We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Prayer Meeting Effectiveness – Part 2 (

6-10): 6. Pray for the Needs of Others! One mistake commonly committed by well-intended saints is the tendency to pray for their own personal needs. By all means there is a place for this in the private prayer closet, but in the corporate gathering we should be “other” focused. The beauty of the Christian life is the heart attitude that manifests itself in selflessness. As Paul said in Philippians 2:3-4, “With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Instead of praying for your own needs, pray for the needs of others and others in turn should pray for your needs. Few things can appear more disheartening than to hear someone in a public prayer meeting only address his or her personal concerns (unless they are confessing their own sin!). Also, it is worth noting that (generally speaking) the words “I” or “my” should be banned from the gathering. Frequently your needs are also the needs of others. Get in the habit of expressing your prayers with the plural pronouns of “we” and “us.” 7. Pray for the Local Church! We’ve all experienced this one – the corporate prayer meeting where everyone is addressing personal concerns and peripheral situations. You know, “Aunt Erma’s sinus congestion” and “Billy’s peewee soccer tryouts” and “the Johnson’s family vacation.” Again, there’s a place for this in individual and family prayers (and I’m not saying these things should never be said corporately), it’s only that more pressings issues affecting the spiritual wellbeing of the church need to be prioritized. Deeply consider where the Lord wants His local church and then pray accordingly! Here are some examples: Spiritual growth of the flock, more conversions, passion for evangelism and prayer and Bible Study, wisdom, more servants and power for those presently serving, purity, commitment to the local church, our church leaders, our church ministries and upcoming events, our church missionaries, our marriages, our testimonies, our doctrine, those presently backsliding, those dealing with major trials, godly fellowship, the power of the Word proclaimed, doctrinal fidelity, spiritual and physical protection of the church and personal delight in the Lord. And once we pray for the local church, let’s then branch out to the needs of the universal church. Pray for persecuted Christians, local churches and missionaries all over the world, the progress of the gospel, the government and the end of abortion. 8. Call in Prayer Requests When Possible! As you are aware, we produce the VINE each Wednesday. Not only is it emailed to the church, but hard copies are also provided at the time of our corporate gathering. The VINE contains church families and ministries and missionaries to focus on each week. It lists all the upcoming events and has a place for the significant personal praises and petitions of the church. If you would like to have something prayed over on Wednesday evenings, please call or e-mail your personal requests in advance. Of course there will be exceptions in emergency-type situations, but the more we can guard our prayer meeting from long announcements, the more time we will have to devote to prayer itself in the prayer meeting. 9. Pray Earnestly! Always true, but especially pertinent for the prayer meeting. It’s easy to have our minds wandering off when others are praying. Oftentimes it’s because we’re tired and distracted after a long day or we’re just trying to think of what we are going to say when it becomes our turn to pray. Make every attempt to discipline yourself to stay focused! Keep alert (Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2)! Our prayer meeting is most effective when everybody is praying – either audibly themselves or silently as they are led by another in their group. And when we speak, may our prayers be Spirit-led, strategic and passionate. Earnestness (Col. 4:12; 1 Thes. 3:10; Jas. 5:17)! As C.H. Spurgeon once said, “Oh, for warm hearts, burning with red hot desires which make a channel from the lips with glowing words; then indeed, this complaint would never be made – ‘What is the use in my going to the prayer meeting, when I know all that will be said if So-and-so is called on?’” 10. Keep the Prayers Going! A few seconds of silence after each prayer is good for the purpose of reflection, the Spirit’s prompting and the orderly submission of new prayers. However, in a desire to maximize our time, keep our minds engaged and demonstrate our eagerness to God, prayers should be in “rapid succession.” Give others with you the opportunity to participate, but if others fail to pray, pray again to avoid prolonged periods of silence. Let’s remember this is a corporate prayer meeting. Come prepared to participate corporately!

We Love God!

God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)

Chinese Steamed Lotus Buns

January 22, 2023

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy, Vegetables	Chinese	Chinese, Appetizers	24	Servings

INGREDIENTS

		Stephen Ceideburg
1		Envelope active dry yeast
6	tb	Sugar
1/4	c	Warm water (100 degrees F. to 110 degrees F.)
3 1/2	c	All-purpose flour, + more for kneading
1	c	Warm milk (100 degrees F. to 110 degrees F.)
2	ts	Baking powder
		Asian sesame oil or vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Put yeast and 1 tablespoon of the sugar into a bowl. Pour in warm water,
stir, and let mixture stand 5 minutes to dissolve. It should foam and
bubble. If it does not, discard and use a fresh package of yeast.
Put flour and remaining sugar in a food processor fitted with the metal
blade. Turn machine on for 2 seconds to mix ingredients. Combine yeast
mixture with warm milk and, while the machine is running, pour milk down
the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until dough forms a rough ball.
If the ball is sticky, add flour, 1 teaspoon at a time, and process a few
seconds longer until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Remove dough to a
lightly floured board.
Knead, dusting with flour until dough is smooth and elastic, about 2
minutes. Form dough into a ball and put it into a large, lightly oiled.
mixing bowl. Cover and set in a warm spot. Let rise until it doubles in
size, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough and turn out on a lightly floured surface. Flatten, then
put the baking powder in the center. Fold over edges and knead until baking
powder is thoroughly incorporated. Invert, mixing bowl over the dough; let
rest 10 minutes.
Divide dough in half. Cover one half, and roll the other half into
12-inch-long roll; cut into 12 pieces. Remove 1 piece and cover rest. Roll
the piece into a flat 3 1/2 inch circle. Lightly brush one with oil; fold
over to form a half moon. With the back of a knife score the half-moons
crosswise at 1/4-inch intervals.
Then with a chopstick, make an indentation in the middle of the rounded
edge while the thumb and forefinger pinch the middle of straight edge to
form a notch and form a leaf. Set on a 3-inch square of parchment paper and
place in a steaming basket. (You will need 2 baskets, or you'll need to
steam 2 separate batches.) Repeat with remaining dough; leave space between
buns in the basket.
Let rise for 30 minutes, or until buns almost double in size, then steam
over boiling water for 15 minutes. When done, let cool for a minute before
serving.
Makes 24 buns.
PER BUN: 90 calories, 2 g protein, 18 g carbohydrate, 1 g fat, (0 g
saturated), 1 mg cholesterol, 33 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
Joyce Jue writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 11/25/91.

A Message from our Provider:

“Jesus: right way, only truth, best life.”