Meet Pastor Zak

From Mobile, Alabama, to academic honors at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Pastor Roderick Zak’s journey has been extraordinary. A former basketball standout at Spring Hill College, his passion for excellence transitioned seamlessly into his mission as the Senior Pastor and co-founder of Rejoice in the Lord Ministries in Central Florida.

Pastor Zak’s influence reaches beyond the pulpit. With his wife, Vanessa, he established Need to Read (N2R), a non-profit organization empowering over 2,000 households with pre-literacy and literacy skills, gifting more than 40,000 brand-new books. Their commitment to building strong families echoes in their fostering of intergenerational bonds and their own family of four children and three grandchildren.

Pastor Roderick Zak’s dedication to empowering generations and strengthening families is both inspiring and impactful. His journey reminds us that faith, love, and commitment can reshape communities, families, and lives.

Lives and Families Transformed for Eternity

Hope Church made an eternal impact with its recent annual “Live Free” evangelism outreach. This event, dedicated to ministering to Arabs, refugees, and Muslims, brought together around 1,800 attendees for three days of evangelism, spiritual connection, and growth.

We were blessed to see the evangelistic services touch hearts across all ages, leading dozens of individuals to accept the Lord as their personal Savior. The impact went beyond the event itself, with many families also coming to the Sunday service that followed.

Thanks to international satellite broadcasting, our reach extended globally, touching thousands of lives in all corners of the world. Hope Church’s mission and success rely on your prayers and support as we continue to serve and minister in the name of Jesus.

Will you join us in praying for our ongoing mission to spread the hope and freedom found in Jesus? Please also pray that the Lord will continue to guide and bless Hope Church’s endeavors as we continue to do the work he has given us.

The Depth of Prayer

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-9; Colossians 4:2-6

“…with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert…”

Ephesians 6: 18.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “Prayer is the energy that enables the Christian soldier to wear the armor and wield the sword.” 3⁴If prayer is the energy to a victorious life, then how deep is the well of your prayer life? Has your prayer life moved beyond the surface level of asking God to do something for you?

Has your prayer life moved beyond the surface level of asking God to do something for you?

There is more than one kind of praying. The Scriptures are rich with different expressions and forms of prayer. Here is a short sample of the different types of prayer we discover in the Bible. Each one uniquely affects our lives, touches God’s heart, and impacts our enemy.

Thanksgiving is the act of thanking God for what he has done or provided.

The Psalmist repeatedly encourages God’s people to give thanks to God. “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (Psalm 107:8). Paul teaches we are to “give thanks in all circumstances” (I Thessalonians 5:18). When we find reasons to give thanks during loss, brokenness, and trials, God receives glory, and the Devil is irritated. Job, a man who suffered unimaginable loss, stood victorious over Satan and offered these words of thanksgiving, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21).

Adoration is worshiping God for who he is, his essence, character, and attributes.

David calls all beings, both angelic and human, to worship the Lord for who he is, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness” (Psalm 29:1). Joyful adoration assumes we know who God is. Our prayer lives falter from our lack of intimacy with God’s character. When our knowledge and experience of the essence and attributes of God expands, our adoration deepens. Satan hates praise! Because it reminds him that he is not God and was cast out of God’s presence (Ezekiel 28:17).

Confession agrees with God that we live in a sinful state, and our private sins (thoughts, behaviors) violate His holy character and desires for us.

Scripture is unequivocal on the importance of confessing our sins to God. In I John 1:8-10, we learn that those who claim to be without sin in their lives are self-deceived (v. 8). They make God out to be a liar and do not have God’s truth living in them (v. 10). Yet those who acknowledge their sins experience cleansing forgiveness (v. 9) through Jesus, our Advocate, and Atoning Sacrifice (I John 2:1–2). Satan hates authenticity! From the beginning, he has sought to minimize the impact of our sins (Genesis 3:4–5). Every time we confess our sins specifically, Satan is crushed, and our souls are set free.

Supplication is an earnest plea on behalf of ourselves and others.

It is a needy cry for God to move in and through our lives. Hannah pleaded with God intensely to give her a child. “In her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly” (I Samuel 1:10). Even Jesus offered intense cries to his Father. The Bible says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death” (Hebrews 5:7). Supplication reflects a whole new level of brokenness, neediness, and reliance on God, which puts the Devil in his place as a defeated foe.

Intercession is a constant imploring for others before God.

In other words, to intercede is to make a case for others before God through our prayers. The Holy Spirit does this for us as believers (Romans 8:26). The Scriptures tell us this is the ministry of Jesus, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). So we have the privilege to stand in the gap for others, bringing their needs, burdens, and cares before the throne of God. Prayers of intercession are crucial to seeing spiritual victories in our lives. This is why Paul appealed to the churches to pray for him and his team (Ephesians 6:19–20; I Thessalonians 5:25).

Watchfulness is prayers of protection and discernment.

Paul writes, “With this in mind, be alert…” (Ephesians 6:18). We have a spiritual enemy stalking us. Peter writes, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (I Peter 5:8). Jesus, knowing the enemy’s ability to strike at any time, told his disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Paul taught that one of the disciplines of prayer is not just being thankful but also watchful. “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). Satan does not want God’s people to be on the watch for him or to have a heightened sense of awareness of his schemes. He wants us sleepy morally, spiritually, and physically so that we will be caught off guard and fall into his trap.

As you consider these different forms of prayer, take some time to reflect on the areas of strength you can build on and growth areas where you can stretch yourself. Personally, for me, my place of growth relates to the prayers of watchfulness. I need to increase my vigilance and awareness in my prayer life, my weaknesses, and the enemy’s schemes.

Father in Heaven, thank you for the gift of prayer and its various forms that enrich my life. Each one strengthens my faith. They make me more dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit, the advocacy of Jesus, and the richness of your great love. Father, I need you, I worship you, I confess my sins to you, and I thankfully receive your grace.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

Check out one of our 21-Day Campaigns for your church to do this Fall and join hundreds of churches and thousands of believers in prayer.

Excerpt from "Jesus"

JESUS IS MY RISEN LORD

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

Augustine wrote, “Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.” When we confess with our mouths that “Jesus is Lord,” we are acknowledging his absolute, unlimited, and universal authority over all creation. This term ‘Lord’ is translated ‘Jehovah’ in the Old Testament. Jehovah is the highest and most sacred name for God used by the Jewish people. Jehovah speaks of self-existence, eternality, and God’s desire to reveal Himself to humanity in such a way that we can know and relate to Him.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very center of the Christian faith. Apart from the resurrection, Christianity would be little more than a well-intentioned ethical system.

In declaring “Jesus is Lord” we are also recognizing his ownership. As one who is in control by virtue of possession. Scripture teaches that we were “ransomed” (Mark 10:45), “bought” (II Corinthians 6:20) and “purchased” (Revelation 5:9) by the death of Jesus so that we could be set free to “become slaves to God” (Romans 5:22). Therefore, surrendering ourselves to his ultimate control. The Apostle Paul sets the example for us in writing, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Confessing, declaring, and affirming is only one part of the equation, Paul continues by stating, “and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead” (Romans 10:9). Confessing is the intellectual assent to the truths of the gospel but “believing in your heart” is a volitional act of your will. It is an entrusting of one’s life and eternity to the risen Lord and living Savior. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very center of the Christian faith. Apart from the resurrection, Christianity would be little more than a well-intentioned ethical system. We see the resurrection is at the heart of the apostles preaching, “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins” (Acts 5:30-31)

Confession is the verbal expression of our deepest convictions, and yet our sincere beliefs will always lead to clear public affirmations (Romans 6:1-7). This is not an ‘either/or’ statement but a ‘both/and’ truth. We must confess and believe that the Lord Jesus is alive and is an active authority in our lives. Therefore, Jesus is my Risen Lord and Living Savior.

Father in Heaven, thank you for the sending the Lord Jesus, the one who is in every way the very essence of God and equal with you. You rule in absolute, unlimited, and universal authority. Who through his death and resurrection, bought, purchased, and ransomed me to be his very own. Father, I give you thanks for Jesus is my Risen Lord and Living Savior.

Amen.