Power of Prayer

“It’s the most important thing I do,” says Karen Trimble, Prayer Director at the Military Ministry of Cru.  “It’s the foundation of everything we do,” she says. “We have always been a praying ministry.”

Trimble has worked with the ministry for the past 17 years, but when she was asked in 2008 to lead the Prayer Ministry, she knew God was calling her for this purpose.  “This is my heart,” Trimble says. “Jesus prayed and sought the Father in every decision. At the Military Ministry of Cru, we follow His model in all we do.”

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18

The Military Ministry of Cru is a caring community passionate about connecting the global military community to Jesus Christ. The ministry’s purpose is to fulfill the Great Commission by spreading the Good News to the global military community and meeting those men, women and their families at their greatest point of need.  As the ministry’s supporters understand, the military community deals with stresses and challenges far beyond what most people face in everyday life.

This ministry is a large network of individuals (staff members and volunteers), churches, chaplains, and supporters who work together to spiritually build up the military community before, during and after deployment.  One of the essential ways they support the global military community is through prayer.

The Prayer Ministry has many layers, according to Trimble. At the core is a real-time praying network in Virginia that acts as an emergency response team. If an immediate prayer request comes to the ministry, they can text or call each other and pray right then and there.

The prayer team leaders also meet every Wednesday to pray together and plan out the ministry’s Prayer Points and Prayer Guide resources. The team receives prayer requests from field agents around the world and uses those concerns to develop weekly Prayer Points, which they email to about 500 staff and volunteers. These points include specific prayer requests and prompts along with Bible verses.

The team also creates a monthly Prayer Guide, which is emailed out to close to 7,000 supporters who then share the ministry’s concerns with small groups, church groups, and their own local prayer teams. According to Trimble, these Prayer Guides are there to help direct the public on how to pray strategically and for special circumstances within military life. Visit crumilitary.org to sign up to receive the monthly Prayer Guide.

Prayer reaches every facet of the ministry, local and abroad. For example, recruits have opportunities to submit prayer request cards and a local team of volunteers pray fervently over those cards, Trimble says.

“We pray for peace in the world,” she says. “We want our men and women fighting around the globe to know their requests are heard and felt and the prayers lifted up on their behalf are powerful and effective.”  Prayer is the one way everyone can give to this ministry. “Prayer is a unifier … it knits us together,” Trimble says.

Pray for the men and women in uniform … pray for the staff and volunteers around the globe serving and spreading the Good News … pray for the families at home … pray for the world’s leaders, that they may lead in a Godly manner.

The Military Ministry of Cru also provides a way for the public to share their prayer requests about the military members in their life and a chance to pray for others. Visit the Prayer Network and submit your prayer request online, read requests made by others and pray for them at that moment. When you pray, be sure to click “I prayed for this,” which gives confirmation to the sender that others are praying on their behalf.

Trimble is quick to remind everyone that prayer isn’t a one-way conversation. There’s the listening and receiving part too, which can be the hardest at times- as we wait to hear from Him. “We have to hear from Him to know the direction to go,” she says.  Join us all at the Military Ministry of Cru during Military Appreciation Month by remembering the men and women fighting for our freedom and their families at home during your quiet time with God.  “There’s no doubt to me that when we pray in great numbers … God moves and things happen,” Trimble says.