Prayer…when I think about prayer, I think...it’s about intimacy with God. It is not,necessarily how it is seen on TV, kneeling beside the bed and folding hands saying a ‘rote’ prayer. Prayer is speaking and listening to the heart of God.  It can be in the car, or while walking, any time, any day.  A culture of prayer is a lifestyle of prayer. 

Each week I hear another rejoicing report of answered prayer. This week, a young high school senior, asked me if I would pray about finding a partner to go on rides with at grad night in Disneyland (she didn’t want to do the dancing party scene like many do). It was a simple request to the Father who loves her so much. So we brought it to the Father.She called me two days later, reporting happily that she had found someone! Yes, God listens to our prayers. Although they may not always be answered in the way we think, He cares about us and hears our heart. I love it!

 One of the missions and vision of Fresno H.O.P.E. is to encourage a culture of prayer outside the church walls and in the marketplace.  I’ve seen too many leaders,whether they be businessmen or educators, get burnt out or taken out by the enemy.  I wonder, How is their intimacy with God? Do they know how to go to the ‘secret place’ with Him? And hear from Him?  Do they know how to wear their spiritual armor and use their weapons of warfare? Life brings it’s challenges and when we have intimacy and know how to hear the voice of the Father, Son and Spirit, it helps us through those times.

One of our desires is to see our region covered 24/7 with worship and prayer. I’ve said it many times, if we want to see transformation in our city, we must have prayer as a foundation for change.  This is not about preaching another sermon, or just staff gathering for prayer for their local church, although all of that is good. This is about having a place to pray for others, receive prayer, and or just rest in the ‘secret’place. It is about seeing individual lives transformed, who will then help bring transformation to the city. This is about establishing a culture of prayer in our region.  Already, our region is almost covered 12/7. Take a look at the website under ‘prayer roundtable and see the list. New gatherings are starting every month. Let me share about a few:  

·I received a call from local youth who wanted to gather for worship and prayer.So we met and they planned a night of worship and prayer. It was awesome to join them, and see how they organized the gathering, and prayed for their highschool campuses. I suspect these gathering will continue, and we encouraged all of them to gather weekly on their campuses for prayer.

·We were also very excited to move into another prayer room in central Fresno. ETC (Entrepreneurial Training Center) has allowed us to use a room for prayer. We are very excited about being able to teach classes there as well.

·And last Saturday, was a time of worship and prayer with our mayor. She is a woman of prayer, and has a genuine heart to see transformation in our valley and knows the importance of prayer. It is not about a single churches agenda, but about calling out to the God who cares about cities.

And two more new gatherings in May are coming.On May 4^th, we will meet with Christian Educators InternationalAssociation for National Day of Teachers, we will meet at Fresno First Baptist4-6 pm, for a time of fellowship, honoring and praying for educators.Information will also be given abut CEIA.

One of the next exciting days we are preparing for is the Sacred Regional Assembly on May 22^nd at Peoples Church, Ground Zero. If you’ve gone to the "CALL’, this is very similar, a day (10 am-10 pm) of worship, prayer, fasting. People will be coming from all over the valley and the state as well.

Another California network prayer initiative is the ‘adopt a street’. Currently Harvest Evangelism has a website and page where you can sign in to ‘adopt a street’canopy of prayer for CA. 

So, there you have it… these are just a few of the wonderful new things happening in our valley, as we create a culture of prayer.