I have been thinking more and more about the idea of prayer as it relates to the work of God in the local church. I probably have over 100 books on church growth; everything from building a church through small groups to leading a church through breakthroughs. However the more I think about prayer, the more I have to admit the true breakthrough for church growth has to come through prayer. Consider these scriptural passages regarding the importance of prayer in the preparation of God doing some "Big Things"
Luke 4:42, At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place.
This is the end of chapter 4 in Luke's gospel, In Chapter 5 Jesus calls his disciples to his ministry. Jesus understood prayer was vital to calling people to ministry. I find it interesting he spent a night in prayer before calling the 12.
Acts 1:12-14, 12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
The background of this text is Jesus has ascended to heaven and the disciples have returned to Jerusalem. Following 10 days of prayer the God reveals his power at the day of Pentecost whereby 3,000 people accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I heard it said people prayer for 10 days, Peter preached for 10 minutes and 3,000 people were saved, we on the other hand pray for 10 minutes, preach for 30 and never see the results of the day of Pentecost - makes you think doesn't it?
Acts 13:1-3, 1In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
God is unleashing the church into Europe through the ministry of Paul and Barnabas, But before sending these men out the leaders prayed over their ministry. While it is true Paul and Barnabas faced some obstacles, they were also very successful in getting the gospel to Rome
In each of the above incidents prayer played a vital part in moving the church forward. While it is good to read books about church growth which reveals the variety of methods to grow a church, let us not forget to read "THE BOOK"; for there we find the original blueprint for growing the church - Prayer!
No comments:
Post a Comment