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"Prayer: The Breath of The Soul" - Prayer Festival 2008
The unison of Festival and Prayer is a rare combination. However, Pastor Robert Vassell, Prayer Ministries Coordinator of West Jamaica Conference encouraged all in attendance at the Prayer Festival to spend quality time in prayer.
Scores of members praying
In his message entitled 'Strangled Christian' , Pastor Vassell told a gripping, near-death experience where he survived strangulation as a youth. "I only remembered a slap across my face, then I regained consciousness."
In giving his experience, Pastor Vassell gave a powerful illustration, "As breath is to life, so is prayer to the soul". He supported this point with a quote from Mrs. Ellen G. White in the book Pastoral Ministry page 180, "Prayer is the breath of the soul."
He further explained, "We need to understand that prayer means more than a religious act; it is a lifestyle - as breathing is to life, so is prayer to our spiritual life." Many of us really misunderstand what prayer really is." Pastor Vassell continued, "It is not so much the multiplicity of words or the well structured sentences.
Prayer is earnestly speaking to God, while God on the other hand is listening to the intent of the heart."
Pastor Robert Vassell delivering his sermon
In speaking on the relevance of prayer, Pastor Michael H. Harvey, President of North Jamaica Mission, gave six components of Prayer:
- Prayer must not be rehearsed. It should be as though you are talking to a friend.
- Know who you are addressing. We are speaking to a Supreme Being - the only True God.
- Always give thanks. Show your appreciation for all that He has done.
- Confess your sins to God. However, in making specific confessions you may want to do so in private.
- Intercede on behalf of someone. Pray for a friend, family, or church member.
- It is good to end with, "Not my will, but let thy will be done."
Pastor Michael H. Harvey
Campus Ministries Director for Northern Caribbean University, Pastor Robert Wright, in expounding on the topic, 'The Slim Nerve of Prayer Moves the Mighty Muscles of Omnipotence', informed the members that, "Each Christian ought to be constantly studying God's Word and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in order to enjoy
a meaningful prayer life." "With these elements" Pastor Wright continued, "we build firm faith in God, and develop the assurance of answered prayers."
Pastor Robert Wright
Pastor Donald Smith, the Prayer Ministries Coordinator for North Jamaica Mission, invited all of God's people into Seasons of prayer: prayer for our youth, our children, our nation, and the Mission's special project, the Convention and Wellness Centre. He admonished the brethren, "Our focus on prayer today, is to stimulate us into seeking after God mre consistently and in
a meaningful way. Then, with His Spirit, we are revitalized and energized to walk this rugged pathway safely into His Kingdom."
Pastor Donald Smith
Pastor Nathanael Gracia closed off a beautiful Sabbath with a Vesper charge and left this quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "It is better to put your heart in your prayers without finding words, than to find words without putting your heart."
Pastor Nathanael Gracia
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