Seeking God – Intro

James 5:16-18 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

James reminds us that “the prayer of a righteous person has great power.” You are righteous because of Christ. God has adopted us into His family. There are no orphans in the Kingdom of God. He becomes our Father when we believe in Jesus and we have access to Him. Your prayers have great power. The Greek word for power here is energeho. It means to work, to aid and effect. It has been said before that a person is more powerful in prayer than anywhere else.

We pray because it changes things. Sometimes we think “prayer changes me, that’s why I should do it.” While that is true, it does change you because you are in God’s presence. It gives you a deeper spiritual experience, firmer confidence, and joy in your walk with the Lord. Yes and amen to those things. But, it’s more than that. It’s also powerful! Prayer changes things. The Lord has designed it that way.

We struggle with prayer because we don’t understand how effective it is. Our vision is to be a church that prays and seeks after God. There is a difference between a church that prays and a praying church. Every church “prays,” but not every church is a praying one. This means that prayer is our identity and part of our DNA and drives what we do at The Lakes. It’s not lip service. We learn how to pray, we watch God move and we seek after Him.

This is why we put together this prayer guide for The Lakes Church. We encourage you to use this every day whether that is by yourself, with your spouse or whole family, or with friends. Each day includes a Scripture reference, a short devotional, and a prayer point. We are seeking God as a whole church for the next 21 days and we are going to watch the Lord do immeasurably more than we can ask or even think!