"As our week of prayer and fasting covered Epiphany Sunday and I was rereading the well-known account of the visit of the wise men to baby Jesus, the Lord spoke to me about the gifts given to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
He said, 'You have gold for Him: your most precious possessions, your children. You have frankincense for Him: your prayers. You have myrrh for Him: your death to yourself, as in I am crucified with Christ, yet I live . . . (Gal. 2:22).
"On another day of the week I saw how that in the O.T. tabernacle there was 24-hour singing; every day and every night the singers sang to God! That inspired my soul to practice more and more singing to Him."
William Campbell
Fairview Avenue BIC
Waynesboro, Pa.
“We focused on the BIC core value of ‘Relying on God.’ The week of prayer culminated a three-week focus on prayer in which we sought to increase our dependence upon God.
On January 7 we asked the congregation to place a prayer request in the offering plate. The message focused on persevering in prayer and using fasting as a means to show our sincerity. On Sunday, January 14, we had a concert of prayer as part of our morning service. We distributed the prayer requests (via offering plate) that had been collected the week before and [interspersed with] other elements of prayer took time to pray for those specific needs.
Many commented on how ‘moving’ the service was and it has led us to consider doing other concert of prayer services again this year. Our congregation is going through a stage of healing and getting beyond the letter of the law. This week seemed to be a great help in this area.”
Dan Longmore, pastor
Marsh Creek BIC Church
Howard, Pa.
“This year, [we had] three nights of healing and prayer services at the church, which were very well attended. The presence of the Lord was upon us in a mighty way: many folks experienced healing, words of comfort, encouragement, and guidance during these meetings. Our congregational life was turned around, and the week proved to be what we as the leadership prayed and fasted for it to be: an awesome week of enjoying God's presence among us.
The following Sunday evening, I called a special evening service of discernment, to try to understand what the Lord was saying to us as a congregation. It proved to be a night of His visitation among us. PVBIC congregation and leadership seemed to be excited for the New Year. Prophetic words were spoken to our congregation that the years 2007 and 2008 will be great years of growth, healing, and expansion. We look to our Lord for this to happen. Please keep us in prayer that we will walk humbly with our God and do justice and righteousness.
I have been at the congregation for 11 years, and these were years of extreme outpouring of God's Spirit. Our theme as we headed into 2007 was “Extreme Makeover: Faith Edition.” God came during this week of prayer and fasting and did just that: an extreme makeover on our congregation. Praise The Lord! Our desire is to go forward in great faith and boldness in explaining God's kingdom among us. Please pray for us!”
Ken Gibson, pastor
Pleasant View BIC Church
Red Lion, Pa.
“The Week of Prayer and Fasting was the week of a blizzard and terrible cold snap, which wiped out a few things. . . . [Nevertheless,] I had really prayed that God would move in the service. He did—the altar filled at the end of the service, there were tears, there was joy, and couples knelt and wept. Many of us have felt a stronger urging and commitment to prayer. Every day when I drive in to Kindersley [I have had] some very moving times of personal prayer—for me and mine and also for the town.”
Dave Wicks, pastor
Clearview BIC Church
Kindersley, Saskatchewan
“We asked our congregation to take additional time to pray during this week. I am not sure how many did, but I know I did.
We asked them to pray for our denomination, our general church leaders, our regional conference, our missions programs, West Shore BIC, the pastor, and for ourselves personally. My messages the last two weeks were on prayer.
Three young adults attended for the first time, on the second Sunday, and one committed their life to the Lord for the first time and two recommitted their lives. Praise the Lord!”
Eldon Byer, pastor
West Shore BIC Church
Mechanicsburg, Pa.
