The Word of Faith Fellowship was birthed through prayer and is sustained by prayer. It was through seasons of corporate and individual prayer that God was able to speak to Sam and Jane Whaley to come to Rutherford County, North Carolina, and begin a work that would touch the hearts and lives of countless numbers of people throughout the world. Jesus said in Luke 18:1 that men ought always to pray and not to turn coward (faint, lose heart, and give up). The Apostle Paul put it this way in I Thessalonians 5:17, Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]. The only thing that the disciples ever asked Jesus to teach them was how to pray (Luke 11:1). Jesus immediately responded by teaching them the principles of prayer.

Over the years, since the beginning of the Word of Faith Fellowship, the foundation of prayer has been maintained as a vital part of the vision of our pastors. Whether it is during daily periods of corporate prayer or times of “solemn assembly,” where the entire congregation is called to pray for specific needs, there is always the acknowledgment that it is through the avenue of prayer and beseeching God, that God’s will is revealed and brought to fruition in men’s lives. Many miracles of healing of body and mind have been experienced and given testimony to during these times of crying out to God for His will to be done. More than once, through prayer, some have been restored to life after having been medically examined and declared to have no signs of life. Jesus sent out His disciples two-by-two, commanding them to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons (Matthew 10:8). The meeting of material needs has also been miraculously witnessed through times of crying out for God’s mercy in our lives. The Apostle James tells us in James 5:16, The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Requests for prayer are daily received at the church office from people throughout the area, as well as from those in other states and nations. Many of them respond later to acknowledge that their needs were met in answer to prayer.

Out of the place of prayer, God has been able to make His will known in the area of deliverance from demonic oppression. Jesus, in the “Great Commission,” commanded those who believe in Him to drive out demons in His name (Mark 16:17-18). In Acts 10:38 we are told that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and power to heal all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. As believers, we are to take that same healing and deliverance to those who are oppressed. God has revealed to us that demonic oppression is present in those who have been born again, as well as those who have not. Many have been set free from the devil’s torment and oppression as the result of believing prayer and submission to God. Those who were once drug addicts, alcoholics, etc., are now delivered by the power of God and are living normal lives, serving God and doing His will.

STRONG PRAYER: Romans 15:30,31; Ephesians 6:10-18; I Timothy 2:1,2,8 (intercession for leaders); James 5:16: The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

BLAST: Acts 2:2; Exodus 15:8; II Samuel 22:16; Psalm 18:15 (Amplified Translation)
Acts 2:2, a sound from heaven like the rushing of a violent tempest blast refers to the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible defines Blast as “vital breath, divine inspiration, soul, spirit.” We, the members of the Word of Faith Fellowship, use the Biblical terminology Blast in reference to any strong demonstration of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:2) such as in preaching, praising, singing, praying in all kinds of prayer, praying in the Spirit, supplication, travail, diverse tongues, weeping, and groaning and crying out to God, including shrill cries for Christ to be formed in us and others (Galatians 4:19; Romans 8:29), and to come against the temptations of the devil (John 10:10; I Peter 5:8-9; I Timothy 6:12; Daniel 10:11-14,20-21; 12:1; Revelations 12:11; I Corinthians 10:3-7; Luke 4:1-14; Hebrews 2:18; Ephesians 6:12).

PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT: I Corinthians 14:14-15; Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20.

DIVERSE TONGUES: Acts 2:4; I Corinthians 13:1; I Corinthians 14:2,18; Isaiah 28:11.

TRAVAIL: Galatians 4:19; John 16:20-21; Isaiah 21:3; Isaiah 42:14; Isaiah 66:7-9; Isaiah 53:11-12.

WEEPINGS: Hebrews 5:7; Luke 19:41; John 11:35; John 16:20-21; James 5:1; Nehemiah 1:4; Psalm 6:6-9; Psalm 126:5-6; Jeremiah 9:1,17-19.

GROANINGS/SIGHINGS: Romans 8:26; Mark 7:34; John 11:33,38; Acts 7:34; Exodus 2:23-24; Exodus 6:5; Psalm 5:1-2; Psalm 6:6-9; Psalm 79:11; Psalm 102:20; Ezekiel 9:4.

CRY (to mar, to split the ears with sound) AND ROAR: Psalm 17:1; Psalm 22:5; Psalm 55:17; Psalm 61:1-2; Psalm 88:1-2; Psalm 107:6,13,19,28; Psalm 119:169; Psalm 142:6; Isaiah 42:13; Amos 1:2; Joel 3:16; Luke 18:7; John 1:15,23; Romans 8:15; James 5:4.