King's Business - 1957-03

ajfcMMMfefaMawaawiPPW _________ _ i * mw — — — Planning the first Prayer Fellowship meeting in Southern California are Mrs. Rachael Benry, visiting from Israel; Dr. A. A. Peters, pastor of the Victory Baptist Church, Los Angeles; and Rev. Ross Owens, founder of the Fellowship.

Prayer Fellowship

prayed in the rugged wilderness, Elisha in the home of the Shunam- mite, Esther in the plush palace of King Ahasuerus. Like the mellow tones of a violin, their prayers were serenely beautiful. And effective with God. But even though prayer still remains largely a matter of one soul’s devotion to God, never­ theless, The 20th Century Fellow­ ship believes that concerted effort on the part of Christians often changes the harshness of lives and attitudes of those round about. For when the lone violin is joined by other stringed instruments, cylin­ dr ical s i lvery flutes, massive mellow bass fiddles and brass wind instruments, the total effect is mov­ ingly effective and the world is somehow different.

same hour, others were entering before God with the same petitions. These simultaneous interdenomi­ national meetings are part of the plan of The 20th Century Prayer Fellowship founded by Rev. Russ Owens. Other phases of the work include encouraging individual prayer time at 10 in the morning, one-day-a-week morn ing prayer meetings held simultaneously in a group of churches, as well as the organization of monthly, county­ wide all-day prayer meetings. All this because in order to have effec­ tive world evangelization, there must first be effectual prevailing prayer on the part of Christians. In the olden days, solitary figures often stood alone before God in private prayer and devotion. Moses

In Los Angeles one brisk day a few weeks ago, three groups of Christians gathered for a prayer meeting at 7:30 in the evening at their own individual churches. A six-laned freeway, several man­ made, palm- l i ned parks, and sprawling tracts of new real estate separated them. And because one of the groups was Chinese Presby­ terian, one Negro Baptist and the other an Assembly of God gather­ ing, the order of the services, the emphasis and language of the pray­ ers also acted to separate them. But in reality prayer has no lin­ guistic distinctions. Nor is it dif­ ferent in color or denomination. And so spiritually the groups were strongly united; each aware that in two other places that night at the

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