Phil Miglioratti opened the winter leadership meeting of PrayerLink asking whether Southern Baptists are more interested in developing prayer guides (booklets and other resources about prayer) or prayer guides (individuals in congregations who help guide church members to be prayer warriors in the house of God).
Drawing his lesson from the purification of Jesus recorded in Luke 2, Miglioratti pointed to two individuals in Scripture who serve as prayer guides for 21st century believers — Anna and Simeon.
These two relatively obscure characters in the overall narrative of Scripture were “led by the Spirit to step up at just the right moment to announce God’s redemptive moment,” said Miglioratti, prayer consultant for the Illinois Baptist State Association and national coordinator of Loving Our Communities to Christ.
Noting that we know nothing about them beyond this single instance, Miglioratti observed that Anna and Simeon both frequented the house of God and were devoted to the Lord in prayer.
“It is interesting to note that Luke 2:40 follows Luke 2:22–39,” he added.
Luke 2:40 states that Jesus grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on Him.
“We cannot underestimate the power of prayer on people’s lives,” Miglioratti noted, urging the PrayerLink leadership team to focus its ministry objectives on creating “Luke 2:40 followers of Jesus” — those who grow strong in the Lord, who are filled with the Spirit, and who reflect the grace of God in how they live their lives.
What is PrayerLink?
PrayerLink was established in the 1980s to come alongside the Southern Baptist Convention’s Bold Mission Thrust initiative. Initially composed of several SBC entity prayer leaders, it was called the Bold Mission Thrust Prayer Committee.
The committee championed establishment of prayer coordinators in each state Baptist convention to help equip churches and church leaders in developing focused prayer ministries in their congregations.
When the Bold Mission Thrust initiative ended in 2000, the committee, in concert with SBC entity leaders, deemed it wise to continue the ministry.
Changing its name to PrayerLink, members have held an annual meeting for the past 15 years, meeting to pray, network, and share information and exchange resources about “best practices” of prayer ministries in their respective states.
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SOURCE: Baptist Press
Roger S. Oldham
BCNN1 WP 