Dexter, Missouri - Ed Kleiman, led two days of teaching on the importance and power of prayer in the local church. Brother Ed started the conference by saying, “Everywhere I go I see people wearing the What Would Jesus Do (WWJD) bracelets. In order to know what Jesus would do we need to study the bible and look at what he did do.”  He referenced several scriptures (Mark 1:35-37, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12-13, Luke 9:28-29) to show that Jesus spent a large part of his ministry praying. Brother Ed stressed, “Despite having large crowds and those wanting healed urgently searching for him, Jesus always took time to pray.  The gospels record Jesus praying at all the key times during his ministry- during his transfiguration, before he was tempted, before he picked the twelve disciples and while he was baptized.”
 
The Dexter Prayer Conference held at Sweet Prospect General Baptist Church included two sessions on Saturday and then Pastor Ed delivered the Sunday message titled, Our Hearts Desire and Prayer. The first session included a breakfast of eggs, bacon, waffles and bisects with some of Miss. Mina’s apple butter.  Brother Ed taught on Jesus’s prayer example and showed how prayer was a shaping force in history. Then he split everyone in to groups of two to spend time asking God to increase their faith and allow them to be more like Jesus. Sweet Prospect member Rod Jetton stated, “This conference has totally revitalized my desire to pray more.  It reminded me of what Jesus taught by his example and I’m excited about what God will do in my life as I earnestly pray and ask God to help me be a better Christian.”       
 
The evening session focused on the ingredients of effective prayer.  Brother Ed outlined ten conditions of answered prayer that Jesus and the disciples taught about. He provided scripture references for each of the following:
1.       We must ask- A request has to be made to God
2.       Pray in faith believing- Our faith plays a role, we must believe God can accomplish the request
3.       Must be fervent in prayer- Praying or pleading earnestly for the request
4.       Obedient to Gods commands- Our daily life must be lived according to God’s commands
5.       Must confess any sins- The number one reason for unanswered prayers is unconfessed sin
6.       Must forgive others- We can’t have an unforgiveness towards another
7.       Preserver in your prayer request- Must continue to ask until we revived the answer
8.       Must pray in accordance with God’s will- We can know God’s will by reading God’s word
9.       Pray in Jesus name- Understand that it is because and through Jesus we must make our request
10.   Must have the right motive- For God’s glory and not our selfish desires
 
Brother Ed explained, “The result of the ten conditions will be an obedient Christ like life filled with faith, forgiveness and an earnest desire to see God’s glory revealed to a lost world.” The evening session ended with the groups of two asking God to help them meet the ten conditions of answered prayer. Sweet Prospect Pastor Ray Rowland said, “I expected the conference to focus more on our prayers for the church and our community and that was a part of what we learned, but the real emphasis was on our personal walk with Christ and making sure our prayers were not only for our personal desire, but God’s glory. Spending time in the evening session asking God to help us have faith, obedience, fervency, forgiveness and perseverance in our prayers has already refreshed my prayer life.”
 
Sunday morning’s service was filled with God’s glory as Brother Ed challenged everyone to search their hearts for any unforgiveness and to re-evaluate their Christian walk.  He stressed a follower of Christ should be praying for those who need Christ.  Family members, friends and the unsaved in their community will be a heavy burden to those who have strong prayer lives. Maria Glen who lives in Charleston, Missouri added, “Brother Ed opened my eyes to the many scriptures that stress the prayer life of Jesus Himself. If the Lord felt the need to pray to draw closer to the Father, how much more do I.”     
 
Ed Kleiman also spoke at the Celebrate Recovery meeting at Living Water Worship Center (LWWC) while he was in town and Pastor Jim Hook from LWWC has invited him back for their regular services sometime later this summer. Sweet Prospect member Mina Voss concluded, “I was a Christian for years, but got off on the wrong path before finding my way back and I have prayed to God for many needs throughout my life.  I thoroughly enjoyed this conference and I’m confident Brother Ed’s instruction on this important topic will add new strength to my prayers.”
 
Ed Kleiman is a Messianic Jew, who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 1999 the Lord has been using Ed to preach on the importance of the local church, God's design for the family, especially the role of men, the call for missions, while always emphasizing the power, priority, and purposes of prayer. In 2000, Ed became part of, and now serves full time with the mission’s organization, International Messengers. Ed founded Small Cloud Ministries which mission is : To glorify God by spreading a zeal for Jesus Christ to all people as the infinite treasure of all of life and His cross as God’s focal point of His glory. More info can be found on Ed and his ministry at www.praybold.org.

Sweet Prospect is a Bible believing, family focused church reaching out to those who need Christ in the Dexter community. Pastor Ray Rowland preaches how the Biblical principles found in the Scriptures can offer hope and peace to people’s everyday life. Sweet Prospect’s mission is taken from Jesus’s words in Matthew 28: 19 & 20 - to reach the lost in our community for Christ, and teach them to observe all Jesus’s commandments. Sweet Prospect is committed to seeing every person …believing in Jesus, belonging to a church family, becoming a disciple and helping to build God’s kingdom. We welcome all those who are searching for their true purpose in life. Come as you are. Especially those who are, tired, broken, poor, addicted to porn, smoker, stressed, drinker, not good enough, busy, messy, alcoholic, questioning God, imperfect, divorced, ashamed, willing, looking for answers, don’t know God, lonely, rich, unhappy, straight, gay, unchurched, raised in church, afraid, judgmental, unhappy, or hungry, and you will be just like us. We want to be known as a church where people with all kinds of troubles, issues or problems can walk through our doors. A church where God can heal, restore and redeem our issues for significant life change. A church that draws outsiders in and insiders are known for their compassion and generosity. A church that turns our community upside down! Services are Sunday School 9:45 am and worship service at 11:00 am then Wednesday night supper and bible study at 6:00 pm.  More info can be found at http://www.sweetprospectgbc.blogspot.com/