Galatians 6:9-10 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
We have learned that praying God’s Word and claiming God’s promises is one of the most important solutions to any problem or obstacle that we face.
In Doing for God Instead of Being with God by Pete Scazzero says, “Being productive and getting things done are high priorities in our Western culture. Praying and enjoying God's presence for no other reason than to delight in him was a luxury, I was told, that we could take pleasure in once we got to heaven. For now, there was too much to be done. Are all these things wrong? No. But work for God that is not nourished by a deep interior life with God will eventually be contaminated by other things such as ego, power, approval of and from others, and buying into the wrong ideas of success and the mistaken belief that we can't fail. When we work for God because of these things, our experience of the gospel often falls off center. We become "human doings" not "human beings." Our experiential sense of worth and validation gradually shifts from God's unconditional love for us in Christ to our works and performance. The joy of Christ gradually disappears. Our activity for God can only properly flow from a life with God. We cannot give what we do not possess.”
He also says we live cannot live without limits. “The core spiritual issue here relates to our limits and our humanity. We are not God. We cannot serve every one in need. We are human. Jesus modeled this for us as a human being—fully God yet fully human. He did not heal every sick person in Palestine. He did not raise every dead person. He did not feed all the hungry beggars or set up job development centers for the poor of Jerusalem. He didn't do it, and we shouldn't feel we have to. But somehow we do. Why don't we take appropriate care of ourselves? Why are so many Christians, along with the rest of our culture, frantic, exhausted, overloaded, and hurried?
Few Christians make the connection between love of self and love of others. Sadly, many believe that taking care of themselves is a sin, a "psychologizing" of the gospel taken from our self-centered culture. I believed that myself for years. It is true we are called to consider others more important than ourselves (see Philippians 2:4). We are called to lay down our lives for others (see 1 John 3:16). But remember, you first need a "self" to lay down.”
Gary, Shelby and I were on the brink of collapse when we arrived at our first stop in Maine last September. As a solution God gave us rest and renewal. We stopped doing and started praying and listening for God’s voice. We let go of the busyness which, by the way, is hard to do! We started to search the Word which was like water for our thirsty souls.
In his sermon, entitled UNITY IN THE CHURCH Dr. Neil Chadwich says, The time has come for every member of the church to demonstrate a willingness to lay aside personal opinion and take up divine purpose, to submit individual wants to God's will...If we don't like the way things are going, do we think we can change it by sheer force of our will, or through social pressure, or by complaining? I don't think so. Why? Because when change is called for, in the church it always involves people - fallen people like us. What is need is a change of heart, and that only comes through prayer. "Prayer Changes People."
Are we willing to lay aside our plans? Our will for His Kingdom? We have learned that His plans are so much better than ours.
When we first arrived in Maine, last September, we had plans to reach out to a lost and dying church. We prayed and asked God to show us which one. What He showed us instead was that we were the lost and dying church!
In The Praying Church By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir he says, “When we desire to have a church that is after God’s purpose then prayer will be at the heart and core of it. The church cannot function without prayer. To have a church that does not pray is like having a telephone operator who refuses to use the phone or the computer programmer not using a computer in their occupations.”
Prayer is our communication with God. If we do not communicate with God, we don’t know whether what we are doing is for God and we don’t have a clue as to His plan. Prayer will enable us to be transformed to do the task that we cannot possibly do on our own or collectively as a church. We do not have the strength, knowledge, or ability to do squat for our Lord, but through prayer we can do all things that He is willing for us to do, beyond our imagination!
“We have a God who elected to choose us and selected us for a purpose, and one of the primary calls is for us to be in touch with our Creator and loving Lord. His power flowing through the universe is available for us to use if we choose to trust and obey, according to His will. Can you imagine the awesome nature of our Lord? Can you fathom the power that is at our hands? Can you see the potential you have and the plan that God has for you? Or are you to busy watching TV and no time to tap into the power at hand, the power that goes beyond any human means or adventure? We can do beyond what we are capable of as God is working through us. We are capable of much more than you can possibly imagine when we are people surrendered through prayer, through what He allows according to His purpose. So do you get it? Are you ready to have a church transformed to do what a church is actually for, what the foundation was poured for, and poured out for?” (The Praying Church By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir)
Good Questions! Are you ready to pray?
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