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Pastor's Page

Posted on September 18, 2003 ...

Have you noticed that specific places can have a certain 'power' about them. A visit to my grandparent's house, my home church or my college campus can stir warm emotions in me. A view of a beautiful scene in nature can send a chill up my spine. There are government and military locations that fill my heart with patriotism.

The Bible tells of locations that were endearing because of encounters with God. Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven. When he awoke he built an altar and called the place 'Bethel' or 'house of God.' (Genesis 28) During Moses' encountered God through a Burning Bush, he was told to lead the people out of Egyptian slavery and back to that very mountain (Mt. Sinai) to worship Him (Exodus 3). Daniel prayed three times a day at a window facing Jerusalem (Daniel 6). While in Jerusalem, Jesus apparently enjoyed spending time in prayer at the Garden of Gethsemane.

While we can share in prayer any place, praying at specific places can enhance our experience of prayer. Therefore, during our Fall Family Portrait emphasis, we are calling on the church family to pray over our houses, church, and communities.

In our Welcome Center you will find instructions for PrayerWalking both in our neighborhoods and in our church facilities. PrayerWalking is simply walking through a community and praying for the families of each residence you pass. Printed notes are available in the Welcome Center for you to leave on the doors or mailboxes in the communities through which you walk. If it is physically taxing for your to walk, instead, you could drive slowly down the street, lifting up each home in prayer or you could use your imagination to 'mentally' walk through a neighborhood and pray for each home. Then, the next time you are here, use a marker to highlight the streets where you PrayerWalked on the large map in the Welcome Center.

Similarly, we want you to pray over all our congregation's facilities. In the next couple of weeks, go to different rooms in our church and pray for the people who meet in those spaces and for the ministries that take place there. Again, use a marker to note the room(s) where you prayed on the map of the church also in the Welcome Center.

I recently created a screensaver for my computer that randomly scrolls through photographs of many of our church families. As I see these faces, I say a word of prayer and praise for each one. If you'd like a copy of this screensaver, I'll be happy to email the file to you. Just