Baptism

This . . .
I was driving in Missouri this past weekend and stopped at a
Wal-Mart Super Center. It had all the regular departments, you know - The Wal-Mart Food Center, The Wal-Mart Tire and Lube,
The Wal-Mart 1-Hour Photo and . . .
The Wal-Mart Liquor Store. What????
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That . . .
I believe that baptism by immersion is required of those who recieve Jesus as Lord and Saviour. I am not really sure why, since I don't believe that it is a requirement of salvation. I guess the main reason is that Jesus said to do it, enough said.
I was sprinkled as a baby and have wanted for a few years to be immersed, but the opportunity never came up . . . until this week-end. The International House Of Prayer in KC had a baptism service this past week-end and so my son Elliott and I were both baptised along with about 25 others. It was good, very affirming and cleansing for me and I believe significant in the eyes of God.
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This is That . . .
It is a powerful thing to take the word of God and turn it into prayer. That is really what prayer is, taking what God says in His word and saying it back to Him.
The prayer leaders at IHOP will usually begin by giving a scripture they will be praying from. Then they read the scripture and pray accordingly. To continue, the singers will then begin to sing the scripture and the prayer back to God again.
Over the coming days, I intend to transcribe some of the daily house of prayer prayers. I will give the scripture and then the prayer and who is praying, changing it only slightly to make it more personal.
If you so desire, I encourage you to take the prayer and make it your own as well.