Stories of Petition and Prayer
The 2013 Christian Reformed Church Prayer Summit is right around the corner.
It is three weeks away. But there is still room to register.
Meanwhile, those who have registered are making their final arrangements to go, aware that his is no normal prayer gathering.
Many people aren’t able to attend, but they also realize that this is a time for the entire denomination to come together in prayer, either at the Summit or through Watch ‘n Pray events that tie them into the Summit at their churches.
This year’s theme has a wide and encompassing theme. It is “Your Kingdom Come,” words from the Lord’s prayer. It is a theme that is all about bringing forth God’s kingdom into our own lives and in the lives of others.
It is especially about helping the Christian Reformed Church to experience and live out in many ways the Kingdom of God.
Here are a few stories of people who attended last year’s Summit at All Nations Church in Lake View Terrace, Calif., as well as those who will be attending the gathering for the first time this year. The Summit will be held April 15-17 at All Nations Church.
Coping with a Stroke through Prayer
Barbara (not her real name) was not sure if she should go to the Prayer Summit this year.
Her pastor and others strongly encouraged her to attend. But she just wasn’t sure, given the challenges she has been facing.
Last year about this time, she says, her husband unexpectedly had a stroke at a fairly young age that left him unable to speak, read or write, or to use his right arm.
“It was such a shock,” she said. “So this last year has been filled with much stress and rehab. But we are so thankful for how far he has come and for how positive he is.”
While her husband is still struggling to cope with the after-effects of the stroke, they have seen improvements. He is now able to speak, but not as well as he would like.
Reading and writing are still also hard. He has regained the use of his arm except for lifting it above shoulder height.
It seems, she says, that for now her husband has plateaued and they will wait to see what the future holds.
The stroke in so many ways has disrupted their life and led to a great deal of transition. But through it all she has found comfort. She says, “prayer has been so powerful, especially when my husband had his stroke and in the time afterwards as he recovered.
“But, to be honest, there have been times in this journey that it has also been hard to pray. There have been desert times if you may.”
Even in those times, however, she has been able to remain steadfast, attributing that persistence to God as well as to her church, which has especially helped her realize the significance of prayer.
In fact, she attributes some of that steadfastness to her role as prayer coordinator at her church.
“God has really been growing and getting me outside of my comfort zone in the last few years at my church, especially in the area of prayer,” she says.
“I’ve never, ever thought I would be leading a prayer ministry... I have never been very confident, but God is gracious and leading and teaching me.”
After her pastor encouraged her to go to this year’s Prayer Summit, she felt torn. She wanted to go, and yet she was reluctant to leave her husband home.
“I was second-guessing in a stressful time, struggling and wondering if I really should go to California,” she said.
Then she watched the video about the 2012 Prayer Summit that depicts the passion many people showed, especially during times of corporate prayer, in the sanctuary of All Nations Church.
Watching it, she says, she felt God nudging her, helping her to make the decision.
Making sure that her husband will be taken care of, she booked a flight and plans to be there, hoping that the experience will not only bring her even closer to God, but provide ideas she can take back and use in her prayer ministry at her church.
Being Humble Before God
Rev. David Buurma, senior pastor of Valley Community Church in Napa, Calif., says he learned the power of an entire denomination praying together at last year’s Prayer Summit.
“Hundreds gathering validated the time of stepping away to be with Jesus in communal and personal experiences of prayer,” he says.
At the Summit, he says, he had the humble experience of realizing how much he still needed to grow in prayer.
But he says the Summit provided “a joy in experiencing a Spirit-inspired variety in approaches to praying and a thankfulness to belong to Christ and his body engaged in and desiring to grow in our prayer focus.”
He says the Summit encouraged him to continue and to encourage others to pray as well.
The Summit had another important -- and personal -- impact.
“The Summit reinforced my desire to spend a week in the summer in silence and solitude with God. This gift was a gracious outpouring of God to my soul.”
When he attends this year’s Summit, he hopes to learn even more expressions of communal prayer to take back to his church.
“I anticipate experiencing the joy of God’s presence in the company of his praying people.”
In a profound way, he says, he believes that the Summit has an important role in enriching the CRC’s denominational life.
The Summit helps to remind the CRC that it is important to follow Jesus and in obedience to step out to pray together.
In doing this, he said, CRC members can demonstrate “our public expression of worship and seeking God’s face with each other for the world.”
Praying for the Persecuted Church
Last year Diane Averill was deeply moved by a video that was shown during the opening day of the 2012 Christian Reformed Church Prayer Summit.
The video was about Shahbaz Bhatti, a Christian politician in Pakistan who was killed for speaking out for the plight of women and members of minority religions in his country.
Ken Choe, pastor of a Korean CRC congregation in the Chinatown district of Los Angeles, was the one who showed the video. Afterwards, Choe led prayer that drew attention to the plight of people around the world who were being persecuted for their Christian beliefs. He knew Bhati personally.
“Because of my work with Global Coffee Break ministry, I have spent time in Indonesia where on some islands there is active persecution of Christians,” said Averill, who plans to attend this year’s Summit.
“I was so moved by the story of Shahbaz Bhatti …Watching the interview before his death, and then the news coverage of his assassination was very moving. I can still see the face of this man saying he was willing to die for what he believed.”
Over this past year, she says, she has spent much more time in prayer and in praising God with others.
Also, she has included some of what she learned at the Prayer Summit in the prayer retreats she presents as part of a ministry to churches.
“The Summit has helped me, both professionally and personally,” she said.
“Having been to the Summit, I’ve been able to help others in their prayer journey, especially in the prayer retreats.”
Now That Her Day Job is Done
Cathy Van Arragon followed last year’s Prayer Summit from a distance, mainly through videos and news accounts.
An elder, member of the prayer committee, and one of the prayer group leaders at Calvin CRC in Ottawa, Ontario, she was working and unable to attend the Summit last year.
But she was deeply impressed by what she had seen and heard.
This year, her circumstances have changed.
“Since then I have retired from my day job, which gives me freedom to attend a mid-week prayer conference.”
When the call to the churches went out, asking churches to send a representative to the Summit, the consistory of her church decided to ask her to attend.
She gladly accepted the offer.
Meanwhile, her congregation hopes to connect with the Summit via an Internet link, participating in the Tuesday and Wednesday evening Watch n’ Pray events.
Van Arragon says she is thrilled to consider the reality that in California she will be able to join with many believers in a time of prayer.
“I anticipate that we may join together to seek God's will for our church, and see God's hand at work. I think that joining together across boundaries is a wonderful opportunity. I hope my horizons will be stretched.”
Wait and See
While he did not attend last year’s Summit, pastor Carl Leep did speak to a few people who told him how much it meant to them and how it has expanded their prayer life.
He was impressed enough to consider, and then to decide, to go to this year’s gathering, which will include three days of prayer, reflection, and several presentations focusing on the Lord’s Prayer.
Leep, the pastor of Oak Hills CRC in Beaverton, Oregon, says he looks forward to the Summit, hoping that he will gain a refreshing approach to prayer from it.
He also hopes to “find more ways to incorporate prayer in our worship service, and in the personal lives of our people.”
As for if the Summit will have lasting effect on himself or his church or for the CRC as a whole, he says he will patiently and prayerfully wait to see how that happens.
