Pray until it Rains...

Deuteronomy 4:7
What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Psalm 5:2
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.

Jeremiah 42:3
Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do."

Luke 18:1
[ The Parable of the Persistent Widow ] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Ephesians 3:16
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Ephesians 3:16-18

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:19
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

Colossians 1:10
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

Pray Continually!

1 Thessalonians 5:17
pray continually;

• Is prayer a priority in your life?
• Do you make a specific time to pray for MOPS?

Spending Time Alone With Him

Excerpt taken from: Chapter One, “The Power Of a Praying Woman” by Stormie Omartian

“We can never draw close to God and get to know Him well, or develop the kind of intimate relationship we want, unless we spend time alone with Him. It’s in those private times that we are refreshed, strengthened, and rejuvenated. It’s then we can see our lives from God’s perspective and discover what is really important. That’s where we understand who it is we belong to and believe in.

God has so much to speak into your life. But if you don’t draw apart from the busyness of your day and spend time alone with Him in quietness and solitude, you will not hear it. Jesus Himself spent much time alone with God. If anyone could get away with not doing it, surely it would have been Him. How much more important must it be for us?

I know finding time alone to pray can be difficult. Especially when the enemy of your soul doesn’t want you to do that. But if you will make it a priority by setting a specific time to pray daily, perhaps writing it in your calendar the way you would any other important date, and determine to keep that standing appointment with God, you’ll see answers to your prayers like never before.

Remember, if you haven’t been praying much, you can’t expect things to change overnight. It takes a while to get the enormous ocean liner of your life turned around and headed in a different direction. It doesn’t immediately reposition itself the moment you begin steering. In fact, you may see hardly any change at first. It’s the same way with prayer. Prayer can turn your life around, but it doesn’t always happen the moment you utter your first words. It may take a time of continued prayer before you actually see the scenery change. This is normal, so don’t give up. You will soon be heading full speed in a new direction. Far too often people give up just before their breakthrough into the realm of answered prayer. Remember, this trip is not a mini-vacation tour around the harbor, it’s a lifelong voyage to meet your destiny. Giving up is not an option”.

• It can be hard to find a time to pray when you are a Mum of young children…. You can’t even (to borrow a term from Nat S) “poo in peace” right?

• I talk to God in my head all the time….constantly chattering. Whether I’m driving, cooking, doing the girls’ hair for school…I’m a big believer of arrow prayers, shooting a specific need up as it flies into my head because I know I’ll get busy & forget later. Rosalie has influenced me here.

• Do you remember at the Regional Training Day the lady who spoke about the prayer plant? Whenever she watered or tended the plant she prayed for a specific person… and I suggested some people might need a cactus! For the prickly ones….? I kill plants so I use visual cues to remember to pray for people.

• Here’s some visual cues to prompt you to pray…

Whenever you see a newborn baby – pray for the Capps family

Whenever you see a pram – pray for MOPS and the women you are influencing for Jesus.

Whenever you are driving – pray for those that drive this ministry; your MOPS Coordinator & the MOPPETS Coordinator

When you are doing your washing (laundry) – pray for the continual obstacles that stand in your way like mountains…e.g. Your need for more carers, your need for a MOPPETS Coordinator, your need for $ to subsidise the cost of conference…

AS for your MOPS Mums: Each consecutive day of the week

- Table Leaders (and Mentors) could pray for one of the Mums on their table (e.g. Sunday is Sarah’s day, Monday is Mel’s day….)

- You could pray for each of the Leaders on the team (1 per day)

- MOPPETS Leaders could pray for each child in their care

Pray on the drive to MOPS

(whether it be for the MOPPETS, the Program, the Message, the Speaker, a specific Mum….)

Pray on the way home from MOPS

( Praise God: for what he’s done that morning, for his provision of MOPPETS Leaders, for the new Mums, for the non-christian Mums, or simply that you got to sit undisturbed and that your child was settled in MOPPETS)

• And Can I challenge you as a team to spend time in prayer together?

If all you did was get together at team meetings to pray, Wow….imagine what God could do with this group.

• There’s this village in Africa that does this rain dance and every time they dance; it Rains. A team of researchers went over to analyse why this phenomenon occurs and do you know what they found?
• They simply Dance until it rains!

I encourage you to dance until it rains (with prayer)….Pray until it’s done!