The Real Work

We get e-mails daily from our pastor in The Woodlands. Today's reminded me of all of you...awesome prayer warriors! Thank you for sacrificially praying for us. Just had to share:

The Real Work

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:16

Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus. Because he loved them, he prayed for them.

It’s that simple. Prayer is an act of love. It is an act of sacrificial love. If you are a follower of Jesus and you care about a person, then you pray for that person.

Paul prayed.

Paul prayed because he knew that prayer was the real work of ministry. Prayer was not a preliminary activity or an optional activity to Paul. Prayer was the main thing he did.

Because prayer accesses the power of God. Prayer accesses the heart of God. Prayer accesses the mind of God.

Prayer is not you and your resources reaching out to help someone. Prayer is you and God’s resources reaching out to help someone.

What’s bigger than that? What’s grander than that? What’s higher than that?

Prayer is important. It is vitally important. But it is not easy. It is a sacrifice. It takes time. It takes energy. It takes heart. If you pour your heart out for someone, you bleed inside. “Prayer is a sacrifice, a bleeding sacrifice.” (John Henry Jowett)

Furthermore, prayer is quite often unseen, unnoticed, unapplauded and unappreciated. But that’s OK. God sees. God notices. God applauds. God appreciates.

Because prayer is the main work of ministry.

Do you intercede in prayer for the people in your life? Do you frequently and fervently call out to God for your friends, your loved ones, your church? I hope so. I hope so.

Lives are changed because of the intercessors. History is changed because of the intercessors. History belongs to the intercessors.

Prayer is the real work.

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These daily e-mails are written by Jeff Wells, Sr. Pastor at WoodsEdge Community Church. To hear our weekly messages or to find out more about WoodsEdge please go to http://www.woodsedge.org/.

© 2007 WoodsEdge Community Church. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced for any non-commercial use with proper attribution.