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Print magazine

Presumptuous Prayer

By Chris Evenson, October 24, 2023

"Lord, please bring us 20 decisions in the upcoming series," I prayed. Was I being presumptuous? Was I asking for too much? Was it possible? I know God can do it, but would He?

We began gearing up for another conference-wide evangelism series. It Is Written was going to join us for this series and we were excited. I grew more excited the day I was asked if Nampa Church would host the series. I was thrilled. We have experienced success streaming in the past, but to host the series live was an unexpected blessing!

As we came closer to opening night, our prayers became more intense. "Lord, help the flyers to get into the hands of those who need to be at the meetings and help the church to be filled for both sessions," I prayed. The registrations began to pile up.

Every day, dozens of registrations came in. I began to worry if two nightly sessions would be enough. Could we hold all the people the Lord was going to bring to us? I knew He would provide.

Opening night came, and people showed up 45 minutes early. The stream of people continued into the first meeting. Once the sanctuary was filled, we began to send people to the overflow room. After the first meeting, the fellowship hall buzzed with those sharing a wonderful meal. Then the second meeting began to fill.

Again, we had to use the overflow space. Just as I had prayed for, we had a full house for both sessions opening night. More than 350 people attended the first session. God answered our prayers, and I was nearly in tears. God is so good, so faithful and desires even more than we ask for.

At the conclusion of the meetings, I'm still amazed at what God has done. We are expecting more than 20 baptisms in the next three weeks. God has done all that we asked for and more. For everyone who has chosen to be baptized, seeds have been planted in 10 other lives.

What will the end result be? Only time will tell. God has done amazing things and we are so blessed.

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Author

Chris Evenson

Pastor Chris Evenson
Section
Ministry
Tags
Ministerial

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The Gleaner is a gathering place with news and inspiration for Seventh-day Adventist members and friends throughout the northwestern United States. It is an important communication channel for the North Pacific Union Conference — the regional church support headquarters for Adventist ministry throughout Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. The original printed Gleaner was first published in 1906, and has since expanded to a full magazine with a monthly circulation of more than 40,000. Through its extended online and social media presence, the Gleaner also provides valuable content and connections for interested individuals around the world.

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