BISHOP KEITH A. BUTLER
SENIOR PASTOR AND PRESIDING BISHOP | WORD OF FAITH | SOUTHFIELD, MI
Praise God. You know, the book of James says that,“...The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16B).We like the Amplified translation here because it says that“it makes tremendous power available.”That is what you have been doing for the last 30 days. You released the Spirit of Grace Himself—the power of the Holy Ghost—to get involved in the nations and to get involved in every single one of the areas that we prayed for in these last 30 days.
But don’t stop here.We have to continue to pray.You know what Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus? He says in chapter 6, verse 18, “Praying always.” Always means praying all the time. It goes on to say,“Praying always with all prayer and supplication [definite requests] in the Spirit.”And then he says,“...and watching thereunto with all perseverance...”In other words, we don’t stop—we don’t quit. Paul continues,“...and supplication for all saints...”So he said,“The saints all the time need prayer,”especially for those in lands where they are facing violent persecution—the North Korea’s of the world, the China’s of the world, and other places. They need your prayers. And God is keeping them alive and God is helping them and God is moving. These are your brothers and your sisters, and they are praying for you.
I have been to some of these types of nations, and they will tell us how they pray for us. And we think,“They are praying for us? They are not in as good of a position as we are.”But they pray for us anyways because they are our brothers and sisters. We must do the same.
So keep your prayer going. And then Paul says here inverse 19, “...And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel...”Pray for the men and women that are called as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And keep getting that Word of God out because faith comes by hearing and people can only get saved when they hear the Word. Thank you for the prayers. God bless.