This was a request put to Jesus from his disciples. They listened intently as he gave instructions not only on how to pray, but the process and purpose of prayer. Prayer is communication with God, and it was important enough that Jesus spent time instructing His followers to do so in a way that would prepare them of entering the presence of God.

Central's core value on prayer proclaims "As a community of believers, we seek God's guidance and direction through prayer in all that we do as a church and in all aspects of our daily lives."

Jesus prepared the way to prayer through His instructions and the Lord's Prayer. He did not intend for it to stop there. We have been given the task as believers to continue to learn and develop a deeper relationship with Him through prayer.

One way of doing that is to attend Central's School of Prayer. Each quarter we offer a School Of Prayer with the idea of helping you grow in your prayer life and inspiring you to want to pray. Our next School of Prayer will be October 3 from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm in the Higher Grounds Café on the Mesa Campus.

The event is free, but you must register to attend to ensure that your study materials are prepared for your participation. If you desire to go deeper in your prayer life, please check the Central website for details on our next School of Prayer.

Waste Land Prayer Journey

By the time you read this Paul and his team will have gone to NE Africa and back with the sole purpose of praying for the work that Central will be doing in that region in the years to come. We will be seeing the Lord about a number of issues that need to be resolved before we move on.

You may be thinking "isn't that a lot of money just to pray?" Well, I went to one African country several years ago and the workers there were having no fruit in reaching the nation after 7 years of labor. After some Seedling reflection they decided to take a year off from their normal labor and simply ask God to do it. Right after their year of prayer a team I was on showed up. In the first week there were 7 men that came to faith. Remember - not one person had come to faith until this year of prayer.

Many times you have to break up the hard ground before the crop can be planted or harvested. Many times this breaking up of hard ground can only be accomplished by extended periods of prayer.

If you have never been on a prayer Journey you might consider it. They are powerful.

Prayer for a Chair

stadium chair Want to help Queen Creek get off to a good start? Well you can. There are 777 chairs in the Performing Arts Center and we are asking people to take a chair and begin to pray for the person that will be in that chair on opening Sunday.

You can get your chair by contacting Aaron Pennington or by stopping by the lobby in Gilbert on Sunday and picking out the seat that you want to pray for. Imagine all the good that can come from these prayers!

countdown

Prayer Conference is only 192 days away. Please begin praying now that God will:

1) Be leading the speakers in what to teach us.

2) Be calling people to attend

3) Transforming lives by this conference

4) Our church and others will grow in our prayer

On Our Knees for Central

The church, like the individuals who comprise it, is in constant need of prayer. Please join us as we ask for God's guidance, help and blessing concerning the following: More

Prayer is Making News and Science Studies

DID PRAYERS PREVENT AN AVIATION DISASTER?

According to the notes of a reporter for Breaking Christian News, It may have been God's answer to Christian prayers that saved the lives of the passengers and crew high above the Atlantic. The reporter who was aboard the near fatal flight writes, "It was absolutely horrifying." "I've never prayed so hard in my life." "You could hear prayers erupting audibly throughout the entire plane."Read more.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU CAN MAKE IN OUR NATION'S LEADERSHIP

Many Christian citizens recognize the importance of voting for our nation's leadership, and voicing opinions to congressman, but we often neglect a more significant activity that is mentioned in 1st Timothy, 2: 1-8. An article by Charles Stanley in the Christian Post reminds us that "Political policies and legislation are not ultimately determined in conference rooms and governmental chambers, but in prayer closets." Read more.

PASTOR PAYS A PRICE FOR PRAYING IN THE NAME OF JESUS

In Luke 14: 28-33, Jesus tells us that we will pay a price for following Him. According to an article on the Christian Newswire website, an an honorary chaplain for the North Carolina House of Representatives lost his position for concluding his prayer in the name of Jesus. Read more.

Spotlight

Prayer Partners

Prayer Partners have the distinct privilege of praying with people who understand they need God to address some part of their life. They come forward at the end of the worship service they have attended and meet with people and God about health and financial and family issues.

Prayer Partners sign up to serve others, but the majority come away with the sense that they have been the one served by seeing God move and answer prayer and use them personally to help another through prayer. They say they know God gave them the words to say. They know God led them to hear the concerns and heart cry of the person who came forward.

And they often tell Paul or Cathy that God hand-picked them to be the Prayer Partner for the person who came forward to them because of some common thread in their faith walks or life experience.

Prayer Partners work in teams after each worship service on each campus. Currently, some services and some hours have larger teams than others. When Queen Creek opens, we will need more Prayer Partners everywhere as some of the Mesa, but even more of the Gilbert, teams will move to serve in Queen Creek, which also will be short at first.

If you would like to try the incredible privilege of praying with and for another member of the Body of Christ, please contact Cathy Cryer, Cathy.Cryer@cccev.com or 480.924.4946, or Tony Vehon, tony@lakerealty-az.com. We will set up a training session when we have an interested group.

Answered Prayer

Testimony of Shari Steiner

work prayer

For the last nine years, God provided Shari Steiner a job to support herself, albeit one that didn't quite fit her gifts and personality. Still, she was grateful to Him for it.

Then, about a year ago, she started experiencing a deep discontent about that job. At first, she chided herself for being ungrateful for the job, and she prayed for God's forgiveness. The more she prayed, though, the deeper the discontent. "I started feeling that maybe there was something else out there that God wanted me to do," she said. But the security of a job in this increasingly difficult job market kept her from seeking what that might be. Read More...