This year the Global Day of Prayer will be held on May 27. It is an observance in which over 500 million Christians around the world will be participating. We wanted to talk about prayer with someone whose ministry is all about prayer—Steve Loopstra, executive director of Prayer Transformation Ministries here in the Twin Cities.

Bennett: Steve, how would you define prayer?

Loopstra: I think we lose the relational aspect of prayer. Prayer is the product of an intimate and personal relationship between a real, personal, living God and us. Prayer, then, becomes our lifeline between God and us. Sometimes we think prayer is something we do.

To use a common analogy, I like to think of prayer as Gatorade. If you recall some of the commercials for Gatorade, they show some of the guys playing football or basketball, then they show this guy sweating orange or blue and the tag line at the end is, “Is it in you?”

If prayer is in us, and not something we put on when it’s prayer time or when it’s our devotional time, it will come out in every situation of life.

Kutzler: Steve, what makes prayer dynamic for you? Some would say they believe in prayer and they do it every time there is a crisis. What makes it compelling to pray?

Loopstra: When I come to the Lord in prayer, I am literally picturing myself standing before Him and we are in conversation together. Prayer is not just words that I pump up into heaven.

I think for a lot of us, prayer has become a list of things that we throw up into the air and we’re not sure who is up there to catch them. I think it is helpful to picture myself standing before the God of the universe and conversing with Him.

Bennett: Coming up on Sunday, May 27, is the Global Day of Prayer, and here in the Twin Cities there will be a local observance of this day. Tell us briefly about the Global Day of Prayer, and where can we participate on May 27.

Loopstra: The Global Day of Prayer began years ago in South Africa. It is now in the third year of being a global prayer emphasis. It is modeled after the Book of Acts where the disciples prayed in the upper room, then on Pentecost the church was born. The 90 days after Pentecost we have developed ways the church can get out into the community and minister to the community. More information can be found at www.globaldayofprayermn.com

On Sunday night, May 27, we will have a local gathering of prayer at Northrup Auditorium. We invite the Church of the Twin Cities to join with the 500 million Christians around the world to pray for God to come to our cities in transforming power.


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