The Power of Prayer

Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.”  He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep.  He said to Peter, “Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”

Then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away* unless I drink it, your will be done.” When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again. Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!”

Matthew 26:36–46 (NLT)

Take a look at this week's video blog: http://youtu.be/4zxZIqgLU4c

When it comes to prayer, there is a mystery that has always excited me. The connection and power available to us through this discipline has always intrigued me and I know I still have much to learn about this dynamic of faith. 

Prayer is as simple as taking to God and listening for His voice, and yet we are told throughout the Bible that when we ask of the Lord He responds in interesting ways. In the Old Testament we even see pictures of how prayer changed the direction of what the Lord may have done (a mystery to me).

So this week, as we move toward Easter, I want to talk about how prayer effects our ministries. Read the passage above that we will be looking at this week in the message and think about these questions:

1. How and when do I currently pray?

2. How does prayer affect the way I serve?

3. Since God is waiting to move based on prayer at times, in what way do I think He wants me to pray for the church, my leadership, and the Easter Services coming up? What other ways may the Lord be asking me to pray?

Announcements:

• ORBC Worship Retreat
• ORBC will be gathering May 2-3. Please block off the evening of of May 2^nd from 6:30 to 8:30PM for an evening of worship and fellowship. Then we will be doing worship leader training from 9 to 4:30PM on Saturday with our Guest Speaker: John Sarno. 
• We will have a Chili Cook-off for lunch! Let me know if you would like to cook for lunch? I will be preparing my own Chili for those that like it medium hot and worship arts will be judging the winner. This is event is for everyone serving in worship arts (tech and performance) on both campuses (Seaford and Salisbury). I will be creating an event shortly and sending you an invite that you will need to register for.
• New Worship Candidate in the Live Venue
• This week we will be hosting a guest (Jeff Hill) and his wife (Nikki). Jeff is interviewing for the position of worship pastor in the Live Venue and will be leading in that venue this week.
• Please be praying for your leaders and for Jeff and his family that God’s voice will be clear with regards to Jeff’s calling to ORBC.
• Devos This Week
• Larry is leading in the Live Venue
• Neil in the Video Venue
• Liz in the Ridge
• Thomas at Seaford
•  Worshipplanning 5.0
• Please let me know if you are having any problems with the new software. We are in testing phase with it and would want to let the manufacturer know. You can also create a trouble ticket as a leader inside the software.