Year of Prayer

The Church in the Power of the Spirit

Opening the “Year of Prayer” with our January entry we are greeted with a passage in Rev 11 that is filled with symbolism.

Revelation 11:1–6 (CSB)

1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there. 2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.

In v. 1-2 John references the people of God, the church, and he reminds us the church is not excluded from persecution. v. 3-4 the “two olive trees” and the “two lampstands” are symbols for the church. v. 5-6 serve as symbols for the type of miracles the church, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is capable of accomplishing.

Clearly John is witnessing the ability of the church to support our recovery, and clearly he states the process will not be easy. The church is God’s witness, in word and deed, to a world that is lost and acting out against the principles of the Kingdom. When the people united as the church serve together in the power of the Holy Spirit, the lame can be supported in walking, the addict can somehow experience sobriety, the lost may come to experience salvation, and fractured relationships are capable of being mended.

Our ministry is praying for you in 2022…the Year of Prayer.