Blessed Sunday to you all.

I will echo Pastor Marc’s greeting this morning with Happy New Year! Today is the first Sunday in Advent. It is the first Sunday in the new year for the church. The first Advent Candle was lit today. Today was the candle of Peace. Peace comes from God because of His love for us.

Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.”

If two of you shall agree... I have claimed this passage many times. When praying for something so very important and heartfelt such as healing, choices and the lifting of one another’s burdens, I have often claimed God’s presence in the midst of those with whom I am praying.

Have you ever thought about what it means to pray God’s presence in the midst of your prayer time? When you ask God to be present with you and another believer(s) you must first be gathered in God’s name. We are bound in a common faith and belief in God through Jesus Christ. You must also pray the desire for God’s will to be carried out. When we invite God to be present and you along with your prayer partner or group are voicing and agreeing on the petitions you are setting before God then your request (God’s presence) is granted. For me this is prayer on a different level.

When I am in my private prayer time I do not always remember to ask God to be present in my prayer and I picture God on His throne and just listening. Sometimes when I am really passionate in my prayer time I visualize myself walking into the throne room and addressing God face to face. Both of these conversations are very one sided. But when I claim God’s presence the prayers are no longer monologues, but change to dialogues. I speak and then listen for God to enter into the conversation. When God enters the conversation it does not mean that God agrees with my request, but that He will listen critically as I am praying with believers who are praying the same prayer. That is when I realize that I must first desire God’s will to be accomplished above all else. There is great power in two or more believers gathered in the name of the Lord, united in Him, bound by a common loyalty and wanting only His will to be accomplished.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and pray with a friend. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.