A CHRISTIAN MISSION
September 2025 Newsletter
Prayer Request: Prayer for September 2025 This month, invite God to search your heart and reveal anything that is outside of His will. Ask Him to guide your prayers each day and to place on your heart the things He wants you to lift up to Him. Seek His direction in how you can reflect His love and be a witness to those around you.
Please call us if you have any questions about the Mission or how you can help. 432-337-8294
A Word From Our Director ~ Pastor Andrew Pistone
How Do You Pray?
The Sermon on the Mount is thought to be one of the most significant teachings of Jesus, and in Matthew 6, part of the sermon talks about praying.
In these verses, Jesus was warning about the arrogant attitudes of some of the religious leaders during that time. These leaders wanted to advertise their “godliness” in front of all the people – by praying in a showy way. Jesus is teaching that prayer is the personal communication we have with God, our Father. We aren't supposed to pray so that other people will be impressed with our great spirituality.
Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions like the pagans do, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.” (Matthew 6:5-7)
We aren't pagans but, even as Christians, we have to be careful that our prayers are not just mindless prayers that we've memorized and repeated out of habit for years. We don't want to just go through the motions of praying – saying things that don't really have meaning to us. God wants us to talk to Him in a thoughtful and genuine way. Many of us learned The Lord's Prayer and have probably recited it in church several times during our lifetime. It's completely appropriate to recite it sometimes, but Jesus gave us the prayer – not as a one and only, exact prayer that we should memorize and pray repeatedly – but as a pattern for our own prayers.
“This, then, is how you should pray. 'Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.'” (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)
When we pray, we want to follow the pattern that Jesus gave us:
First - Since God is holy, and He is our Father – we want to take time to praise Him and acknowledge Him for who He is. How many times do we pray – just jumping immediately into our requests – and we haven't even thought a bit about His holiness, or about praising Him?
After that – We want to acknowledge that we want to submit ourselves to His will – remembering that He is all-powerful. This means knowing the Bible and living according to Biblical principles.
Then – We bring our requests to Him – with confidence.
After that – We ask Him to forgive us for our sinfulness, and to help us forgive the people who have offended us.
And – We sincerely ask Him to help us stay away from temptation - from things that lure us into evil situations.
Finally – We praise Him again.
Even though Jesus gives us a guide for praying - we might think we have to find just the right words to say, or that we have to say the words in some extra-formal way before God hears us. But Jesus is not a remote figure who needs to be impressed. We don't have to memorize some magic words in order to get God's attention. In fact, God is eager to hear from us at any time. He's the Creator of the universe – our Father – and He's attentive to us!
Ask Yourself
A pastor once asked these questions – encouraging us to examine our lives as we pray – using the pattern of The Lord's Prayer:
Can I say, “Our Father,” if I don't demonstrate that relationship every day?
Can I say, “Who art in heaven,” if all my interests and pursuits are on earth?
Can I say, “Hallowed be Thy name,” if I'm not trying to live a holy life?
Can I say, “Thy kingdom come,” if I'm not willing to give up my own desires and accept the righteous reign of God?
Can I say, “Thy will be done,” if all I care about is my own will, and I'm resentful, feeling like His will is being pushed on me?
Can I say, “On earth as it is in heaven,” unless I'm truly ready to serve Him on earth?
Can I say, “Give us this day our daily bread,” without making an honest effort to work for it, or by ignoring the needs of my fellow man?
Can I say, “Forgive us our trespasses,” if I continue to hold a grudge against someone?
Can I say, “Lead us not into temptation,” if I deliberately choose to stay in a situation where I'm likely to be tempted?
Can I say, “Deliver us from evil,” if I'm not prepared to fight evil – putting on the whole armor of God that's outlined in Ephesians 6:11-17?
Can I say, “Thine is the kingdom,” if I don't give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject?
Can I say, “Thine is the power,” if I'm afraid of what people will say when I follow God?
Can I say, “Thine is the glory,” if I'm always looking to get praise for myself?
Can I say, “Forever,” if all I care about is today?
Can I say, “Amen,” unless I can honestly say that I am praying with confidence and sincerity?
If we are followers of Christ, Our Heavenly Father wants us to talk to him in a genuine way - to listen to Him – and to have a relationship with Him. We can be confident that He hears us, and we want to listen to Him when He nudges our hearts with His response to our prayers.
Pastor Andrew
Thrift Stores
If you haven't had a chance to shop at one of our Thrift Stores, we hope you will do that soon. The proceeds from the store are a significant source of our support. You will find thousands of quality items at incredible prices, and you can shop with confidence that your dollars are helping to change lives.
Our stores are located at 1515 E. 8th St., Odessa & 1020H Andrews Highway, Midland
Our hours for shopping are Monday - Saturday from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm.
We continue to take ALL donations with grateful hearts. We could not do this without your help.
We will come to PICK UP any donations – call us at 432-337-8294 to schedule a pickup. You can also drop off your donation at the Thrift Store,
Please visit us on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DoorOfHopeThriftStore
All donations are tax-deductible.
Please check out our latest post and like our page at https://www.facebook.com/DoorOfHopeMissionTX
Funds / Donations Needed
Your financial support will help us provide hot meals, a safe place to sleep and shower, and exposure to the truth of God's Word through Bible study and counseling to those who struggle with addictions. Many come to know Jesus as Savior because of the work God is doing here at the Mission.
There are a few ways you can give:
#1: PayPal Giving Fund:100% of your gift goes to the Mission. Paypal does not charge a processing fee when you use this service. If you would like to make a direct financial donation, you can go to PayPal using the link below.
https://www.paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/2432315
#2: Use our Website http://www.doorofhopemission.com/donate.html
#3: Mail a Check to Door of Hope Mission PO Box 1789, Odessa, TX 79760
#4: When you Shop on eBay, add us as your preferred charity, and a portion of your purchase will go to the Door Of Hope Mission.
With Ebay: You must add the Door Of Hope Mission to your favorites. Click the link to add us.
https://charity.ebay.com/charity/charity-name/2432315
If you have any questions, please call us at 432-337-8294.
The Door of Hope Mission is supported 100% by DONATIONS and our thrift store. We do not take money from the government because they would restrict us from preaching about the freeing power of Jesus to those we help.
All donations are tax-deductible.