Weekly Update// Pastor Chris

Dear Asbury Family, 

I think you’ll agree with me that there is a great deal of mystery surrounding prayer. We know that prayer important, that prayer plays a vital role in our relationship with God. But there are so many questions we carry about prayer.  

 If God already knows what we need and what we’re going to say before we speak it, why pray at all? What’s the purpose of prayer? Does prayer actually make a difference? Does a person who has a lot of friends praying for a problem stand a better than a person who only has a few friends (or no one at all) praying for the exact same problem? Why does God seem to answer some prayers but not others? Why does God seem to answer prayers for trivial things (like lost car keys or cell phones) but not more serious things (like a cancer diagnosis)? Why can’t I always feel the presence of God when I pray?

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who was a Welsh pastor and medical doctor, once wrote the following about prayer: 
Of all the activities in which the Christian engages, and which are part of the Christian life, there is surely none which causes so much perplexity, and raises so many problems, as the activity which we call prayer.

Prayer does indeed ignite our curiosity and spark our wonder. 

 I hope you’ll join us for worship this Sunday (April 18) in person or online (www.facebook.com/asburyumcmaitland/live) at 9:30am (contemporary) or 11am (traditional) as we begin a new sermon series on prayer titled “Deep to Deep: Diving into the Mystery.” I can’t promise that the series will address all your questions about prayer. But I hope that the series will help all of us (myself included) arrive at a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, this remarkable channel God has given us. If prayer is our communication with God, it’s worth exploring what this communication involves.  
See you Sunday.  

Blessings,
Chris