Prayer Is Not Powerful
Dearly Beloved,
Prayer is not powerful.
Maybe you've heard me say that before. If you have, it's been in a message or moment when I'm looking to capture attention with a thought that sounds surprising and untrue.
But here the thing. It's true.
Prayer is not powerful.
Jesus is.
And He invites us into a living relationship with Him where we speak with Him and hear from Him, and this is called prayer.
If we believe prayer is powerful, we place our focus and hope on prayer itself. But if we believe that Jesus truly is powerful, we will place our focus and hope on Him.
Each year, our church family embraces 5 prayer priorities for the year. Last Sunday evening, a wonderful gathering of people from our church came together at the Fallen Alders Hall (between Cumberland & Royston) for an evening of prayer and worship. It was terrific! We shared our 5 Prayer Priorities for 2026 with everyone there, and now I want to share them with you.
Let me explain them a little.
- Jesus-style Commitment. We live in a cultural moment where commitment may be at an all time low in society. What a stark contrast to the kind of commitment we see Jesus exhibit! Would you agree that Jesus is faithful? Loyal? Even through difficulty? Let's follow in the way of our Lord and pray that this year we would grow in our commitment to 1) Him, 2) Spouse/Children, 3) Our Church
- Others & Elsewhere. We hope by now you know what we mean with these words. If not, please do pick up a copy of our new "Others & Elsewhere" Magazine in one of our lobbies on Sunday. This year, let's be praying that God would enable us a church to reach, serve, and give in a way that reaches others who are elsewhere with the gospel. Who is a neighbour, co-worker, classmate, or friend that comes to mind that doesn't know Jesus yet that you could pray for?
- Purposeful Friendships. We live in a very highly connected world (think social media) that also feels very lonely. Everyone needs people in their lives, but if we're not careful, we can fill our lives with empty socialization. In our church, we talk often of our need for DNA Relationships and for being active in Gospel Intentionality Together (GIT) —check out the last two pages of this to see what we mean. Both of these hinge entirely on faith in Jesus and on friendships that are purposeful. Let's pray that God fills our lives and our calendars with purposeful friendships.
- Going Out on a Limb. As a church, we value risk. The kind of impact we dream of seeing through our lives or our church hardly result from staying within our comfort zones. Can you imagine what God might be able to do through you if you only had just a little more courage? What about our church? Let's pray that this year God's Spirit gives us new boldness to consider saying and doing things we haven't done before.
- The Next 60 Years. This year, our church turns 60 (happy bday to us!). Think about how literally thousands of people have experienced the love and truth of Jesus through this church over the years, all because a small handful of people began meeting together with a vision of what could be. Instead of just celebrating our '60th birthday' this year, we want to embrace the same kind of faith and look forward 60 years and do things now that could impact thousands upon thousands of people here and around the world for eternity. Let's pray for the next generations of faith here in the Comox Valley!
Would you consider jotting down these 5 prayer priorities somewhere? Maybe on a slip of paper in your Bible or placed somewhere where you pray, or perhaps in your car so you can talk with Jesus as you drive.
HE is powerful.
Pastor Mike