Over the past two (2) years, the fellowship of First Assembly of God Wortmanville (FAOGW), has facilitated a virtual Morning Prayer Meeting that has touched the lives of many persons across Guyana and around the world. The prayer meeting, which is held from 05:00 to 06:00hrs every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, provides an opportunity for families and individuals to benefit from the presence of God in a devotional environment. Since its commencement in 2020, there have been several testimonies forthcoming about the goodness of God in the lives of individuals and families. Some of these testimonies relate to people receiving jobs and being healed of COVID-19 inter-alia.
The Genesis of the Morning Prayer Meeting
“This prayer meeting brings us into a corporate structure where we can really talk to God and collectively hear each other, and bear each other’s burdens,” said Senior Assistant Pastor, Rev. Anthony Semple, who is the leader of this ministry.
According to Rev.Semple, the virtual Morning Prayer Meeting is a product that has for a few years now, been in the making for the fellowship of FAOGW. The leadership of the church was challenged by Presiding Bishop, Dr. Murtland Raphael Massiah, to seek a structure where folk can come early in the morning to talk to God for themselves and create a Christ-centered devotional. This task was given in 2019 and materialised in March 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Guyana; causing churches to close their doors to physical gatherings. “The church became heavily dependent on technology, which gave us new tools and structures to execute our work and as a result, the Virtual Morning Prayer Meeting, which was being considered long ago, came to fruition,” revealed Rev. Semple.
The Importance of Prayer
The Word of God admonishes in Luke 18:1 that men ought always to pray and not to faint. Speaking with Rev. Anthony Semple on this subject, he explained that prayer is simply communicating with God. “You don’t have to be a good student of communication to know that that’s the lifeline of any relationship, and we need to inculcate and maintain a relationship with the most important person in the world – God,” he advised.
Alluding to the way we communicate in our personal relationship with each other, where oftentimes we do not wait for a particular time to speak but we send a text, a voice note or message, or pick up the phone to call each other, Rev. Semple noted that similarly, we should not wait on a prayer meeting to talk to God because prayer is very important. He added that prayer as a fellowship is important because the members and friends are able to talk to God collectively and ask Him to intervene in many issues and situations they are facing.
Benefits of the Virtual Morning Prayer Meeting
Rev. Semple described the Virtual Morning Prayer Meetings as a tremendous blessing to his personal and family life, noting that the discipline of waking up at 05:00hrs every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, has benefited him and he has seen the goodness of God through answered prayers and God coming through for him and his family in many ways.
He noted that the Prayer Meeting has provided a structure where different ones can tap in and receive strength. “Persons can come and listen to the Word of God, hear what we’re praying about, and believe God for themselves, their families, and communities,” advised Rev. Semple. This, he said, was and still is a real refuge and a rock for lots of people to get hope, in Guyana and the diaspora. “Many people were able to find themselves especially not knowing what will happen next in the pandemic,” explained Rev. Semple.
He added that the Prayer Meeting was truly a great help to many in the early days of the pandemic – a time when the doors of many churches were closed and folks perhaps did not know what to do. The Prayer Meeting, he said, has also allowed the fellowship of FAOGW to approach God, bringing difficult cases before Him and seeing Him answer prayers. “It has also kept the communication line with God open and flowing, personally and as a fellowship as it’s always a good thing to have our members involved in prayer,” emphasised Rev. Semple.
A Deliberate Structure
Rev. Semple expressed thanks to God for the structure of the Virtual Morning Prayer Meetings. He explained that the structure of the Prayer Meeting is a very deliberate one that enables the fellowship to reach people around the world and across Guyana. On any of the three mornings, almost three hundred persons gather for prayer, rising to above four hundred during fasting periods. On Mondays, Outstations lead the prayer meeting thereby exposing their members to even more training in the things of God. These Outstations are First Assembly of God Hopetown (West Coast Berbice), First Assembly of God Parfaite Harmonie (West Bank Demerara), First Assembly of God Judah (Sophia), First Assembly of God Prosperity (Prosperity/Barnwell North, East Bank Demerara) and our Diaspora Ministry. On Wednesdays, there is a specific focus on the Supernatural God and His Blessing and Healing, while the Saturday sessions are led by Dr. Wilbert Lee.
We pray that God continues to bless FAOGW, its Outstations and leadership as they continue to touch the lives of families and individuals, with the help of the Holy Spirit, through the Virtual Morning Prayer Meetings.
