The Central Jamaica Conference (CJC) Prayer Ministries department called churches together on April 5 for a prayer convention to intercede for personal, churchwide and national victories as part of the conference’s 65th anniversary line-up of commemorative programmes.
Speaking at the event hosted at the Sydenham Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, CJC president Pastor Nevail Barrett, reminded congregants that God fights to protect His own, which includes the church and its mission.
“For 65 years God has been leading this conference. We started with just over ten thousand members and now we are one hundred and fourteen thousand members strong. God fought many financial and legal battles for us. We started out more in the rural areas and nobody knew who the Seventh-day Adventists were. They scoffed at and ridiculed us. But look at us now. The church has grown because God defended his cause,” Barrett said.
CJC President, Pastor Nevail Barrett, delivers the charge to trust God to fight the battles that arise in the lives of the members :: Photo credit: Roxanne White, Technical Producer, CJC
He anchored the sermon in the Bible text 2 Chronicles 20:15, which was a divine charge to the nation of Judah facing an invading army “...Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” from which the programme theme was derived- “The Battle is Not Yours, It’s the Lord's”.
An anointing ceremony was conducted for those who desired consecration and divine power to intervene in their circumstances.
CJC Ministerial Secretary, Pastor A. George McCallum, reminds worshippers of the Holy Spirit's role in empowering, healing, and delivering God's people :: Photo credit: Roxanne White, Technical Producer, CJC
CJC Ministerial Secretary, Pastor A. George McCallum, explained that the Bible outlines three types of anointing- one for appointment to spiritual leadership roles, another for healing and another for the power of the Holy Spirit. The two latter kinds were in view.
“...This is the verse that I want you to take home [2 Corinthians 1:21, 22] ‘Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee,’” he read.
Church members come forward, in faith, to be anointed by the elders during the special anointing ceremony segment of the programme :: Photo credit: Roxanne White, Technical Producer, CJC
Ordained church elders applied olive oil to the foreheads of the anointees in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
McCallum said the power of the Holy Spirit to work through an anointed church to reduce crime, heal families and save souls should not be underestimated.
CJC Prayer Ministries Director, Elder Ruth Walcott, addresses the congregation, charging the prayer coordinators to lead the church into prayer :: Photo credit: Roxanne White, Technical Producer, CJC
CJC Prayer Director and organizer of the convention, Elder Ruth Walcott, charged prayer co-ordinators to make God's church a house of prayer for all people.
“You are the spiritual guard for your church. You cannot afford to go to sleep. Things really happen when our churches pray. Throughout the [Bible] book of Acts, we see that prayer plays an integral part in the life of the church…So when you go back to your churches, tell them that God says to be a prayer coordinator is not a wishy-washy something,” she said.
Church members lift songs of praise and victory as Pastor Marvin Pryce (centre) stirs the fire to ensure that all the requests are burnt. :: Photo credit: Roxanne White, Technical Producer, CJC
A highlight of the convention was the bonfire. Prayer requests that were written on slips of paper and deposited into prayer boxes were emptied into a metal barrel as members sang ‘Faith is the Victory’ and other hymns of trust and triumph. Pastor Marvin Pryce prayed for God’s intervention in the various circumstances for which people were praying. The requests were lit and the singing continued as the smoke ascended, a symbol of the prayers offered to God.
The convention also featured corporate prayers, literature distribution in the community and a recognition ceremony honouring 13 persons, including children and youth, for outstanding commitment to intercession, service, and spiritual leadership. An educational grant was also awarded.
The event can be viewed at this link: #Prayer Convention | The Battle is Not Yours, It’s the Lord's