First Prayer Service

Introduction

Colossians 4:2 ESV

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Jim Cymbala is the pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle. The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is world renown as one of the best worship groups today. The churches reach in their community is thousands, and the church’s reach through their music is tens of thousands.

Brooklyn Tabernacle hasn’t always been that way.

When Cymbala went to Brooklyn Tab, it was a dying church with huge leaks in the fellowship hall.

He prayed every week that it wouldn’t rain when he preached, because he wanted to make it through prayer meeting without water leaking on someone’s head.

The church was declining, and normally had between 10-20 people on Sunday morning and only a couple of saints on Wednesday nights.

Jim went to the Lord, and from the pain in his heart, he said, “Lord, if you don’t grow this church, just kill me.

The Lord placed on his heart, “Pray.”

He went to his church and said, “Our prayer service will be the spiritual barometer of our church.”

The church began to pray, and it grew, and grew and grew and grew.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir has won 285 member choir has won SIX Grammy’s. Do you know what Jim still says is the spiritual marker for the church? Prayer Meeting.

What we do tonight is important. Vitally so.

Explanation

Continue steadfastly in prayer,

To continue to pray means that you are not to stop praying.

We never know when God is going to answer or prayers, and we never know how He is going to answer our prayers.

To pray steadfastly means that you should pray the same way consistently.

being watchful in it with thanksgiving

Watchfulness is a necessary Christian attitude.

We have to watch our lives.

We have to watch our hearts.

We have to watch the world around us.

We should accompany that watchfulness with Thanksgiving.

In this season, we cannot forget to give thanks to the Lord.

Invitation

I hope that you love prayer with a renewed vigor. Grant God