Prayer: A Testimony and An Invitation

Written by Luann Sankey

The Epistles tell believers to pray without ceasing, with thanksgiving, and to be anxious about nothing so that we may have peace. I’d like to share with you a testimony of my own journey with prayer as well as an invitation to respond to scripture’s repeated calls to prayer.  

Five years ago, as part of a small group, I studied Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I came away from this study knowing God is always with me. The presence of the Holy Spirit keeps me connected. His presence makes prayer constant. 

Prayer has been an essential part of my experience of Synod since the day I raised my hand at a classis meeting and agreed to go to Synod 2022. The Holy Spirit guided what happened along the way, even in the anxiety of my name appearing as a candidate for the office of second reporter. Throughout that Synod, my role seemed to be to call people to pray. Whenever I saw stress, I would ask if we could pray. Coming into the presence of God reminds everyone that we are not our own. We were not at Synod for ourselves but to do the will of the Lord. Our denomination is His. The decisions made were so clear and decisive. I continued to pray for the future of our denomination and for the Abide convention later that summer. 

When fall came and Abide Prayer started up again, I joined. I quickly found it to be a blessing. It starts promptly at 9:00am here in California with a short devotion. Someone reads the Prayer Points emailed earlier in the morning. Then we break into small groups of 4-5 people, and we pray. For twenty-five minutes the Holy Spirit leads. The purpose is to pray for the work and the character of the Abide Project. This leads into the need for our denomination to hold fast, to abide in the truth of God’s word. This is trusting prayer, looking-to-the-future prayer, prayer for those who are same-sex attracted, and prayer that looks to God to direct all that happens through Abide and the CRCNA. Promptly at 9:30, we are sent from our Zoom rooms ready to face the world in His name. 

Living on the Western Frontier, my congregation is far from Grand Rapids. Praying with believers from all over the US and Canada gives hope in a culture that wants to deny God’s truth. When we pray together week after week on Tuesdays, we see God’s hand reaching across our continent and beyond. Prayer is not a checklist of wants that God fills. Prayer is walking with God, seeing Him at work and living in thankfulness for our salvation through Jesus Christ and His refining work. 

Please join us on Tuesday mornings at 12:00 Eastern, 9:00 Pacific for Abide Prayer. Or if you can’t join in person, you can still pray through each week’s prayer points. Simply send us your email address and you’ll be sent a weekly email with a Zoom link and items for prayer. 

Abide Prayer will meet each Tuesday until Synod 2024. Let’s seek God together in prayer. (Then we will start again in Fall of 2024)

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen     Ephesians 3:20-21