Prayer That Changes the World
By Tim Kerber, MSR Regional Minister

Some of my favourite Bible stories are found in the middle of the Old Testament book of 1 Kings. There we find the stories of Elijah; drought and provision, the widow of Zarephath, and the raising of her son, to name a few. But perhaps the best story of all is in chapter 18, and Elijah confronting Ahab and the prophets of Baal. This is a story I’ve always thought would make a great movie. The 450 prophets challenged to call upon their gods to bring fire from heaven. But after trying everything they could imagine, yelling and pleading, causing harm to themselves… nothing. So, when they have nothing left to give, Elijah simply prays:
“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
As I’ve gotten older, the drama of this story has become less important, and I’ve reflected more on how often I’ve approached God a lot like the prophets of Baal. No, I’ve never sought to worship other gods, but I have at times thought that when I prayed, I was needing to try to get God’s attention. I’ve lived through seasons where I was quite sure, God didn’t have time for the little things in our lives. After all, the world is a big place, and there are some serious things going on that I can only imagine would be of more importance than my life. (I remember being annoyed as a teenager when I would hear other people pray about little things….) Why would I waste God’s time with my cares and worries? So at times I have tied my efforts, my good works, my struggles with sin, to my sense of whether God really had time for my prayers. I thought I needed to prove my worth to God, to get His attention. James says that the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (5:16). I often felt like I came to prayer broken and helpless, not righteous. Did God really hear me?
But I am grateful that God has, over the past number of years, been doing a wonderful work in my prayer life. I’ve gone back to the Elijah story and began to pray with a quiet confidence, and faith that God is working, trusting that my Father recognizes my voice. Recently, I had the opportunity to preach from Philippians 4 which says this about prayer:
‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus’.
My prayers today are so much less “worried” than they once were. The Lord is near. I trust that not only are my prayers changing me, but they are also changing the world.
When I became a regional minister, one of the gifts that I did not see coming, was the renewed call on my life to pray. There are just too many things in the world I can’t change on my own. Too many situations that are outside of my capacity to handle. Apart from Him, I can truly do nothing.
And could it be that this is a call of God for us all? To become more steadfast and faithful in prayer? To lift the broken and complex world we live in before the Creator of the universe in a quiet trust that this grace afforded us to come before Him with confidence can change the world?
We live in uncertain times. We continue to work out our faith. We seek to offer grace and stand on truth. We are trying to live with integrity and offer others mercy. We try to love people and not their sin. And all these things we do imperfectly. This is why we must pray.
My invitation to you today is to “re-up” your prayer life. It will open your eyes to seeing the world as it really is again. God is near. He remains in control. Our battle is not against people, but evil. That which to us seems impossible is not impossible at all.
Pray anew for your family, for your church, for your community, for the CBWC, for the ministry we do together. And then wait with me in anticipation of the ways that our simple trust in Him, and willingness to call out in faith will bring from heaven the power of God.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 4:20-21
What is the CBWC Settlement Office?

The CBWC has many resources for churches and pastors. Have you heard of the Settlement Office? Run by Mountain Standard Regional Minister, Tim Kerber, and Administrative Associate, Sherisse White, the Settlement office is based out of the MSR office in Edmonton.
What does the Settlement Office do?
The purpose of the Settlement Office is to help churches looking for pastors and pastors looking for churches. We provide resources, advice, and direction to anyone involved in the process of hiring a new pastor to a church. We do not hire pastors for churches, that is the task of the Pastoral Search Committees at the local church, however, we walk alongside and make the process as stress-free as possible.
Some of the resources we can provide to a church looking to hire a new pastor are:
- CBWC Pastoral Staff Search Manual – this document provides a search committee step-by-step processes for all stages of the pastoral search. It also includes templates to use along the way.
- CBWC Identity Statement and Ministerial Protocol Manual (MPM) – these are provided to search committees and all candidates that apply.
- CBWC Minister Information Profiles (MIP) – this comprehensive document is completed by potential candidates and includes a look at everything from ministry history, theological standings, references and personal information relevant to pastoral ministry.
- Lists of Bible Colleges and job posting sites that search committees can use to post their job description to expand their search.
- Welcome Letters to pastoral staff starting a new role and Exit Letters to pastoral staff leaving a role or retiring. These letters contain important information and resources.
- Help with screening candidates. We can review any MIPs and resumes that are sent to search committees to see if there are any “red flags.”
- Tim is available to meet with search committees in person (depending on location) and virtually to answer any questions and give advice.
The Settlement Office maintains lists of churches currently looking to fill positions and of all potential candidates that have let us know they are looking for a new pastoral position. We frequently update and compare these lists to help match up churches and pastors.
We also work with the website Administrator for CBWC to ensure that all the posting on the careers page are up to date. The careers page is found at www.cbwc.ca/careers To contact the Settlement Office, send an email to pastoralsettlement@cbwc.ca. We would love to hear from you and help you with your search.
This regional newsletter is published quarterly within the CBWC’s monthly newsletter, Making Connections. Have a story idea? Email our senior writer, Hannah Hamm: hhamm@cbwc.ca