“So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the Lord.” (2 Kings 4:33)

This verse provides a powerful reminder of the effectiveness of prayer and how it depicts a trust upon God and His power. In our account, the Shunammite’s son had died, and the efforts of revival applied by Elisha’s servant Gehazi, which included laying Elisha’s staff upon the lad’s face, had not worked. Yet, as Elisha arrives and enters the room, he prays, and his prayer reveals at least two critical points worthy of our notice. First, the power of healing rests not upon men or staffs (as in this case), but upon God alone. And second, a dependence and trust upon God is illustrated as we pray. Let us reflect upon this often, the fact that our prayer life reveals our trust God, and how I seek that the Lord all the more calls us to a life reflective of dependency and trust as we pray.

As you enter your prayer closets over the course of the next few weeks to commune with the Lord, please uphold these petitions as you intercede:

• Pray for our AFLC’s 57th Annual Conference as we gather June 11-14 in Canadensis, PA for worship, fellowship, and encouragement in the Lord’s work amongst our Association. We seek guidance in all the logistics and strength and endurance for churches and volunteers that are hosting this event, and pray for journey mercies for those participating.
• Pray for a special moving of the Holy Spirit over our gathering at Annual Conference, and that the will of the Lord would be accomplished in all of our work, and that God be glorified in all He has called us to do.
• Pray for all of our Summer Teams. This is a powerful and life changing ministry for our School, our students, and our churches, and we seek God’s favor as these teams minister through service, worship, and the sharing of gifts. Let us pray for the congregations and communities where these teams will minister this summer, and pray for souls to be saved and encouraged.
• Pray for Pastor Adam Osier who has accepted the call to serve as the Dean of the Association Free Lutheran Bible School, starting July 1. May he, his wife Courtney, and their family experience a gracious transition to ministry in Plymouth, and may the Holy Spirit continue to direct their steps and way.
• Pray for FLY 2019 to be held July 1-6 in Estes Park, Colorado under the theme of “I AM”. We seek the Lord’s leading for all decisions in planning and logistics and that all those in attendance would draw nearer to Him and gain a fuller understanding and appreciation of the grace He gives to us in Jesus Christ His Son.
• Pray for the work initiated on the Student Life Center and that efforts directed toward fund raising would bear good fruit.
• Pray for the work of the AFLBS Alumni Association, and the events they are hosting that include Regional BBQ’s in Fargo on July 14 and Minneapolis on July 20, and the Golf Scramble on July 26th. May these events encourage all who participate and continue raise awareness and support of our Schools.
• Let us offer praise for 80 completed new student applications received for the fall of 2019. As we praise God for this, we continue to pray for a total of 100 new applications, which we believe will result in 75 new students at AFLBS.

On behalf of the Intercessor Team,
Pastor Kirk Flaa, Sioux Falls, SD