PRAYER

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"By our attitude to prayer, we tell God that what was begun in the spirit we can finish in the flesh.”

Can I be honest for a second? When I first got started youth pastoring, this was me. I was so excited to practice all the things I had learned and dreamed about that when the time came to put it into practice, it was all me. I had unintentionally left God out of it. Now, I was doing ministry and preaching biblically sound and exegetically correct sermons. All the activity was right, but I was operating out of my abilities and talents and failed to rely on the Lord. Thankfully as I matured and life got more challenging, and ministry dreams grew more significant; I learned that I could no longer get people “there” without Him doing the work. I could only move his hand and ultimately, his people through prayer.

I venture to think there are a lot of people out there like me, whether you are in the ministry or not, that have strived to live a godly life or produce a godly ministry while failing to rely on Him, and over the days, weeks, and sometimes even years we have found it just doesn't work. We are struggling to live the life we are called to. Proverbs 3:5 (NLT) reminds us to, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

I want to give you some quick encouragement so maybe you won't have to develop some of the scars that I had to over the last decade and a half. Today I will use Leonard Ravenhill's words to challenge you. He was an evangelist that helped shape the modern church in our pursuit of God.

"Your life and ministry rises and falls on your prayer times."

Take a huge breath after this one and know that God will move in and through you. You are responsible for the process and not the result!

"Your intimacy with God can not be learned, only earned- by Prayer."

We live in a time of progress and we have found a shorter and faster way to do just about everything, but unfortunately, there is no microwave for intimacy. It takes time to develop that intimacy through DAILY prayer.

"No one is greater than his prayer life. The Pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying."

The danger now is we have so many talented individuals who can lead well, speak well, and do every facet of ministry well that we can end up leaving Him out of it. We have rested on our charisma, and not on prayer.

"Today we realize that the church has many organizers, but few agonizers; many players, and payers, but few prayers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters."

As I think through the times of ministry as a Pastor and a Pastor’s Kid, I have so many memories attached to prayer. And as varied and different that they are from one another, one consistent attribute of the individuals involved in those moments is the age of those that are praying. The faces of the prayer warriors I see are wrinkled and carry the scars and experience of life with them on their skin. They have learned through all their battles and all their experiences the power of prayer. This generation needs prayer warriors to rise up who understand and rely on the power of prayer, those who are willing to do the hard work of intercession to see the church move forward.

We need to be people who are truly committed to having a relationship with the Lord. We use the phrase, "it's not a religion, it's a relationship" over and over, but sadly to some, it has become just that a — religion of customs and actions, and we miss out on the fact that God longs for you to spend time with him.

So many of us have strived to produce great content, to grow in our abilities, and show what we can do that we have left little time to be in the presence of God and His Holy Spirit.

"Victory is not found in the pulpit by firing intellectual bullets or wisecracks, but in the prayer closet; it is won or lost before the preacher's foot enter's the pulpit" - Leonard Ravenhill.

And I would adapt that quote for the rest of you that aren't Pastors by saying, "Victory is not found by hearing intellectual bullets or wisecracks from the pulpit but in the prayer closet. It is won or lost before your footsteps out of the altar or out of your prayer closet."

Can we commit today to be people of prayer, and before we obsess about prep and promo, can we start with prayer?

This week as I read Leonard's book, "Why Revival Tarries," his words challenged me, and I hope that today you don't feel shame, sorrow, or even conviction, my prayer for you is that you too feel motivated to renew your passion for prayer.