Prayer Works

"The effectual fervent prayer of a bunch of inmates availeth much."
~ James 5:16 (Tom Burger Paraphrase)

This past Sunday morning we opened our worship service at the prison in a very different fashion than normal. No Scripture reading. No prayer of dedication for our time of worship together. No music. Instead, I felt prompted to ask the inmates to join me in prayer for those in the path of Hurricane Gustav. At that time Gustav was a category four storm and the forecast called for major destruction and flooding.
We prayed for God's protection for lives and property. We prayed for those evacuating. And then I felt a boldness and began to pray that the Lord would speak to the wind and the waves and weaken the storm before it made landfall.

Apparently, our prayers were answered. While there was some damage and minor flooding, it was nowhere near the "Katrina-sized" catastrophe being predicted.

Today, I'm enjoying the thought that a little church full of prisoners in the southwest corner of Charlotte, North Carolina can pray together and see those prayers answered. The world may not take much notice of what goes on here, but the Lord does!