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It Begins and Ends with Prayer

It Begins and Ends with Prayer

Recently my daughter got married, and during the months of preparation I worried how all the threads that needed to come together—to produce a celebration without mishap or miscalculation—might fall into place. I applied John 2:1–11 and my prayer over the weeks leading up to the wedding was, metaphorically speaking, ‘take the water of the wedding and turn it into the finest wine’; in other words, ‘take our less-than-perfect attempts to organise a wedding and turn it into a spectacular day’… and God delivered, beyond expectations. Even the weather was amazing—which is a miracle considering the summer we have just had!

Jesus understood and knew my anxiety. I invited him to attend to the details of an event that was important to me and my family—and he did. This may seem like an unimportant prayer, particularly when Aotearoa New Zealand is reeling from the disaster of Cyclone Gabrielle. But if I can invite Jesus into the circumstances of a wedding, we as a nation can invite him into the restoration of our land and the healing of the hearts of those who have been devastated by these dreadful weather events.

Whether our prayers are for big things or small things, Jesus loves to answer them. We just need to humble ourselves and pray and seek his face, to invite him into our pain and ask him to remedy things that are out of our control and beyond our capabilities to manage.

The fallout from Cyclone Gabrielle is beyond what any government alone can fix. It is going to take cities, towns and communities coming together—working together—to find ways forward. The Salvation Army has a key role to ‘pray’ right now. We know it will take a miracle: particularly around food supply with a wind-blown, sodden harvest laying on the ground; a building crisis; and severe infrastructure breakdown, but God is up to the job. He will take our prayers and creatively and spectacularly answer them, above and beyond all we could possibly ask—we just need to ask.

This edition of War Cry is full of stories of restoration and answered prayers. I hope you will enjoy and take heart from the many instances of answered prayer within these pages.

Vivienne Hill, Editor


The magazine can be viewed either as an online magazine on Issuu, or the bulk of the articles, news, and shorter reflections (Grace Notes) have been added into their various sections.

I welcome your feedback and suggestions, and also your photos, letters, crafts and stories. Please email: [email protected]

Magazine Contents

Articles

Leaning into a Legacy: Blenheim Corps Home League celebrates 100 years of outreach and community.

The Teens Teaming up in Thames: A group of nine people from Teen Missions International travelled from Queensland to the small town of Thames to serve in the local community.

Welcoming the Champions of the Mission: Supporters from around the territory gathered at Johnsonville Corps to welcome the newest Salvation Army cadets.

Inspiring Hope for 50 Years!: Jules Badger looks back at the beginnings of Christchurch Bridge.

A Striking Effort from Family Store Volunteers: Two Napier Family Store volunteers share their triumphs after competing in tenpin bowling at the Special Olympics.

Faith Story

Relying on God: Fran Haira speaks to Rachel Montgomery about her journey to faith and The Salvation Army.

Grace Notes

Praying Together Initiative

Raise Your Voice: God’s design for Gender Equity

Cultivating a Kingdom Perspective: Part three of the four-part series by Major Mat Badger looks at the seed amongst thorns from the Parable of the Sower.

War Cry in History

Carrying the Message to Australia: The Salvation Army’s Māori Party, which was founded in 1895, led an evangelical tour of Australia that highlighted the unity of all people under the gospel.

Reviews

Book: Clouds Over Paris: The Wartime Notebooks of Felix Hartlaub

TV: Kaleidoscope

Podcast: The Daily Grace

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