Prayer Ministries

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Welcome to Prayer Ministries

United in the Fellowship of Prayer
(http://www.adventist.org/world_church/official_meetings/2003annualcouncil/koh_devotional.html)

Devotional by Linda Mei Lin Koh, Director of the Children's Ministries Department

At least three lessons for Christian living can be drawn from this story of Jacob as we reflect on the topic, "Unity in the Fellowship of Prayer."

Lesson One--Church Unity and Fellowship Begin on the Knees
The God of heaven hears prayer because He is the living God. He is not just the Old Testament God or the New Testament God. He is the living God. It was not a waste of breath when the ancient Jews repeatedly called on the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and so on. We serve an eternal, living God.

Lesson Two--Jesus is the Ladder to Church Unity, Fellowship, and Prayer Life
The ladder reveals the true nature and meaning of prayer. Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 184 and 185, identifies the ladder as representing Jesus who is the only means capable of bridging the gulf between heaven and earth. What causes the gulf? Our sin, of course. People today try to shrink this word into meaning things like bad judgment, inappropriate behavior, or an alternate lifestyle.

United in the Fellowship of Prayer
(http://www.adventist.org/world_church/official_meetings/2003annualcouncil/koh_devotional.html)

Devotional by Linda Mei Lin Koh, Director of the Children's Ministries Department

At least three lessons for Christian living can be drawn from this story of Jacob as we reflect on the topic, "Unity in the Fellowship of Prayer."

Lesson One--Church Unity and Fellowship Begin on the Knees
The God of heaven hears prayer because He is the living God. He is not just the Old Testament God or the New Testament God. He is the living God. It was not a waste of breath when the ancient Jews repeatedly called on the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, and so on. We serve an eternal, living God.

Lesson Two--Jesus is the Ladder to Church Unity, Fellowship, and Prayer Life
The ladder reveals the true nature and meaning of prayer. Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 184 and 185, identifies the ladder as representing Jesus who is the only means capable of bridging the gulf between heaven and earth. What causes the gulf? Our sin, of course. People today try to shrink this word into meaning things like bad judgment, inappropriate behavior, or an alternate lifestyle. Whatever it may be, sin causes a gulf, a separation, an alienation that separates the human being from his Creator God. That alienation multiplies among the human family, spills over to our physical environment, and will sooner or later destroy us and our environment. Sin causes separation. It alienates and destroys. That is its nature and its work. Because of sin we have lost our unity, community, and communion with God. We should have a healthy respect for the horror of sin and its destructive power. No made-man device can bridge the gulf made by sin and heal the wound of broken relationships, save that ladder that spans the distance between heaven and earth in Jacob's dream. The great ladder reestablishes the line of communication and rebuilds community and unity between heaven and earth.

Lesson Three--Covenantal Responsibility through Prayer Life, Fellowship, and Church Unity
Jacob was laden with overwhelming guilt for the deceptions he had practiced. He was fearful, but he was tortured even more by guilt. He was looking for a quick removal of his crushing burden. As Patriarchs and Prophets points out, Jacob was looking for forgiveness, but the Lord offered him a Saviour. He was sorrowful for the way he obtained the spiritual birthright, but the Lord offered him a renewal of the great covenant made with Abraham.

In reading the SDA Bible Dictionary on the topic of biblical covenants, it appears to me that the various covenants God made with man center on the privilege as well as on the grave responsibility of the covenantal people. The privilege and responsibility of the covenant relationship finally has to do with God's great work of salvation. It is a great privilege to be entrusted with the message of God's great salvation for the world. It is an equally great responsibility we have been given to bring the message to the world. It was promised that through Abraham the world would be blessed. The blessing for the family of Abraham was intended to be shared with the whole world. That is God's covenantal design. That covenantal design was extended to Jacob's descendants, particularly in the creation of ancient Israel.

Book covers from https://www.adventistbookcenter.com/browse.tpl