Help Us Pray

Acts 6:4 notes that the Apostles delegated certain practical ministry tasks to others so that they could devote themselves "to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And elders in local churches are to follow the example of the Apostles, making prayer and Scripture study central (1 Tim 4:13-16; 1 Tim 5:17) and leaning on the spiritual gifts of others to assist in the many practical demands of church ministry.

Here's the problem: in our technologically driven cyber-world, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to find a quiet place to pray. I leave the city and drive to a monastery once a month just to escape the nagging pressures of email, cell phones, and to-do lists. When the Coram Deo pastors moved into our own offices eight months ago, one of our priorities was to create a "prayer closet." We have a perfect closet in mind - a tiny 15 square-foot space that's not really usable for anything else. We've even done some construction work to make it more functional. And yet, as we have allowed the urgent demands of ministry crowd out the important, the prayer closet has never been finished. Nor has it ever been prayed in, except maybe when Patrick hit his finger with a hammer while tearing out some shelves.

This month we intend to move the prayer closet from idea to reality. One of the items we need is a prayer kneeler. We are asking our friends and partners to prayerfully consider buying one for us and having it shipped to the offices. (Kneelers aren't exactly the sort of thing you go down the street and buy. And the Catholics seem to have the corner on the market, which may tell you something about the state of prayer in the evangelical church.)

Here is a link to one that is reasonably priced and seems appropriately functional. If you'd like to bless the work of prayer at Coram Deo in this way, we'd be grateful.