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Gaddis UMC is now live with an online message for today.
Go to the following link, click on play and watch Pastor Barbara: vimeo.com/401875210 Outstanding and with music!! Week Ending Sunday, April 5, 2020
IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER
Jesus Prayed... To pray consistently is not easy; it requires commitment and discipline. Don’t condemn yourself if you find praying difficult. Most of us do. Even the disciples didn’t find it easy. The night Jesus was arrested he asked his disciples to prayer with him. “And they went to a place which was called Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here, while I pray.” And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And He said to them “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch.” And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what though wilt.” And He came and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. And He came the third time, and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come; the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Discipline, then, is a part of the life of prayer. We should look upon prayer as a privilege, not a duty. Many of us see prayer as a discipline, as a duty, something we must do. We’ve been taught that we ought to pray, and when we don’t, we feel guilty. If we look at prayer as a privilege, prayer becomes a time of creative freedom, not a bondage of duty. Consider this testimony of Sir Wilfred Grenfell: “The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God sees and answers, and His answers I never venture to criticize. It is only my part to ask. It is entirely His to give or withhold, as He knows best. If it were otherwise, I would not dare to pray at all. In the quiet of home in the heat of life and strife, in the face of death, the privilege of speech with God is inestimable. I value it more because it calls for nothing that the wayfaring man, though a fool, cannot give – that is, the simplest expression to his simplest desire. When I can neither see, nor hear, nor speak, still I can pray so that God can hear. When I finally pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I expect to pass through it in conversation with Him.” When we pray we experience God. We grow in our faith and strengthen our relationship with God. The first sentence of Psalm 63 is a great personal claim: “God, thou art my God.” The heart of prayer is communion. Communion means being with, in union, sharing. The practice of prayer is necessary to make God not merely an idea held in the mind but a Presence recognized in our life. In Psalm 63:1 we hear the exclamation that came from the heart of personal faith, the psalmist cried, “O God, thou art my God” (Psalm 63:1). Have you failed to pray consistently because God did not seem real to you? What an insight: God does not seem real because we do not pray. If we want to realize God, we must pray. Ponder that for a few minutes. To build any relationship it takes regular and honest communication. Let us be committed to talk daily with our Lord so that we might grow in faith and hope in our Lord. Praying to God regularly helps us have a hunger to communicate with God? Let your prayer be a time of sharing with God what is in your heart. God wants to hear from you. God wants us to long for God’s presence in our lives. May we be intentional about setting aside time to be in God’s presence, sharing our hearts and walking with the Lord. God bless Pastor Barbara 
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welcomeGaddis Church is a United Methodist Congregation.
Please explore our website to learn more about us! 141 Hwy 87 | P.O. Box 566
Comfort, Texas 78013 830.995.3813 gaddischurch@gmail.com Sunday Service: 10:00 am Worship Service With Sunday school at 8:30 am Office Hours: Monday - Thursday | 8:00 am - 4:00 pm Friday | 8:00 am - Noon www.gaddischurch.org 
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