In Genesis 12, God promised Abraham that he would be given a great name, a great people, and a great land. He would be blessed, and he would be a blessing. In Isaiah 56, the prophet gives an incredible vision of the continuing effects of God’s covenantal promise to Abraham and His people. The scope of God’s vision of redemption was extended to the “foreigner.” According to Isaiah, the last part of the covenant would soon find fulfillment as those outside of Israel would experience the blessings of God:
“
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And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps my Sabbath and does not profane it and holds fast my covenant –
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these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in
my house of prayer
; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted at my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples
.”
Isaiah was given a glimpse of a greater revelation that would find fulfillment in Jesus. His urging is that the people of Israel reclaim the meeting place of the Lord into a place where they seek
His vision
in all things. The building of Tabernacle Baptist Church should be no different. Our building should be a house of prayer for all peoples.
This past week, the staff and the deacons of Tabernacle Baptist Church prayer-walked our facilities as we asked that God reveal
His vision
for our congregation. We’ve actually created a semi-permanent prayer walk that covers 20 “Prayer stops.” You can identify these stops by the bright yellow papers hanging around the building. Each location has specific prayer requests for you to intercede over. I’m looking for some prayer warriors to step up and commit to come once a week for 30 minutes at a regular time during office hours to pray for our church. There is no end date. I want to see Tabernacle Baptist Church become the most praying church in Carroll County – that begins with your commitment to participate in that vision.
What does that look like? For starters, you can prayer-walk the stations or you can utilize our prayer room (Did you know we have a prayer room? Yep, it’s in the music suite. Ask and I’ll show you!). The prayer room has materials for you to pray over as we unify our prayers together. You can sign-up for a 30-minute slot as an individual or as a group by contacting Linda Bohannon in the church office. The more you move in prayer, the more prayer will move you. Let’s move together to experience transformation and seek transformation for our community and world. That transformation has to start with you!
God’s Blessings,
Stephen V. Allen
Senior Pastor
