Monday, May 15, 2023

Do you believe in the power of prayer? This week, we kicked off our new series, Butterfly Effect. A Chinese proverb states that the flapping wings of a butterfly can be felt on the other side of the world. It illustrates how a small event has the potential to have major influence over future events. Pastor Ben introduced three amazing women whose prayers reached further and impacted more people than they could have imagined. Susanna Wesley is one of those women.

Susanna was born in 1669 and was the youngest of 25 children. She married Sam Wesley at the age of 19, and they had 19 children, nine of whom died in infancy. She and her husband lived a hard life. Their house burned down twice, and at one point, her husband moved out, leaving her and their 10 kids to survive on their own. She felt that she should be doing more for the cause of Christ, but how could she? 

Senior Pastor of North Point Ministries, Andy Stanley, once said, “Your greatest contribution to the kingdom of God may not be something you do but someone you raise.” Susanna Wesley could have inspired that statement. She started with her children, giving each intentional time on different nights. She not only invested in their education but also their spiritual lives to help them discover their purpose. Prayer was a very important part of her daily routine. 

Little did Susanna know that God would use her son John to launch the Methodist church and inspire her son Charles to write over 6,500 hymns. Her two sons have impacted millions of people, and their impact continues today. Susanna’s prayers were small, purposeful acts that made a huge impact.

Matthew 7:7-8
⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Jesus directs us to pray without ceasing, trusting that God is who he says he is. He promises that everyone who sincerely seeks God will be heard and answered with God’s good gifts. 

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV
… pray continually …

Prayer has incredible power. As we learned with this week’s bottom line: Your prayers have potential beyond what you can see. It should be a first response, not a last resort.

Questions:
Do you feel like you should be doing more? How are you making a difference?

After hearing this message, do you think of prayer differently? Are you trusting God?

Are you so caught up in the big things that you have forgotten about the small things? Remember, small things can make a huge impact.

Next Steps:
Do you know how to pray? Here are three steps to get you started.

• Be yourself. It’s not necessary to act differently than you would in any other situation. God knows who you are and loves it when you come to him in prayer.
• Find a place. Susanna chose to sit in a chair with her apron pulled over her head so as not to be distracted.
• Structure your time. To help make the most of your prayer time, join us in the days to follow as we unpack each letter of the P.R.A.Y. acronym that was introduced during the message.

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, thank you for always listening to my prayers. Help me to trust you completely. Open my eyes to the purposeful life you have planned for me. Use me in any way that you can to make an impact in your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Series Theme Verse:
Luke 8:15
And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.