The Power of Prayer

Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. So he taught them the Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father. He saw how important it was to encourage his followers to pray. They needed to know that it was all part of the power of preaching the gospel once Jesus was gone from them. There is little doubt that they felt they could not carry on as efectively without him. He was a very charismatic figure to them.

In this day and age there tends to be, even in church groups, a belief that prayer might give the person praying some personal comfort but in terms of achieving anything worthwhile it is unlikely at best. Speaking personally, I eventually began to believe this myself. But since I have been acting as an area representative for the charity, Mission Aviation Fellowship, I have found that it is a very powerful tool for the Christian.

We go out to various groups who ask for a speaker and spread the news about MAF and stress that we have not come for a financial donation. We know what we want and it is specifically Prayer, People and Pounds in that order. We are able to show how doing it this way actually delivers the service which is so vital all over the world. All through 2005 I received emails from our manager, telling us the figures that were coming in to our headquarters in Folkestone, Kent. Each email was speaking about targets not just passed but left out of sight. The increase over the 2004 figures ran in excess of 40% all through the year.

By going out making presentations and getting more and more prayer partners the work is prospering. In a day and age full of cut backs and re-scheduling it is wonderful to be able improve our services to those who need us. More and more newsletters go out to those who have signed up to receive them. The newsletters are so informative and readable that they actually inspire supporters to keep on praying for the work we do. By so doing we find our income is always surprising us. Not many organisations can say this in 2006.

It is simply the power of prayer that is seen to be working in an age when our British churches are dwindling in numbers. Our churches should take a look at what is happening at MAF and get the message that prayer does work! Getting out among people is the key to it. Encouraging them to pray for more and more people to reach out for the hand of God is a vital part of what has to be done.