We’ve got a guest writer this week–pastor John Leese, a good friend who lives in England after a long missionary career in Luxembourg and the Congo.
Some years ago a group of children from our Luxembourg City church were playing “church” together: The boys, all wanting to be ‘pastor’ worked out that one would play the guitar, one would lead the meeting with the microphone and one would preach … There was one girl with them who said, “Who can I be ?” “You can be Ann” the boys said… She replied, “I don’t want to be Ann, she doesn’t do anything!” – My wife Ann may not have had a visible public role in church, but her ministry took place in secret, alone with God, interceding, praying for the needs of others… and it still does!
Most prayer takes place in private, in secret. Jesus said, “But when you pray … (not ‘if you pray’ – the Lord presumed His disciples would pray!), go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6 New Living Translation)
The Lord Jesus often sought solitude to connect with the Father: Mark 6:46 says “After telling everyone good-bye [the Lord Jesus] went up into the hills by himself to pray.” (NLT)
Perhaps the most vital part of christian ministry takes place in secret, where only God sees: Acts 6:4 shows us what the Apostle’s priority was: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (English Standard Version).
Leonard Ravenhill was a British Christian and author who focused on the subject of prayer. He wrote, “The self-sufficient do not pray, the self-satisfied will not pray, the self-righteous cannot pray. No one is greater than their prayer life.”
Timothy Keller, pastor, preacher and theologian said, “To pray is to accept that we are, and always will be, wholly dependent on God for everything.”
Life can be very demanding for most people today. Most of us have learned that our ‘devices’, smart phones, tablets and smart watches are not only labour saving, they are time consuming. For this reason we must strive to follow the example of the first disciples: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42 NIV).
If we do we may well experience the same results that they did: Acts 2:43 says, “A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.” (NLT)
I long to experience ‘awe’, ‘reverent fear’ in God’s presence as the Holy Spirit displays His power healing the sick, forgiving sins and changing lives! If we have to transform our Church buildings into theatres, dimming the lights and increasing the volume to get people in, ok, so be it, but may they experience awe as God moves in power in their lives when they are there. For that to happen, we need to pray.
So, as the Father’s adopted children, through faith in Jesus the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit and ‘without any doubting’, let us “devote [ourselves] to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2 New International Version).