Experiencing Joy

I used to go to Prayer Meeting on Wednesday nights.  It was like going to church.  There was a set way to do the program for years.  We sang, had opening prayer, the Pastor gave a sermon, we had prayer and left.  Though there were things said that touched me Prayer Meeting was just another meeting. When we first moved here there was Prayer Meeting.  But it eventually died out.  No one was interested.

I read Jim Cymbala's book Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.  He wrote about his experience as the Pastor at Brooklyn Tabernacle Church.  Because of Prayer Meeting his church was overwhelming blessed.  His membership in the beginning was very small but today is in the thousands at three different locations.  They have a 300 member choir that has won Dove awards.  His wife is the Choir Director who couldn't even read music.  It's an awesome testimony.

Our current Pastor, Jim, read that book too. It impressed him. Our world wide church called all churches to pray for the Holy Spirit.  They sent material on how to do this.  We started with meeting together for 10 days of prayer in the morning by phone conference and in the evening at the church.  After the 10 days we continued to have prayer on Wednesday nights.  This Prayer Meeting is exactly that!  Prayer.  Pastor Jim likes to sing.  He prays through singing.  So we sing and pray and read Bible texts.  We pray for forgiveness, give thanks, for receiving the Holy Spirit, for people and much more. We keep it to an hour but this last time we went over.  Here's why.

In the previous meeting we talked about praying for others in our community and asked God to give us that opportunity.  Pastor found a husband and wife to come for prayer.  They don't go to our church but are from our community.  They were experiencing a sudden life change.  The man had been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease three weeks before and the wife was taking it very hard.  She wept almost the whole time she sat there.  Pastor Jim explained to them what we do and had oil ready if the husband chose to be anointed.  We sang songs, read promises about healing, caring, trusting in God, forgiveness, and more.  We prayed over these texts and claimed them for this couple.  We asked for spiritual healing as well as physical healing.  We shared stories of how we got through similar trials. Amazingly the husband agreed to be anointed and Pastor anointed the wife too. 

After the prayer time was over you could tell that this couple was amazed. They couldn't believe that a group of people who didn't even know them before that evening could love them so much.  They left there very encouraged. We let them know that they could come anytime they wanted and we would be there to help support any way we could. I don't know how this is going to turn out, but I know God has something big planned for them.  But most of all we felt the Holy Spirit working. He gave us the right things to say, sing, and pray for. He gave us tender hearts to love without condition. 

Pastor mentioned to me on the way out, "Wasn't that awesome?  God is so amazing!"  Pastor Jim had been worn out before he came to the meeting.  He told me that he was spent from a very intense day.  But God gave him the strength and energy he needed to lead us in a wonderful experience with these folks. 

God has said, "Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My alter; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." Isaiah 56:7, 8.  This is the kind of joy I want to experience.