“…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
James 5:16

Can prayer really make a difference?  Can my prayers actually change things?  Is it possible for the will of God to be thwarted because I don’t pray?  These are legitimate questions.  The answers you give them reflect the very foundation of your relationship with the Lord.  On one hand, if God is Sovereign, He’s going to do everything the way He wants, so why pray?  On the other hand, if He is waiting on my prayers to execute His will, then I had better get serious about praying really quick.  How does His Sovereignty and my prayers go together?

God uses prayer to make the impossible, possible and the ordinary, extraordinary.  Prayers make our efforts effective and help us to define God’s will more clearly.  C.H. Spurgeon said, “Whenever God determines to do a great work, He first sets His people to pray.”  Faithful praying releases the Holy Spirit to act.

Someone once said, “God does things when we pray that He does not do when we do not pray.”  May today’s devotional be an inspiration for you to seek the Lord in prayer. 

Prayer Focus: Thank God for hearing all the prayers that have been lifted up on our church’s behalf.  Thank Him in advance for answering them.  Pray God’s people at Impact will pray more than ever before and that everything we do as a church will be labored over in prayer.  And may that start with you!  Make sure you have been and continue to connect with Him through prayer.  What is He leading you to do now for Him and His ministry?

"These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
Joshua 4:7b

Joshua had instructed the people to carry large stones from the bed of the Jordan River and place them on the Canaan side of the river.  These stones provided a memorial of God’s power, provision and purpose for the children of Israel.  The Israelites would periodically return to this place, Gilgal, to express their gratitude for victories won in this new land.  They were commanded to bring their children with them on these occasions.

Carefully read Joshua 4:19-24.  When the people of Israel were obedient to God’s instruction regarding these twelve stones, it provided a great opportunity to teach and instruct the next generation.  "He said to the Israelites, ‘In the future when your descendents ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’" (Joshua 4:21).  A child’s natural curiosity opens the door for a parent to testify of God’s remarkable power.  Parents should lead their children back to the place where God has demonstrated His timely provision.  It may be a story, a place, or even a picture, but whatever it is, let them see it over and over again until it becomes a defining moment in their lives and a monument to God’s grace.

The X Factor is an excellent opportunity for the entire church body, member by member, to build a "memorial of gratitude."  Communicate to your family members and friends that this memorial is not merely a building or a piece of property; it is, more importantly, the experience of trusting God and seeing Him come through.  Gilgal was not just a pile of rocks.  It was a powerful reminder of our indebtedness to God.  The greatest heritage we can leave to the next generation is such a memorial of God’s goodness.

Prayer Focus: Take some time to reflect on some memories of God’s power and goodness in your life.  Was it an event? A Baptism?  A worship song?  Message?  Was it a special prayer time?  Some special blessing? Remember Him.

“She broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head.”
Mark 14:3b

 The story of the Bethany anointing is one of the few stories of Jesus’ life that is contained in all four of the gospels.  So impressive was this event that it was indelibly written upon the disciples’ hearts so they never, ever forgot this act of devotion.  Mark uses it as a prelude to the passion events.  It contrasts the hatred and rejection Jesus was receiving at the hands of the rulers and the people.  This act of worship and devotion stood out as an act of love that the Lord deserved from all, but was only given by a few.

May this deed be received as a call to worship for us today.  May this deed make us ask ourselves the question, “How much is too much?”  This woman’s act set a standard of sacrifice, which none can better, but all can match.  That alabaster bottle was worth a year’s wages.  Plus, it was to be saved for the most important occasion of one’s life.  What is the most extravagant thing you have done for the Lord?  What can we learn from this Scripture?

• Real love is always extravagant.
• Extravagant love is always criticized.
• Jesus always comes to the defense of and blesses those who are criticized for being extravagant in their devotion toward Him.

Prayer Focus: Pray the people connected to our church will love Jesus so much they will be extravagant with their giving of their time, talents, and treasures.  Oh Yeah… and pray that the extravagance starts with you.  Can you do that?  What does that look like for you and/or your family?

"Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you."
Mark 5:19

Jesus spoke these words after casting demons out of a man from Gadarene.  His command was simple:  Go and tell others what I have done for you.  What a powerful reminder this gives us of the need to express God’s goodness to others—even in public settings.

All believers face the danger of forgetting "how much the Lord has done for us."  Our spiritual journey is a great opportunity for us to strengthen and renew our appreciation to a good God.  Communicating gratitude is important for at least two reasons:

1. It makes us more reliant on God.  Romans 1:21 tells of those who “although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him.”  Thankfulness occurs inwardly, in what our heart expresses.  Glorifying God happens publicly, in what our mouth confesses.  Public expressions of gratitude strengthen our commitment to God while counteracting our human tendency to self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
2. It has a profound impact on those around us.  Family and friends need to hear our successes are not of our own making, but we are beneficiaries of the goodness of God.  Read David’s words in 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 to see how his gratitude set in motion a great celebration of sacrifice and praise among God’s people.

Prayer Focus: Following David’s example, take the time to identify some examples of God’s goodness in your life and then express your gratitude to God in the presence of a friend or family member today!  Don’t delay.  Just step up and do it.  Go tell your family or a friend how much the Lord has done for you.  You’ll grow… and be glad you did!

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Romans 12:1-2

Did you hear the story of the chicken and the pig who were walking together down the road?  They came upon a beggar who was nearly starved to death.  He hadn’t eaten in days.  The chicken and the pig decided to help him.  The chicken said,  “I have an idea.  Let’s fix him some breakfast - some ham and eggs!”  The pig thought about that a moment and then said,  “I don’t like that idea very much because it only requires you to make a contribution, but for me it is a complete sacrifice!”

As the Apostle Paul writes, he describes a turning point in his letter to the believers in Rome.  He is finally giving an application to the truths he has been telling about in previous chapters.  He is stating how we should respond to the knowledge God has procured our salvation and saved us from the wages of sin through Jesus Christ.  He’s telling us to lay it all on the altar for God; surrender completely.  Don’t simply make a contribution like the chicken, but sacrifice it all like the pig.

Prayer Focus: Pray Impact is a body of believers willing to totally surrender to God.  Pray it all starts with you.  What does it look like to surrender all?  What might you need to sacrifice?

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6

There are two ways people live their lives as they pass through this world – either remembering God or forgetting Him.  They either acknowledge His presence and live their lives in dependence on Him, or they pay no attention to His claims on them and live a life on the basis of their own understanding and abilities.  The worst tragedy and cruelest deception is the man who says feebly with his lips, “I trust God,” but an examination of his calendar and checkbook shows no difference between him and the man who does not make that claim.  The question we must ask ourselves today is, “Do we trust God?”

The very nature of this question produces two possible meanings:  First – “Can you ‘trust’ God?”  That is, is He trustworthy?  Can He handle the decisions and the problems in your life?  Secondly – “Can ‘you’ trust God?”  That is, do you have the ability to trust Him?

These verses reveal some important things about trusting God:

• The matter of trust is an all or nothing thing.  Notice how many times the word “all” is used.
• The command to trust precedes the promise.  Blessing comes after trust is expressed.
• The promise is conditional.  Unlike many of the unconditional promises in the Bible, this promise of direction is given only to those who exercise trust in God.

Prayer Focus: Pray your faith and trust in God will grow.  Pray you will allow God to be in control and you will utterly depend on Him and .desire His will be done.  Pray the fruits of our deepened trust in Him will result in guidance from Him.  Ask God to identify an area of your life where you need to yield to Him.  Then give it to Him and look for His provision.  Hey – we say we trust God.  We want to trust God.  And now it’s time to actually take that to the next level

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
Proverbs 11:25

There are two seas in the Holy Land.  The northern sea, called the Sea of Galilee, is one of the land’s most beautiful features.  Fed by the Jordan River, it waters fertile valleys and helps produce a bounty of fruits and vegetables.  Fishermen still search its depths, for food and profit.

This is the sea Jesus loved.  He knew its waters, in stillness and in storm.  On its banks, He taught many parables, spent many nights, and worked His miracles of love and compassion.

The southern sea, further down the Jordan River, is totally different from Galilee.  Its air is filled with the stench of debris and filth.  No man or beast will drink from its bitter waters.  No children play along its polluted shores, for this is a lifeless sea.  Its very name reveals its nature:  The Dead Sea.

Both seas are fed by the same river.  But why the stark difference?  It’s because the Dead Sea has an inlet to receive the fresh waters, but no outlet to send them on.  The fresh waters pour in... only to stagnate and decay.

Do you know people like this?  People who are greedy and selfish, thinking only of getting more and more for themselves?  They are like the man in the parable who sought to build bigger barns to protect his increase, never realizing the true nature of his riches (Read Luke 12:16-21).

Our challenge, and our commitment, is to be “Galilee Christians” — giving out as freely and readily as we take in.  For only by living in this way will we be as healthy and joyous as God desires us to be.  As Proverbs 11:25 says, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

As we give freely and generously to expand the ministry of our church, we are living out this lesson of Scripture.  We are discovering the joy of the Galilee principle—not to mention the clear Biblical directive to be generous givers, let alone tithers.

Prayer Focus:  Have you thought of yourself as a Galilee Christian?  Or would you describe yourself as more of a “Dead Sea” Christian?  What challenge do you sense God is putting on your heart?  How will you obey that and express that in the form of a commitment?  Is it time to share that burden of what God is placing on your heart?

“And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”    
Matthew 6:13

Jesus taught us much about prayer in word and in action.  “The Disciple’s Prayer,” is a part of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.  It’s the model prayer, and it gives us an outline of the subjects we should pray over.

At the close of the prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray for the Father’s direction for our day.  It includes a healthy understanding of our enemy and his ability to deceive us away from the Father’s will for our lives.  Satan loves to bring the child of God into the place of temptation and ultimately, after we have surrendered to temptation, to the place of bondage.  Not cool!

We should pray every day for God to lead us in the paths of righteousness.  Pray He will give us daily deliverance from the enemy’s power and deceit.  The enemy never ceases his relentless attacks.  Therefore, prayer should be a vital part of our daily life.

Of course, we have opportunity for complete victory over all of the enemy’s attacks.  As believers in Jesus Christ, we know the King of the Kingdom.  It’s His kingdom to which we belong, and after prayer, we are refocused on kingdom priorities. 

Prayer Focus: Pray God will give the people of Impact a spirit of prayer.  Pray He will clearly direct us and protect us from the evil one. 

Take time to focus on God’s greatness and thank Him for the vision He has given our church.  Pray during this spiritual journey, He will reveal to you how you can use your time, talents, and treasures to further this vision for His glory.

“‘Here comes that dreamer!’ they said to each other. ‘Come now, let’s kill him…Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.’”
Genesis 37:19-20

Joseph found out what every dreamer finds out – not everyone is happy about your dream.  Joseph found out people can envy your dream, conspire against it, speak against it, and even attack your God-given dream.  Joseph’s brothers put him in a pit and then sold him as a slave to go to Egypt.  Don’t you imagine that at that time, Joseph wondered just what in the world God was doing and if his dream would actually become a reality?

Remember, every God-given dream must die a human death.  That is, every dream from God will come to a place where it is impossible to accomplish the dream in human ability alone.  God is sovereign and His timing is perfect.  Remember Habakkuk 2:3b, “It (our plan to build) will certainly come and will not delay.”  Therefore, when we run out of resources and get to a place where we realize the dream cannot happen unless God steps in, then God alone will get the glory when the dream is accomplished.  And, as scary as that type of position is… it’s the best place to be.

Prayer Focus: Pray Impact will continue to move forward with changing more lives.  Pray God will give us the endurance and stamina needed to face any temporary setbacks.  Pray all involved will experience joy on this spiritual journey of faith.  Ask God to strengthen you also as you continue to pursue your lifelong goals, despite the delays.

“He said to them, ‘Listen to this dream I had.’”
Genesis 37:6

In 1989, a movie called “Field of Dreams” was released.  Kevin Costner played Ray Kincella, a 37 year-old man who had never done a crazy thing in his life until he heard a voice one day that said, “Build it and he will come.”  You see, Ray had had a stormy relationship with his dad.  As a rebellious child of the 60’s, he scorned his dad who loved baseball, refusing even to play catch with him.  His father died before he could make things right.  When Ray plowed his cornfield over and made a baseball field, everyone said he was crazy for following his dream, but through the magic of the movie he could be reunited with his father as a young man.  The theology is certainly not correct, and the plot is nowhere near reality, but that is what makes the movies fun to watch.

One thing is for certain; people will come to a place where their dreams can be fulfilled.  God’s field of dreams is not in Iowa, but rather in the hearts of His people.  How do we know what a dream looks like?  This list below gives us a good description of what a God-given dream looks like:

• A God-given dream will stir your passion.
• A God-given dream will be humanly impossible to accomplish.
• A God-given dream will make an impression on you for a lifetime.
• A God-given dream will cause you to exercise strong faith.
• A God-given dream can be very scary.
• The enemy of our soul will attack a God-given dream.

Prayer Focus: Pray Impact will be a true “field of dreams” where people can find and fulfill their dreams.  Pray the whole congregation will be united in our dream to see more changed lives.  Pray we can be one so the world can be won.  Pray for church leaders to have discernment for decisions that affect this dream.  Ask God to protect our dream from the enemy.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13

George Matheson was a bright, promising young musician when he received the most devastating news of his life.  He was going blind.

For several months, as his vision worsened, he had suspected the worst.  But more painful than the crushing reality of his impending blindness was the reaction of his fiancée.  When he told her of his condition, she tearfully returned the engagement ring.  She said she could not live the rest of her life with a blind man.

Stunned by her reaction and overwhelmed with self-pity, Matheson was reeling like a boxer falling to the mat.  Then, it was as if he were literally swept into God’s arms, encouraged and uplifted.  Still disappointed, yet buoyed in spirit, Matheson sat down and composed a song.

In one poignant moment, George Matheson knew more deeply than ever what is the true mark of the Christian — the unmistakable mark of love.

That’s what his song was all about.  It’s a song sung by believers all over the world, even to this day — the great hymn, “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go!”  Through a hurtful trial, he was reminded of the love that would remain forever unaffected.  In so doing, he was even able to love the one who had rejected him, as his Lord had loved those who took His very life.

There are so many reasons for us to express our commitment as members of this church body.  We have been forgiven, blessed, protected, encouraged.  But most of all, we’ve been loved.  Our heavenly Father has demonstrated His love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, His own Son died for us!  The commitments we make, the monies we give, the energies we devote, are simply expressions of our thanksgiving for all He has done.

Prayer Focus:  In these crucial days, let’s look with gratitude to the past, let’s exercise faith in the present, let’s have true vision for the future; but, above all, let’s show a commitment to the challenge before us because of the love He’s shown for us.  He has used this church and it’s people in so many incredible ways.  Our response is tangible gratitude!  What does that look like?

“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.”
Genesis 30:22

Rachel was Jacob’s dream wife.  They were very much in love.  Like many married couples, they desired to have a child.  God listened to Rachel’s dream for a child, and He answered her prayer by giving them a son.  Their dream became a reality named Joseph.

It is impossible to overestimate the power and role of dreams in human existence.  Dreams have brought us lifesaving medical breakthroughs and soul-stirring revival movements.  Some of our greatest athletic achievements are the result of a personal dream.  The United States of America is the result of a dream of real democratic government by a group of patriots.  Martin Luther King changed the course of a nation because he had a dream.  Your world and “the” world can be changed because of the dream inside you.

I’m specifically talking about your daytime dreams – your vision, your hopes, your aspirations, and your desires.  A God-given dream won’t go away.  Search your heart and mind to get in touch with the dream God has put inside you.  Then pray about it and take action! 

Impact’s dream is to inexpensively expand right now; pay down the mortgage; plan for our future; and bless our community… In this, countless more lives are going to change, to God’s glory.

Prayer Focus: Pray our church’s vision will become a reality in God’s perfect timing.  Pray our dreams of saving friends and family through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will come about because of our spiritual journey.  Ask God to reveal or clarify your personal dream that is His will for your life and direct you in acting on it.  Seriously – what is God tugging on your heart to do?