Opening Statements:
The prayers of God's people in the Bible were offered at all hours, in every season and in every circumstance of human life. These prayers bear witness to the reality that a life of faith is built upon a heart of prayer.
WHY PRAY?
1. We pray because we recognize that there is more to life than what we own, what we achieve or what we can control. When we prayer we acknowledge the there is a God and that God wants speak to us in a deeply personal way, guiding our future, transforming our thinking and elevating our perspective of events from ordinary to extraordinary.
We pray in times of crisis and uncertainty, such as the recent disasters caused by tornadoes in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and others, Tsunami's in Japan, or floods in Missouri, In such moments we come face to face with our human frailty and the limits of our power and control. Through prayer we receive the comfort, the strength and the confidence that we need to in life – both naturally and spiritually. In prayer, we pour out our hearts God who hears us, who understands our fear and pain and provide the hope and assurance we that we are never alone. Prayer – relationship to God – is as necessary to the spiritual life as air to the natural life.
We also pray in moments of inexpressible joy, when life is so filled with wonder and happiness that gratitude just naturally flows from our hearts to God who hears. Through our prayers of gratitude we acknowledge that God has been working our lives though we are often unaware of it, and that God's goodness is an endless source of hope.
Today we gather as a community bound together by our need for God's wisdom and guidance as we look to the future, help with the present and a heart of gratitude for beautiful sunny spring days like today.
On behalf of the Williamstown Ministerial Association, I thank you for coming this afternoon.
