I was just thinking… by Martha Cahoon
about the word STOP. As a matter of survival there are times in our lives when we should stop. When we move beyond the line that separates us from safety into danger it is certainly time to stop. I call this a defensive stop. It is a stop we make after we are already experiencing danger. However, I believe there is an offensive stop as well. This is a deliberate stop we consciously make while we are in safety and it places us in a position to victoriously live our lives. I believe planned prayer is an offensive stop. When we stop to pray as a matter of obedience and love for God rather than waiting until a problem or disaster strikes… it is then an offensive stop.
The Women’s Ministry began its first official prayer gathering Wednesday, April 23rd and have officially named it, STOP, an acronym for Strong Tower of Prayer. As our small gathering came before the Lord we started with praise and worship and the Holy Spirit quickly began to show His pleasure with us. We sang Holy, Holy, Holy, and went spiritually uphill from there with other song selections and we sensed the sweet presence of the Spirit. His presence revealed to us 2 Chronicles 7:14 and immediately as we read this Word we began to pray the mind of God. It was a powerful time of praying for our country, our military, the election, political leaders, our children, teens, schools and colleges, the economy, and gas prices. Then the powerful praying of the Word began to settle into sweet, tender prayer close to our hearts. We prayed for churches, our own Grace Fellowship, our staff, Pastor Tony, and the desire to see the body of Christ here at Grace experience every spiritual blessing that God has for us. We could not hold back shouts of “Hallelujah” and “Thank you Jesus”, and tears spilled like the tears of Mary as she sat at the feet of Jesus and anointed Him with sweet perfume.
We each were so glad that we took the time for STOP. We established a strong tower of prayer with the Father as we shared the things that threatened our future…because the future is all too soon today. I believe the third Wednesday morning at 9:30 each month is a good time to STOP and have an offensive moment with the Women of Grace and our Father.
