​OUR ANNUAL PRAYER SUMMIT By Pastor Tom

I am so excited about our annual week of 24-7 prayer scheduled for May 16-23, the seven days leading up to Pentecost Sunday.  As far as I am concerned, there is no more influential week in our church calendar.  I am convinced that the amazing things that have happened through Bethel Church in the last years relate directly to that week of prayer and to the other prayers we offer up regularly in our small groups and on our own.
 
The theme for this year gives me a thrill: “Seek My Face.”  When the phrase “seek His face” or “seek My face” appears in Scripture, it is an invitation to come into the presence of God.  It is God asking us to spend intimate time with us.  He wants us to know Him better—to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8)--to experience that His “love is better than Life” (Psalm 63:3).  He does not ask us to seek His hand (what He gives) but His face--God Himself.
 
Perhaps my heart yearns for this event especially because I will be leaving Bethel a week after it takes place.  So it is a chance to be united in heart with you before I depart.  COVID-19 will rob us of many of the normal opportunities to connect and say “farewell”; however, nothing can stop us from being united in Spirit through prayer.
 
The 24-7 Prayer planning team of Cathy Ferchau, Ashley Patton, and Hilary Warnock, are sorting out details of that special week now.  The pandemic will affect how we can observe the event.  Last year we prayed only in our homes.  Perhaps this year it will be a hybrid event—partly in the church building and partly in our homes.  The team is still figuring that out.
 
I hope you will plan to participate this year.  Whether you are just starting out in prayer or are an experienced veteran, the upcoming week of prayer will be an opportunity to be enriched, to grow, to unite with your church, and to partner with God in doing great things on earth.
 
 

---