Hi Friends. I have to tell you all about a recent event I attended in Spokane, WA, at the 4th Memorial Church in Spokane, WA. The event was a Sound the Alarm Conference. Sound the Alarm is a movement started in Washington state to encourage and unite Pastor's "to call on the Name of the Lord for a spiritual awakening in our day." Pastor Jim Cymbala, of the Brooklyn Tabernacle and author of "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" was the speaker at the conference (this is a must read book)!
Several from our church attended, including Pastors Jim, Dan, and Jeff. When I first heard of this opportunity I was excited about the possibility of going and knew that I would go. During the ride to Spokane, I asked the Lord what He had in store and that He might reveal that to me. His answer was not what I expected, but was an answer nevertheless.
During the first session, Pastor Cymbala spoke to the importance of prayer in bringing revival to ourselves and to the church, citing how this occurred in their own church. (The story of his personal revival, as well as the revival in the Brooklyn Tabernacle is told in "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire"). Toward the end of this session, as Pastor Cymbala related testimony as to how prayer changed his life and the life of his church, he finally alluded to a prompting of the Holy Spirit that he had been feeling for quite a few moments during his talk.
He related that he had felt prompted that someone had a specific burden for their son and that the Lord had prompted him to stop talking to us and begin calling out to Him for our kids. And this I believe was His answer to my earlier prayer. The entire congregation of church leaders, lead by Pastor Cymbala, began to pray. Me and Jim went forward and hit the floor on our knees to pray for our kids and our roles as leaders in our families. It was a very powerful example of the the importance of coporate prayer.
Long story short, this conference was a time of refreshment and renewal for us and served to remind us of the power of calling out to God in corporate prayer. It was our prayer upon our return home that there would be an uprising of prayer warriors in our church and that this would be the beginning of a revival at FBC. Will it? Only the Lord knows and all we can do is follow Him faithfully in prayer and wait for His answer.
