Provision of Prayer - Week 4
WHAT Do We Pray?
From Prayer to Provision
This is the last week of our prayer series, but that does not mean you cannot continue to pray for our church as we are building the new building. Next week you can go to the Grace App and click “Daily Prayers.” Each week we will continue to pray for one of the ministries or our needs as we transition into two church buildings.
This week in our small group lessons, we are lifting up our teaching of the Word ministry at Grace. Again, we’re going to start with testimonies, but this time we are going to hear from Alex Mandes and Bob Rowley, who both greatly influenced our church. Alex prayed for our church to exist, and Bob was our first pastor. What’s interesting is that they both began their ministry in Laredo, but now serve in Evangelical Free Church of America in influential positions. Grace Bible Church is part of the EFCA association of churches, and our mission as part of that association is “to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people” (efca.org). As we move from one to two churches, we are fulfilling that mission!
Alex Mandes’ letter –
I became a believer in 1973 in Laredo, Texas. At that time, they were not very many Bible gospel preaching churches in Laredo. The evangelical churches that were there were extremely sectarian; by that I mean if you weren’t exactly baptized in their church, then in their mind you probably weren’t really a Christian.
I remember even as a young Christian joining with my friend Pancho to pray over the radio that God would start many other churches that would preach the word of God regardless of denomination race or socio- economic level. We prayed weekly for almost a year, but I never really saw that the Lord answered my prayer.
I’m being honest when I say that Grace Bible Church in so many ways has been an answer to that prayer. Spending time with Eddie Aranda last week thrilled my heart to no end because he told me two things: Grace Bible Church is thinking of planting seven churches in Laredo. And the second and more important thing that excited me to hear about is the disciple-making focus of the church.
I’m not so naïve to think that God only raised Grace Bible Church because of my prayers. God has always loved Laredo. He has always had good plans for Laredo. To God be the glory! Keep on praying, dreaming, and hoping for Laredo.
Dr. Alejandro (Alex) Mandes
Executive Director All People Initiative
Serving Multicultural, Immigrant and Marginalized People
Bob Rowley’s letter –
One of the biggest answers to prayer during my two decades at Grace had to do with purchasing the land at 5303 Alabama. Tony Ramos and I looked at every available property in what was then north Laredo. We dismissed the Alabama property due to it being too small, but then circled back after I spoke with Brad Jackson at the Funeral Home and we agreed to share parking if we made the purchase. I then approached Mr. Zuniga the owner of the land and told him we could only afford to pay $100,000 and asked him to pray about selling it for that amount. He spoke with God and with his partner and they agreed. The land appraisal came in at $201,000!
The church prayed through a Capital Campaign to raise the needed funds and people responded with exceptional generosity crushing our top goal! God provided a missionary builder named David Kansier and we prayed for workers. 87 folks came from around the EFCA to help our church members build the facility to the glory of God. Then God filled the building to overflowing which is why you are building a new campus.
Warmly,
Dr. Bob Rowley
District Superintendent
We’re going to discuss Alex and Bob’s prayers in light of the Lord’s Prayer that we already applied a few weeks ago. Read through the text again, and then discuss the questions that follow briefly.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Matthew 6:7–13 (ESV)
1. In Jesus’ model prayer above, the yellow line is THE key idea to knowing that God will answer your prayer. Explain that.
2. In that same line, what will of God is stated right there? How were Alex and Bob’s prayers in line with God’s will? Be specific.
3. Jesus says, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” If that is the case, then why did Alex and Bob (and Grace members) pray?
4. Why would “daily bread” and “forgive us” and “lead us not into temptation” be important to pray about when you are praying for the kingdom of God to come? Consider why these prayers would have been important to Alex and Bob.
5. God’s “name” refers to His authority, but it also conveys the idea of His character. How might Alex and Bob have trusted what Jesus told His disciples the night before He went to the cross: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13-14
6. We saw in Alex’s testimony that God did not answer his prayer right away; however, in Bob’s it seems He did. We also know that we have been waiting a long time to get to this point of having two church buildings. How would you explain that to a new believer in light of the Scripture we read today? To help you I have one more verse. It’s written by John who heard Jesus give His promise the night before He died. But John also saw Jesus’ promise prove true as recorded in the book of Acts. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him” 1 John 5:14–15.
Building the Kingdom at Grace Through Prayer
One of the greatest services you can ever engage in for our church is prayer.
Today you are praying for the teaching of the Word ministry. When Alex prayed with Pancho, they asked for Bible-teaching churches to be planted in Laredo, and Alex was excited that we were multiplying ourselves with a second church and that we were focusing on making disciples. With your group, make a list of requests for our Bible-teaching ministries at Grace that you are confident are in God’s will because they align with God’s will. This would include our preaching, our small group ministry, your own disciplemaking friendships with others (friends, neighbors, church family, spouse, children, etc.) and anything we do as a church to teach the WORD of God.
Many of us on staff are at a conference this week, and we have already had many conversations about our pastoral teaching ministry and our discipleship pathway. So thank you for praying! We are excited to see how God answers your prayers for ALL of us to lead our city into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.