Spotlight 4/2024: Prayer is the best WiFi connection
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not the only place where prayer is by far the best WiFi connection. In his spotlight article on our annual motto, District Apostle Michael Deppner of the DRC explains how we can establish this connection.
It is normal that by repeating an action it becomes banal or routine. We cannot allow our prayer life to fall into this trap. When we view our prayers as a true conversation with our heavenly Father, our prayers change. They take on the quality of intimacy and sincerity because God created us, loves us, and knows us.
Prayer works. Prayer is work. Prayer leads to work … If we put a little pause between “prayer” and “work”, it could help us to understand better. We pray and we work on our praying. If I pray without acting on my prayer, everything will come to nothing. You pray for someone, then you act and help them. You pray for something, then you act and work towards it. This is how prayer works.
Our motto is not about the quality of our prayers. Instead, it is about our faith and trust in the power of the heavenly Father, as well as our respect for His will. The Lord encourages us in Matthew 21: 22: “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Confidence is essential
Confidence in our prayers is essential. It depends on our belief and trust in Christ and His teachings. Our confidence can increase or decrease… We can even lose confidence. Then our voice gets weaker and weaker. Perhaps a prayer was not answered although we had been praying for a long time, or the answer to our prayer was a no. We must learn to accept it, as Christ did, and continue to pray, to persevere.
Christ said that even a little faith can move mountains (Matthew 17: 20). Do we believe it? We could avoid praying for the impossible or for what we believe is impossible at the present time. The Chief Apostle mentioned that if we pray for something the same way Jesus would have prayed for it—whether for ourselves, for others, or for His work—our trust in His will for our life, for our neighbour, and for His work will increase.
Certainly, not every single one of our prayers has the same unshakeable conviction as that of the centurion: “Lord, … but speak only a word” (Matthew 8: 8). May this confidence grow in us throughout 2024 under the teaching of the Spirit. We can also gain strength from the worthy participation in the Lord’s Supper and from one another.
Remembering our past experiences with God
The humility of this centurion was also quite remarkable: “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.” This undoubtedly touched the heart of Jesus because He marvelled and responded. The man’s surprising faith helped make his wish come true. Our past experiences can help our confidence increase to conviction. How many prayers has the Lord already answered? As we realise this and remember it, our prayers intensify.
A few words for our youth. People can mention your name everywhere, in every social media post. Why don’t you ask them to mention your name in their prayers. This will be more useful and more appreciated. Plus, despite our network issues here in the DRC, there is no better WiFi connection than prayer.
Maybe not everything is a hundred per cent in our life. But in our life of faith we remain joyful and thankful. Let us become more and more active in our prayer life and act on more and more of our prayers. Prayers not only help, they work!
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Michael Deppner
12.02.2024
District Apostle,
motto,
Prayer works!
