BIG Annoucement! The Wall of Prayer is Here...

The Wall of Prayer has arrived! www.thewallofprayer.com

Koinonia Business Women, with the inspirational help of Noreen Jacks, is officially launching an exciting, new online community TODAY - 1 day after Easter - April 13th. This community of hope & encouragement is called The Wall of Prayer, and was created as an online resource for Christians to come together for the purpose of:

• Sharing prayer requests
• Celebrating praise reports
• Praying for the needs of others
• Strengthening prayer life
• Glorifying God

Our first 40-days is called "40-Days of Invitation". Will you join us as we pray and believe God for 1000 believers to join The Wall of Prayer during the first 40 days. We invite you to help us spread the word about this amazing, supportive, online community!

Think about it - If 50 people would invite just 1 person every-other day, for the next 40 days, we will reach our goal of 1000 Believers at The Wall of Prayer! Will you be counted?

To get started with your prayer request or praise report, sign up now at: http://www.thewallofprayer.com/.

To start sharing and inviting others to join you on The Wall of Prayer, send this link to 20 people who would love to know this resource exists! http://www.thewallofprayer.com/. Thank you!

We look forward to meeting you at The Wall!

http://www.kbwomen.com/

God's Rifining Fire

Welcome!

Have you ever dared to pray a prayer like this? "God, send me through your refining fire and strip away anything in my life, heart, thoughts, activities, relationships, unforgiveness, $ spending, or anything else that isn't part of your plan for me. Whatever needs to be removed, whatever is blocking my spiritual progress, anything encumbering, all of my bad attitudes, etc., please help it fall off of me. Refine me."

That is a serious prayer - one that God would want each of us to pray. That prayer is applicable to us for our businesses and goals too. There is a new contemporary Christian song that says "Make me aware". God will make us aware of things that need to go, step by step. It's our job to release them and renew our minds!

Why Prayer is Crucial, by Krista Dunk

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." - Luke 18:1

Have any of you read the book called 90-Minutes in Heaven? It's a very interesting read for sure. Here is a quick summary of the first part: A pastor was in a fatal car crash, died, spent 90 minutes in Heaven, then was miraculously brought back to life when a passing minister felt an overwhelming urge from God to pray for him (although he had already been dead for 90 minutes). Here were my questions after reading that book - Why did God have that passing minister pray? Couldn't He have simply had the pastor get up and walk out of the car without the prayer? Are our prayers really that important? Yes, apparently they are.

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24. Here's what I've learned so far from the Word about prayer:

• When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will.
• When we pray, we authorize His hand to move.
• When we pray, we use the authority God has given to us.
• When we pray, God sends angels to help.
• When we pray, we cast our cares on God and let Him take over.
• When we pray, God answers according to His will.
• When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others.
• When we pray, we can minister to the Lord.

Many of us have the idea that prayer is more of a feel-good factor, something we do for our own psyche or for our own "spiritualness". Now it's time to see how prayer equals action. We take action by praying, and God takes action by responding. Let's discuss a few of our bullet points in more detail.

When we pray, we set our minds on Godly things and on His will. Daily life is busy. If I were to try and list my daily routine and responsibilities, it might make my head spin! However, by having a mindset or attitude of prayer throughout the day, we bring our focus and thoughts back to God daily, hourly, moment by moment.

When we pray, we authorize His hand to move. This was a huge revelation to me. Before, I did not realize that God waits on me (and others) to ask for things and to pray about situations. He literally may not move or work until someone prays. Just like in the 90-Minutes in Heaven book, God needed a man to speak the words out to start His healing power in motion. Prayer changes things. As Tammy would say, God is a gentleman. He waits for an invitation. His mighty hand is ready to act on behalf of His people and according to His will.

When we pray, we plant seeds for our future or for the future of others. In the Bible, you can see a common theme or principle at work. It's the symbolism of the seed, the sower and of the agricultural growing process. Prayers are seeds that we sow in the supernatural realm that will cause results to show up in the natural world. We can pray for physical, emotional or spiritual healing, provision, protection, peace, children, direction, etc., for ourselves and others. These words and prayers that we speak out to God are used in a very powerful way. As we know, "life and death are in the power of the tongue" and this is why. Prayer is seed.

In those 3 examples alone, we can begin to see how powerful our prayers are as individuals. They are crucial to every aspect of our lives, including our careers or businesses, our families, marriages, health, friends, our country, and our world. The amazing thing is, is that God actually needs our prayers. Our prayers really do make a difference! Think about what you can do today to impact the world around you with your prayers.

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." - James 5:16

International Day of Prayer

Blessings to you this glorious day!

Today is a day that we are called across the globe to pray. Specifically, we are called to pray for the persecuted.

In Iraq, Africa, North Korea, the Philippines, and around the globe, Christians are beaten and killed, churches burned, and laws passed to restrict worship. Christians today face as much persecution as ever before. Jesus said his followers would not receive better treatment than he did, but he did promise the Comforter. Through prayer, we can encourage those suffering for Christ's sake.

In many other countries, Christians are not allowed to organize freely and are forced to retreat underground just to worship. In countries like China, unsanctioned religious groups, human rights lawyers, democracy advocates and many others are continual targets of repression from a government that fears them as 'undesirable social elements' as noted in an article in Christianity Today.

As Americans, we have a hope and a gift of freedom to practice our faith daily. Our calling today is to practice that faith and freedom by praying boldly and without ceasing for our brothers and sisters across the globe who desire those same liberties.

"If we believe the gospel is life eternal for a person, if it is Good News to the poor, why should that Good News be stopped? It's their choice whether to accept or not, but it is their basic human right to hear that news," declared Sam Paul, secretary of public affairs at All India Christian Council.

Join us at Koinonia Business Women as we praise God that the Gospel will prevail and pray that every person who hears it will turn their hearts toward Him who loves and saves. Pray also that God's hand will move mightily in those countries where there is pain, suffering, brutality and persecution on Christians today, for a safe and free tomorrow.

Pray boldly and without ceasing.