Hello ICC Family!
In September Pastor Jimmy preached a sermon about prayer in which he encouraged us to pray earnestly, desperately, consistently, expectantly, and sacrificially. Because of his passion - that was a result of all that he and Sister Jan experienced this past year, the sermon touched all of us. That desperation for seeing God work and show us his character and his glory is something we want to develop this year at ICC!
This evening we will be kicking off our Wednesday fellowship dinner and prayer service once again. In the months ahead we are going to focus singularly on desperate prayer. We might sing a song or two at the beginning. We will have a verse to focus our thoughts and our hearts on our desperate need for Christ. But then we will pray - sometimes individually, sometimes in pairs or groups, sometimes all together. The focus will not be on eloquent prayer, or comprehensive prayer, or powerful prayer - although it would be wonderful if our prayers were all of those. No, our focus will be on pleading with our Lord and Savior to do amazing and miraculous things because without him we will fail. Desperation!
Hopefully our desperation will motivate each of us to be involved in the Pray Charleston effort on the 3rd Thursday of each month as well. We will hear more about this on Sunday, as I realized that there were some misconceptions around what is involved. Pray Charleston is not an event or a meeting that you have to attend. To be a part of it, you simply have to commit to praying for a half an hour on the 3rd Thursday of the month. You can do this in your own home - by yourself, or with your family… you decide. We will have a prayer guide that you can use that will give specific ideas and requests for you to lift up. Please take a look at the instructions below and sign up for a time slot to join us!
Desperate prayer was displayed by thousands of people across the U.S. a couple of years ago. Just a couple of weeks after we moved to Goose Creek and I started as pastor, I was watching a Monday night football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. Bills player Damar Hamlin, after a routine tackle, stood up and then collapsed. The announcers were saying that it seemed like medical personnel were doing CPR on him as everybody in the stands and on TV watched. The game was suspended, and announcers that typically steer very clear from saying anything about faith or religion were forced into a situation where there were only spiritual things to talk about. Teammates, people in the stands, commentators… everyone was praying. Desperately praying. Coaches and players, former and present, posted appeals to “Pray for Damar.” Former quarterback Dan Orlovsky, discussing the game with two panelists on ESPN, did something I have never seen before: He bowed his head and actually prayed—with two other commentators - on air.
When people are desperate - they pray. Let’s strive to develop desperate hearts for God to move in us and through us! (Damar Hamlin survived, by the way. God answers prayer!)
Blessings to you all. And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
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