayer in the past, and I am already praying He does something amazing in meeting us there as one church family. Please, begin praying now for God to move among us that evening.
2. Praying the Bible Training–Sunday nights from July 30–August 27 from 6-7PM
Lord willing, I will lead a hands on training of how to pray the Bible on Sunday nights from 6-7pm. We will meet five times through the end of August. Childcare will also be available for the littlest among us. We’ll be utilizing a book called Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney. You will be able to purchase the book for $10, but having the book is not required.
This is a very, very simple method of prayer that anyone, young or old, can do. Each night will include some time of instruction, some time of prayer, and have a chance for feedback/reflection. My next sentence is going to sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. This could change the way you pray for the rest of your life.
3. Prayer Windows–From July 23–September 1 (40 Days)
A “prayer window” is a 30 minute segment of prayer. Each of us will have an opportunity to commit to pray once a week for 30 minutes for God’s protection and our commitment to the Lord Jesus. You will be able to sign up for a time slot between 7AM and 7PM, Monday-Friday. (You may consider fasting in addition to this, at your discretion.)
I would love to see every slot filled (5 days at 24 time slots a day = 120 time slots!). If you would like to pray at church, the auditorium in the main building will be open from 1-2PM Monday-Friday.
You will have an opportunity to sign up in a time slot soon.
This is what the Lord has put on my heart. I pray you all will be receptive to it and that He would be glorified.
Pastor Jacob’s Blog 