Prayer on the Porch

The more I serve the Lord, the more I realize how dependent I am on Him for
everything. We must come boldly before His throne of grace in prayer daily.

Prayer on the Porch

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

(Hebrews 4:16)

Each Wednesday night during the summer months, our church has what we call "Prayer on the Porch". My wife, Ashley, and I lead most of these from our home. A few times, some of our staff at Great Hills Baptist Church have hosted these prayer meetings as well. What is Prayer on the Porch? It is a virtual, online prayer meeting where anyone can join in and submit prayer requests. It is an innovative and interactive time of prayer, and I love it! You can join in tonight at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, as Ashley and I will host the prayer meeting from our home. We will be joined by my daughter, Hannah Samplaski. You can join us at GHBC.org or watch on my personal Facebook page.

We originally planned on hosting these prayer gatherings on our back porch. But even in the shade, summer months in Texas are hot! Last month was the hottest June on record! So, we moved our prayer meeting inside. You can still see the porch, but we are not sitting outside! We are staying put where it's cool!

The more I serve the Lord, the more I realize how dependent I am on Him for everything. I will turn 58 years old next month. I started preaching when I was 17 years old, so I have been serving Christ for over 40 years. I am grateful to the Lord for the honor of serving as the pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church and the president of the Danny Forshee Evangelistic Association. But the longer I serve Him, the more I see my need for Him. John 15:5 has become one of my favorite verses in the Bible: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

Our biblical text for today teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace. How do we do that? It is through prayer! Prayer is the way we approach God's throne. He invites us to come and bring our praises, confessions, thanksgivings, and our requests. He loves to hear from His children, and He welcomes us to come boldly and ask! He will answer.

Are you needing a special touch from God where His mercy and grace envelop you in your time of need? I know many of you reading this will answer in the affirmative. I invite you to stop reading this devotion and do what the Word of God says to do: pray! Yes, keep on praying, asking, and seeking the Lord. He loves you. In His perfect time, He will send the rain, the breakthrough, the miracle you are seeking.