Prayer Ministry
Prayer is a vital part of any ministry. God commands us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17). Jesus instructed His disciples "how" to pray. Oakley hosts the following prayer gatherings: Tuesday Mornings @ 6 AM -- Men's Prayer First Tuesday of each month @ 7 PM -- Women's Prayer Wednesday Evenings @ 7 PM -- Church Prayer Meeting
If you have a prayer request that you would like us to pray for, you can email Pastor Brian at brian@oakleybaptist.org. Please indicate if you want this prayer request to remain confidential (only for the pastor), otherwise it will be shared with the church. Why is prayer so important? Bruce Ware, in his book, God's Greater Glory, outlines several reasons for prayer. First, God has devised prayer as a means to draw us into close and intimate relationship with Him, the self-sufficient God who possesses all. Second, God has devised prayer as a means of enlisting us as participants in the work He has ordained, as part of the outworking of His sovereign rulership over all. And how do we participate? God has designed not only that prayer comes to be, but that prayer sometimes be a necessary means for accomplishing the means He has ordained. Prayer functions as a tool designed by God to enlist our participation in His work as we are led, by the Spirit, to have our minds and wills reshaped to the mind and will of God. Prayer is God's tool to enlist our participation in His work as we pray on behalf of others and so minister God's grace to them. Prayer enlists our participation in God's work a we are made more fully aware of what He is doing and, as a result, praise Him when it is accomplished. Prayer is a tool designed by God to enlist our participation in His work as we persist in prayer, sometimes for long periods and through agonizing trials.
(Bruce A. Ware, God's Greater Glory: The Exalted God of Scripture and the Christian Faith. Wheaton: Crossway, 2004. ISBN: 1-58134-443-0) You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed. -John Bunyan | 
Oakley Baptist Church
