For a whole year now, the focus has been on prayer. Congregations all over the globe have launched campaigns on the subject, graphic artists have packaged the annual motto into logos, and District Apostles around the world have shared some valuable inspiration with us all.
Both the New Year’s address and the New Year’s divine service conducted by the Chief Apostle revolved around the rudimentary elements of prayer, namely adoration, thanks, petition, and intercession. The international Church president also explained what the triune God has to do with prayer: Jesus is our advocate in prayer and the Holy Spirit can pray when we have no more words to speak. And God listens to us.
Over the ensuing months, District Apostles and their Helpers have shared their thoughts on the annual motto with us:
District Apostle John Schnabel (USA) (USA) said: “When we pray earnestly, we will realise that we are not only speaking with God, but also with our own soul, into which the gift of the Holy Spirit has been poured out.”
District Apostle Tshitshi Tshisekedi Democratic Republic of Congo South-East) climbed mountains to find the right place to pray: “For us New Apostolic Christians, the idea of climbing a mountain to pray is an image. What this shows us is that we must rise above the concerns of daily life, leave the noise of the city behind us, and climb to the heights of our faith in order for our prayers to have an effect.”
In his last year as an active District Apostle, Jürg Zbinden Switzerland) emphasised that we should not only call upon God when it comes to emergency situations. “Our prayer is to be based on childlike faith and trust in God,” he wrote.
For District Apostle Michael Deppner (Democratic Republic of Congo West), the Spotlight was all about having a good connection. “Even though we have network problems here in the country, the best Wi-Fi connection is still prayer,” he writes.
Confidence and perseverance were the key words in District Apostle Michael Ehrich (Southern Germany) Spotlight. “When we come to our Heavenly Father in prayer, let us do so with confidence in God,” wrote the Southern German Church president, and “In fact, there are at times situations when we may have to ask the dear God for something over the space of weeks, months, or even years. In those cases, it is important to be persistent.”
Some things prevent the soul from breathing freely, as the Catechism of the New Apostolic Church describes prayer. After citing a number of such obstacles, District Apostle Enrique Eduardo Minio (South America) emphasised: “We must take the time to contemplate the obstacles that may exist in our hearts and remove them before we pray to God.”
“God knows what we need,” or so it says in Matthew 6: 8. In his Spotlight, District Apostle Mark Woll (Canada) poses the question of why we even need to pray in the first place, and goes on to answer: “It is because we are children of God that it is an absolute necessity for us to call upon Him.”
Now District Apostle for Switzerland, Thomas Deubel wrote as District Apostle Helper about a fly that consistently collides with a closed window, even though an open window right next to it promises the way to freedom. He related this to prayer by stating: “All too often we collide—with our wishes and ideas—with the will of God like a fly trapped against a window. We should simply do what God tells us.”
“When we engage our faith in prayer, it elevates our conversation with God to a higher level because we are then able to imagine the invisible God and ask Him to intervene in the visible world,” wrote District Apostle Joseph Opemba Ekhuya (East Africa) in his Spotlight on the annual motto.
We human beings always have the best ideas about how God should respond to our prayers, but God knows better: “As disciples of Christ, let us develop the desire to seek after a divine result in our prayers—even if it does not satisfy our humanly acceptable perspective,” explains District Apostle Peter Lambert (Southern Africa) in his Spotlight.
There are times when God responds to a prayer with silence or by not acting at all, wrote District Apostle Kububa Soko (Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe). In his Spotlight he tells us about Paul, to whom God made it clear that He would not heal him, but that He would nevertheless be powerful in him. “So when we feel that God is not hearing our requests, it may mean He is pleased with our situation just as it is, and will strengthen us in it,” wrote the District Apostle.
The last Spotlight on the annual motto 2024 came from District Apostle Edy Isnugroho (South East Asia). He reports on personal experiences of praying with brothers and sisters. For example, the daughter of an elderly Priest once said to the District Apostle after a surprise visit: “Thank you! Already two weeks ago my father said that an Apostle would come to our house and pray with him.”