Prayer Letter!

George Mc Connell   (April 2020)

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(Matthew 6:6)“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” 

In the year of 1947, Billy Graham held a Crusade in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Attending that crusade was a young farmhand who worked on a neighboring farm. He decided to go along with some of his friends, and on the evening that he did, God spoke to him through His faithful servant and under conviction of sin, this young man went forward and through the counseling of one of the leaders this young man put His trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.                                                                                                                                            

 

One of the great problems that he faced was that the farm on which he worked on and the family that he stayed with during the week, were not Christians and didn’t attend church. The night after his conversion, he read a booklet that the counselor gave him and it taught him how to grow as a Christian properly and it encouraged him to seek out a quiet place where he could pray privately and read his bible. One day as he was building bales of straw in the barn, he made himself a wee secret hole where he could go every morning to pray and read his bible. Every morning at 4am, he would go to the barn, climb across the top of the bales of straw and get into that secret hole that he made for himself with his bible and torch, and there he would read the Word of God and pray. He soon discovered that this hidey hole he called it at first, became something very different. It became to him a sacred sanctuary as it was there God presented Himself to him in a real and powerful way. He began to pray for everyone in the household that they too would come to know his Saviour, and before the year was out, God began to answer his prayers. The first one to come to Christ in that home was the grandmother! She at 92 years of age was lying in bed this night and began to think of her life coming to and end and began to think of the hereafter, as she put it. On this night she got out of bed and got the family bible and opened it at Luke 19:10 where Jesus said, “The Son of Man is come, to seek, and save that which is lost.” Through that verse God opened her heart and with other verses of scripture, this old lady got wonderfully saved, and she herself died ten days later. Through her death, God spoke to the rest of the family and within two years the whole family was enjoying household salvation.                                                                                                                                          

 

The secret to it all was what went on in that barn every morning from 4am. Without fail, that young man closed himself away with God and there enjoyed sweet communion with his Lord and Saviour. That is the secret of it all dear praying friend! The secret is in the secret place. After spending a further 5 years on that farm, he went to Bible College to study for the ministry. On his last day, he asked the owner of the farm could he take one thing with him and he would pay for it. Can you guess what it was? It was the bale of straw he sat on every morning as he spent time alone with the Lord.  Dear praying friend, how sure is the promise of the secret place! We have Christ’s own words; “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward the openly (Matthew 6:6)                               

 

George

 

 

Report of the Meetings in March 2020

Tuesday 3rd March: It was back to school for me on this morning when I was in Kilkeel Primary School for to speak at their assembly. Nearly 500 children were sitting in front of me and what an opportunity to share the Gospel with them and the teachers. At the end of my talk I asked everyone to say out loud together two things I want them to always remember through life and never forget. The first on was “God Loves Me”  and the second thing was, “Jesus Died For Me”. To hear all those children say those two things out loud together was amazing and as I said, I stressed to them, those are two facts I want them all to remember through their life.                                                                                   

 

After assembly it was a number of home visits and at 12 o’clock it was Senior Citizens where the usual format took place. I spoke on 2nd Corinthians 2:9, 10 and then it was over to the tables where we were set down once again to a three course meal all cooked and served up by our ladies. Wait for it……. Full roast beef dinner for main course including Yorkshire pudding,, apple tart and ice cream for dessert and then tea or coffee to finish off with. I could have lay down and slept for the rest of the day after that; but no, it was back into the car and calling at the homes of the elderly and housebound for a wee chat and read the scriptures and pray with them. Then after a wee cup of tea at tea time it was another few visits and then it was the Office Bearers meeting at 7:30pm. As the man says, “it is all in a days work” a work that I love so much!!

Now everyone, owing to the coronavirus outbreak and of the advice of the public health guidelines, we are not presently meeting together but broadcasting our service over the online link. Please continue to pray for us and in these days of fear and uncertainty, let us pray much that the Lord would speak in these days.

 

Lord Bless

George