I heard recently that every revelation we have...from a sermon; in a Bible study; in our Sunday school classes; in conversation with a godly friend...EVERYTHING we are learning is meant by God to impact our prayer life. It is meant to impact how we pray.
Do you agree? Why or why not?
Have you ever intentionally asked God to use what you are learning on Sunday mornings, no matter how personally relevant the sermon may or may not be, to transform your prayer life?
In what ways, recently, have you personally noticed God directly using what you have been learning about Him to impact and mold your prayer life?
Monday
Study of Hebrew 4:16
"Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help, in time of need."
Let us...who is us?
We, being the ones praying – the ones in need, the intercessors praying for others. The ones bringing things, issues, requests, desires, and wills to the foot of the throne of God.
How...how should we come? boldly!
The greek word for boldly is: parrhesia, which means: freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speaking. 1) openly, frankly. without concealment. without ambiguity or circumlocution (the use of many words where fewer would do, esp. in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive). without the use of figures & comparisons. 2)free and fearless. with confidence, cheerfulness. with courage and assurance.
Boldly is a derivative of rheo which means: a pouring forth. to pour forth, to utter, speak, say, speak of, command, make.
{Does this, perhaps, have to do with how we speak to God as praying people, as intercessors?}
Come unto where? the throne of grace. Grace meaning: charis – God's merciful kindness.
What happens at the throne of His merciful kindness when we boldly pray?...
We obtain = grk: lambano – to take up a thing to be carried. to take in order to carry away. to claim. to take possession of..to collect, gather, receive, to gain.
We obtain what?... mercy.
God's Mercy: grk: eleos – kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with the desire to help them.
{If God offers His mercy to us for us to take hold of – take on – take possession of is it then for us to have within ourselves for others as God's active partners in prayer with a desire to help them? – Could it be that this mercy we obtain isn't necessarily always for us, but for us to take up and use as intercessors?}
What else happens at the foot of God's throne?...
We find grace.
Find: grk: heurisko – 1)to come upon, hit upon, meet with. after searching, find a thing sought. 2)to discover, understand, see, learn. to come to know. to discover. to recognize by inquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, practice and experience.
Grace: grk: charis – good will, lovingkindness, favour by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls: 1) turns them to Christ; 2)keeps them; 3) strengthens them; 4) increases their faith; 5) increases their knowledge; 6)increases their affection; and 7) kindles them to exercise the virtues of Christ.
What are we to do with the mercy and grace we obtain and find at the throne of God?...
We are to use them to help.
{"help" usually means in as it pertains to others – us, me, you helping others. How can we actively and daily use the mercy and grace obtained and found to pray for God to exert His holy influence upon souls to trust and accept Jesus as their Savior, to hold them close to Him, to strengthen and encourage them, to increase their faith, to pray for them to gain more knowledge of and love for God and to be able to live life God's way through the example of Jesus Christ?}
When?... in time of need: grk: eukairos – season, timely, opportune.
{It was Ginny T. who recently said that we, as intercessors, can do everything we can to make ourselves available, but it is GOD who creates the opportunity. He will show us the time of need, yes?}
{Now, i don't know, but as someone who wants to make prayer more of a priority, not only in my own life but also in the lives of others and our church, this one verse us HUGE in coming to understand and be encouraged by the what, where, when, why and how to pray to our loving and merciful God. Do you agree? What insights do you have in regards to Hebrews 4:16?}
Let us...who is us?
We, being the ones praying – the ones in need, the intercessors praying for others. The ones bringing things, issues, requests, desires, and wills to the foot of the throne of God.
How...how should we come? boldly!
The greek word for boldly is: parrhesia, which means: freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speaking. 1) openly, frankly. without concealment. without ambiguity or circumlocution (the use of many words where fewer would do, esp. in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive). without the use of figures & comparisons. 2)free and fearless. with confidence, cheerfulness. with courage and assurance.
Boldly is a derivative of rheo which means: a pouring forth. to pour forth, to utter, speak, say, speak of, command, make.
{Does this, perhaps, have to do with how we speak to God as praying people, as intercessors?}
Come unto where? the throne of grace. Grace meaning: charis – God's merciful kindness.
What happens at the throne of His merciful kindness when we boldly pray?...
We obtain = grk: lambano – to take up a thing to be carried. to take in order to carry away. to claim. to take possession of..to collect, gather, receive, to gain.
We obtain what?... mercy.
God's Mercy: grk: eleos – kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with the desire to help them.
{If God offers His mercy to us for us to take hold of – take on – take possession of is it then for us to have within ourselves for others as God's active partners in prayer with a desire to help them? – Could it be that this mercy we obtain isn't necessarily always for us, but for us to take up and use as intercessors?}
What else happens at the foot of God's throne?...
We find grace.
Find: grk: heurisko – 1)to come upon, hit upon, meet with. after searching, find a thing sought. 2)to discover, understand, see, learn. to come to know. to discover. to recognize by inquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, practice and experience.
Grace: grk: charis – good will, lovingkindness, favour by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls: 1) turns them to Christ; 2)keeps them; 3) strengthens them; 4) increases their faith; 5) increases their knowledge; 6)increases their affection; and 7) kindles them to exercise the virtues of Christ.
What are we to do with the mercy and grace we obtain and find at the throne of God?...
We are to use them to help.
{"help" usually means in as it pertains to others – us, me, you helping others. How can we actively and daily use the mercy and grace obtained and found to pray for God to exert His holy influence upon souls to trust and accept Jesus as their Savior, to hold them close to Him, to strengthen and encourage them, to increase their faith, to pray for them to gain more knowledge of and love for God and to be able to live life God's way through the example of Jesus Christ?}
When?... in time of need: grk: eukairos – season, timely, opportune.
{It was Ginny T. who recently said that we, as intercessors, can do everything we can to make ourselves available, but it is GOD who creates the opportunity. He will show us the time of need, yes?}
{Now, i don't know, but as someone who wants to make prayer more of a priority, not only in my own life but also in the lives of others and our church, this one verse us HUGE in coming to understand and be encouraged by the what, where, when, why and how to pray to our loving and merciful God. Do you agree? What insights do you have in regards to Hebrews 4:16?}
Saturday
Prayer Requests... a new approach
From "PRAY" Magazine's archives
~ after reading tell us, what are your thoughts and/or experiences?~
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Cornell Haan
The disciples had their backs to the wall. "Teach us to pray!" they cried in a panic. Naturally, each of them had been taught proper Jewish prayers from childhood. They knew how to pray ordinary prayers. But they needed extraordinary prayer—the kind they had observed Jesus praying. Here was a man whose prayers resulted in unbelievable miracles. Demons were cast out. People were healed. Lives were changed. That's what the disciples wanted to learn about.
Today's church does not need greater talent, new methods, or superior learning; it needs people of extraordinary prayer. As a person whose role it is to network leaders in the prayer movement, I see God calling intercessors and pastors to extraordinary prayer. He is teaching His people anew how to pray with power and effectiveness. In my travels and encounters with pastors' prayer groups across the country, I've observed several ways in which our Lord seems to be leading corporate prayer these days.
Principle Number One: No more prayer requests!
Over the past 30 years, Wednesday night prayer meetings have typically included 45 minutes of Bible study and 15 minutes of sharing. Then, "OOPS! The boys' and girls' club is getting out. Joe, would you close in prayer?" This example may seem a bit extreme, but it's too often true. We spend so much time on the preliminaries in our prayer meetings that we push prayer out. But we won't experience extraordinary prayer as long as it's relegated to "oops, we'd better pray."
One way to avoid the pitfall: Don't ask for or give prayer requests. Teach people to pray their request, and others to follow by agreeing in prayer. It's amazing how different an actual prayer sounds from a prayer request. In a prayer request, listeners hear the brain talking. In prayer, listeners hear the heart. Which would you rather hear?
Sadly, prayer requests can bring out the worst in us, when sharing them gives way to boasting or gossiping. A certain request may be on an individual's agenda, but shouldn't be on the group's. If someone's request does not get prayed for, feelings can be hurt. Or the leader may feel the need to close the prayer time with an emergency prayer for what was omitted.
When prayer request time exceeds prayer time, I picture God sitting there, patiently asking, "When are you going to talk to Me?" If we truly believe that God is present in the prayer room, shouldn't we direct our conversation to Him?
It's important to understand the difference between prayer requests and sharing. Sharing is an important part of our Christian experience, which often takes place in a highly relational atmosphere. Corporate prayer can be one of those highly relational times. But if it's really sharing, be ready for the group to gather around the one who shared, lay hands on him, and pray that the Father would do miracles in his life and circumstances.
Yet another aspect is the need for information that makes us intelligent prayer warriors. Intelligence sessions almost always precede a battle. Praying Christians should listen for and read about prayer needs at home and around the world. We should study up before going to a corporate prayer meeting where spiritual warfare will take place.
One of the best examples I can think of in the area of prayer requests took place in Boulder, Colorado. God sent a relatively poor missionary named Eric Amagada from Nigeria to Boulder, a predominantly white, wealthy community. Most missiologists would say this was not the best thought out strategy!
Upon arriving, Eric suggested that the pastors of Boulder County start a prayer group on Thursday mornings from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Someone suggested to Eric that more of them would come if the meeting was held earlier, midmornings being a busy time in a pastor's study. Eric responded with lesson number one: "Unless you make prayer a priority, it is not worth doing."
At the first Thursday meeting, Eric began by saying, "Let me teach you how to lead a prayer group." Eyebrows raised. Hundreds of years of combined praying experience existed in that room. He said, "Look at me. Are you ready? Here comes the lesson." With that, he bowed his head and said, "Let's pray."
The lesson was so simple, yet so clear. For years, Christians have talked and talked and shared and shared and given prayer request after prayer request—leaving little time to talk to God. That day in Boulder, a prayer leader was appointed. At 10 a.m. sharp every Thursday, his task was to bow his head and say, "Let's pray." Try it. It may double the time your group spends talking to our heavenly Father.
Principle Number Two: Agree with one another in prayer.
The Bible clearly says that "if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven" (Mt. 18:19). There must be explicit agreement and visible unity among those who pray in order to claim that promise.
Agreement might be a softly spoken word of approval or encouragement while someone else prays. It may be others following with their own prayer on the same subject.
Agreement involves mental participation. Listen to the person who is praying. Don't sit there thinking about your agenda or what you might pray next. Always agree with the person who just prayed, adding what God has placed on your heart or going on to another subject as He leads. If agreement is violated, corporate prayer time will lack the continuity that enables the group to hear clearly from the Lord.
Reading Scripture can also stimulate agreement. Pray with your Bible open, and let God suggest passages to be shared. Scripture reading during prayer is best limited to only a few verses, with little or no commentary.
Principle Number Three: Pray about what is on God's heart.
Our omniscient, omnipresent God is concerned with all things. The Bible reminds us that He keeps count of the hairs on our head. However, some matters are closer to His heart than others. How can we know what they are? God shares His heart with us in two ways: through the Bible and through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.
If you want to discover what is on God's heart, don't be afraid of silence during prayer time. Listen for the Holy Spirit's voice before you start praying over a given topic. Pray with your Bible open. If the group has trouble discerning God's will, pray appropriate Scripture over the situation.
The ability to know God's heart comes out of a heart that is thirsty for Him. It comes from a desire to follow hard after our Lord. It comes from the person whose eye looks with single-minded intensity for the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Is it ever appropriate to pray, "I pray these things according to Your will?" Of course! There are certain issues on which neither the Bible nor the Holy Spirit has given clarification. It is presumptuous to demand that God answer these issues our way. However, while visiting pastors' prayer groups, I've noticed that the phrase "in the powerful name of our Lord" is often used. This rightly acknowledges that power comes from praying confidently in God's will.
Extraordinary prayer means power.
Extraordinary prayer doesn't come from lighthearted prayer over dry, emotionless requests. It comes from hearts that are athirst for God, hearts that seek God's perspective. It comes from people who sincerely pray, "Lord, break me," when they are not sure if something is their agenda or God's.
Extraordinary prayer is not boring! It takes place almost outside of time, an hour or two rushing along unnoticed. Come prepared for this experience. Expect powerful, heartfelt prayers and answers!
You can start an extraordinary prayer group yourself. Try it. You only need to be brave enough to bow your head and say, "Let's pray!"
~ after reading tell us, what are your thoughts and/or experiences?~
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Cornell Haan
The disciples had their backs to the wall. "Teach us to pray!" they cried in a panic. Naturally, each of them had been taught proper Jewish prayers from childhood. They knew how to pray ordinary prayers. But they needed extraordinary prayer—the kind they had observed Jesus praying. Here was a man whose prayers resulted in unbelievable miracles. Demons were cast out. People were healed. Lives were changed. That's what the disciples wanted to learn about.
Today's church does not need greater talent, new methods, or superior learning; it needs people of extraordinary prayer. As a person whose role it is to network leaders in the prayer movement, I see God calling intercessors and pastors to extraordinary prayer. He is teaching His people anew how to pray with power and effectiveness. In my travels and encounters with pastors' prayer groups across the country, I've observed several ways in which our Lord seems to be leading corporate prayer these days.
Principle Number One: No more prayer requests!
Over the past 30 years, Wednesday night prayer meetings have typically included 45 minutes of Bible study and 15 minutes of sharing. Then, "OOPS! The boys' and girls' club is getting out. Joe, would you close in prayer?" This example may seem a bit extreme, but it's too often true. We spend so much time on the preliminaries in our prayer meetings that we push prayer out. But we won't experience extraordinary prayer as long as it's relegated to "oops, we'd better pray."
One way to avoid the pitfall: Don't ask for or give prayer requests. Teach people to pray their request, and others to follow by agreeing in prayer. It's amazing how different an actual prayer sounds from a prayer request. In a prayer request, listeners hear the brain talking. In prayer, listeners hear the heart. Which would you rather hear?
Sadly, prayer requests can bring out the worst in us, when sharing them gives way to boasting or gossiping. A certain request may be on an individual's agenda, but shouldn't be on the group's. If someone's request does not get prayed for, feelings can be hurt. Or the leader may feel the need to close the prayer time with an emergency prayer for what was omitted.
When prayer request time exceeds prayer time, I picture God sitting there, patiently asking, "When are you going to talk to Me?" If we truly believe that God is present in the prayer room, shouldn't we direct our conversation to Him?
It's important to understand the difference between prayer requests and sharing. Sharing is an important part of our Christian experience, which often takes place in a highly relational atmosphere. Corporate prayer can be one of those highly relational times. But if it's really sharing, be ready for the group to gather around the one who shared, lay hands on him, and pray that the Father would do miracles in his life and circumstances.
Yet another aspect is the need for information that makes us intelligent prayer warriors. Intelligence sessions almost always precede a battle. Praying Christians should listen for and read about prayer needs at home and around the world. We should study up before going to a corporate prayer meeting where spiritual warfare will take place.
One of the best examples I can think of in the area of prayer requests took place in Boulder, Colorado. God sent a relatively poor missionary named Eric Amagada from Nigeria to Boulder, a predominantly white, wealthy community. Most missiologists would say this was not the best thought out strategy!
Upon arriving, Eric suggested that the pastors of Boulder County start a prayer group on Thursday mornings from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Someone suggested to Eric that more of them would come if the meeting was held earlier, midmornings being a busy time in a pastor's study. Eric responded with lesson number one: "Unless you make prayer a priority, it is not worth doing."
At the first Thursday meeting, Eric began by saying, "Let me teach you how to lead a prayer group." Eyebrows raised. Hundreds of years of combined praying experience existed in that room. He said, "Look at me. Are you ready? Here comes the lesson." With that, he bowed his head and said, "Let's pray."
The lesson was so simple, yet so clear. For years, Christians have talked and talked and shared and shared and given prayer request after prayer request—leaving little time to talk to God. That day in Boulder, a prayer leader was appointed. At 10 a.m. sharp every Thursday, his task was to bow his head and say, "Let's pray." Try it. It may double the time your group spends talking to our heavenly Father.
Principle Number Two: Agree with one another in prayer.
The Bible clearly says that "if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven" (Mt. 18:19). There must be explicit agreement and visible unity among those who pray in order to claim that promise.
Agreement might be a softly spoken word of approval or encouragement while someone else prays. It may be others following with their own prayer on the same subject.
Agreement involves mental participation. Listen to the person who is praying. Don't sit there thinking about your agenda or what you might pray next. Always agree with the person who just prayed, adding what God has placed on your heart or going on to another subject as He leads. If agreement is violated, corporate prayer time will lack the continuity that enables the group to hear clearly from the Lord.
Reading Scripture can also stimulate agreement. Pray with your Bible open, and let God suggest passages to be shared. Scripture reading during prayer is best limited to only a few verses, with little or no commentary.
Principle Number Three: Pray about what is on God's heart.
Our omniscient, omnipresent God is concerned with all things. The Bible reminds us that He keeps count of the hairs on our head. However, some matters are closer to His heart than others. How can we know what they are? God shares His heart with us in two ways: through the Bible and through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit.
If you want to discover what is on God's heart, don't be afraid of silence during prayer time. Listen for the Holy Spirit's voice before you start praying over a given topic. Pray with your Bible open. If the group has trouble discerning God's will, pray appropriate Scripture over the situation.
The ability to know God's heart comes out of a heart that is thirsty for Him. It comes from a desire to follow hard after our Lord. It comes from the person whose eye looks with single-minded intensity for the fire of the Holy Spirit.
Is it ever appropriate to pray, "I pray these things according to Your will?" Of course! There are certain issues on which neither the Bible nor the Holy Spirit has given clarification. It is presumptuous to demand that God answer these issues our way. However, while visiting pastors' prayer groups, I've noticed that the phrase "in the powerful name of our Lord" is often used. This rightly acknowledges that power comes from praying confidently in God's will.
Extraordinary prayer means power.
Extraordinary prayer doesn't come from lighthearted prayer over dry, emotionless requests. It comes from hearts that are athirst for God, hearts that seek God's perspective. It comes from people who sincerely pray, "Lord, break me," when they are not sure if something is their agenda or God's.
Extraordinary prayer is not boring! It takes place almost outside of time, an hour or two rushing along unnoticed. Come prepared for this experience. Expect powerful, heartfelt prayers and answers!
You can start an extraordinary prayer group yourself. Try it. You only need to be brave enough to bow your head and say, "Let's pray!"
Living Forgiving
This morning I woke up with the hope of getting the details of my little boy's birthday party at the park in place and on the way to being ready. The goal being to have the day with friends and grandparents be as fun as ever and as stress-free as possible.
While wrapping presents and filling a piñata, I happened upon the below video on Living Forgiving – learning how to forgive the little constant offenses that come up throughout the day so that we are "practiced-up" for the times we will be devastated.
It made me think about how the lack of forgiveness in our hearts, even regarding the smallest of offenses, is often-times the catalyst for ineffectiveness in our life and relationships, and especially an ineffectiveness in our prayer life.
In Lee Thomas' book, "Praying Effectively for the Lost", it says:
"There are two factors or conditions involved in every answered prayer – righteousness and faith. The imputed righteousness of Christ, which comes through His shed blood, is what gives us boldness to approach His throne of grace. It is absolutely indispensable for effective prayer. But personal righteousness is also crucial, for Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Perhaps Jesus summed it up best when He said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). In other words, obedient Christians get their prayers answered!!
The other necessary factor in all answered prayer is faith. This is an unbreakable law in the spiritual realm. It is always “according to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). Unbelief is continually our besetting sin and it is more often than not the cause of unanswered prayer.
So when we pray. . .we need righteousness (imputed and personal) and faith."
God is insistent about forgiveness as you will hear in the video below. He teaches the principle best in part of a simple prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).
I believe it is imperative that we learn to forgive, even the smallest of infractions. We must get in the habit of forgiving so we can be effective in our relationship with Christ and our relationships with others.
While wrapping presents and filling a piñata, I happened upon the below video on Living Forgiving – learning how to forgive the little constant offenses that come up throughout the day so that we are "practiced-up" for the times we will be devastated.
It made me think about how the lack of forgiveness in our hearts, even regarding the smallest of offenses, is often-times the catalyst for ineffectiveness in our life and relationships, and especially an ineffectiveness in our prayer life.
In Lee Thomas' book, "Praying Effectively for the Lost", it says:
"There are two factors or conditions involved in every answered prayer – righteousness and faith. The imputed righteousness of Christ, which comes through His shed blood, is what gives us boldness to approach His throne of grace. It is absolutely indispensable for effective prayer. But personal righteousness is also crucial, for Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Perhaps Jesus summed it up best when He said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7). In other words, obedient Christians get their prayers answered!!
The other necessary factor in all answered prayer is faith. This is an unbreakable law in the spiritual realm. It is always “according to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29). Unbelief is continually our besetting sin and it is more often than not the cause of unanswered prayer.
So when we pray. . .we need righteousness (imputed and personal) and faith."
God is insistent about forgiveness as you will hear in the video below. He teaches the principle best in part of a simple prayer, "Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).
I believe it is imperative that we learn to forgive, even the smallest of infractions. We must get in the habit of forgiving so we can be effective in our relationship with Christ and our relationships with others.
Wednesday
Pray BIG!
I feel like this video helped to transform my prayer life for this year and the years to come. . .It will knock your socks off!
Push play and PRAY BIG!
Push play and PRAY BIG!
Thoughts on Evangelism and Prayer. . .
On Dr. Dana Hicks' blog, he recently posed this question in a post entitled, "Good Questions: Evangelism in the Postmodern Matrix".
"What do you think of evangelism in our changing world? What experiences do you have (good or bad) with evangelism?"
Below are some of my thoughts. . .
Okay, so...I don't know if what I am about to reference is considered
viable among pastors or if it is viewed as cheesy presentation and
misdirected marketing? When you go to the website, it is definitely
overwhelming...BUT, I watched Kirk Cameron and his pastor friend
Ray in a couple of their evangelism interviews and at the very heart of
it was impressed with the people's reactions to being confronted with
their sins and then the offering of Jesus as their Savior.
(The website is: http://wayofthemaster.com if you have not
ever been there).
Their premise is much like that of Dana's friend James in his article
- who, like Jesus, look to target the sin in a person's life first
and then offer them the living water. I can't remember which account
of Jesus' way of evangelism they used as a reference for their
evangelism, but the woman at the well is the one that comes to mind,
so I will run with that...that to be effective in our evangelism, and
I agree, we need to approach the lost around us like Jesus did. He
showed mercy and grace to the woman at the well, frankly, by just
being available to a Samaritan woman - not to mention, one that
was living in sin. He lovingly recognized and confronted her with
her sin, mostly by getting her to open up about herself and have
herself lead the conversation to a place where she was ready and
prepped for Him to step in with His truth of her sin. And then
when He offered the living water - she had a real reason to
recognize her need for and the ability to accept her salvation.
I think so many people in our world today truly believe that if they
were brought face to face with God they would have a pretty good case
put together for why they and their family should be able to enter
into eternity with Him. They don't believe they have sinned and
fallen short of His glory because our world tells them that they have
no reason to fear, they are at least better than the person next
to them.
I believe that to be effective in evangelism - we DO need to follow
the way of the Master and first be willing and available to develop
deeper and real relationships with the lost in our lives. Be
available and engaging. Pray for God to make us accessible,
approachable, lovable...
And to take direction from that little book, "Praying Effectively for
the Lost", we need to be willing to invest in one of the least utilized,
most effective tools for God's excellent power to be manifested in our
mortal world and the community around us - PRAYER - unrelenting,
long-suffering, faith-filled, travailing, love-covered, tearful prayer
for the lost.
I agree, we don't do anybody favors by ignoring their self-destructive
behaviors. And we don't do our neighbors any favors by
trying to approach them without a commitment to love and relationship
that has been covered in prayer even before we may have ever even met.
Thankfully, we can trust God to equip, enable, raise up and provide
us with the loving tools needed to make those truthful relationships
a reality and an evangelical path paved.
I love one of the questions Dana challenges to ask our friends,
that if you could know what God is doing in the world, would you
want to be a part of it? I think it opens up the door to blessing a
person - helping them recognize the potential that God may have
designed for them and being the one on earth that sees that same
potential in them as well. Who wouldn't want to be riding on the
end of that arrow that God could release straight into the heart
that He has had prepped and readied with prayer you already had
the opportunity to pray?
"What do you think of evangelism in our changing world? What experiences do you have (good or bad) with evangelism?"
Below are some of my thoughts. . .
Okay, so...I don't know if what I am about to reference is considered
viable among pastors or if it is viewed as cheesy presentation and
misdirected marketing? When you go to the website, it is definitely
overwhelming...BUT, I watched Kirk Cameron and his pastor friend
Ray in a couple of their evangelism interviews and at the very heart of
it was impressed with the people's reactions to being confronted with
their sins and then the offering of Jesus as their Savior.
(The website is: http://wayofthemaster.com if you have not
ever been there).
Their premise is much like that of Dana's friend James in his article
- who, like Jesus, look to target the sin in a person's life first
and then offer them the living water. I can't remember which account
of Jesus' way of evangelism they used as a reference for their
evangelism, but the woman at the well is the one that comes to mind,
so I will run with that...that to be effective in our evangelism, and
I agree, we need to approach the lost around us like Jesus did. He
showed mercy and grace to the woman at the well, frankly, by just
being available to a Samaritan woman - not to mention, one that
was living in sin. He lovingly recognized and confronted her with
her sin, mostly by getting her to open up about herself and have
herself lead the conversation to a place where she was ready and
prepped for Him to step in with His truth of her sin. And then
when He offered the living water - she had a real reason to
recognize her need for and the ability to accept her salvation.
I think so many people in our world today truly believe that if they
were brought face to face with God they would have a pretty good case
put together for why they and their family should be able to enter
into eternity with Him. They don't believe they have sinned and
fallen short of His glory because our world tells them that they have
no reason to fear, they are at least better than the person next
to them.
I believe that to be effective in evangelism - we DO need to follow
the way of the Master and first be willing and available to develop
deeper and real relationships with the lost in our lives. Be
available and engaging. Pray for God to make us accessible,
approachable, lovable...
And to take direction from that little book, "Praying Effectively for
the Lost", we need to be willing to invest in one of the least utilized,
most effective tools for God's excellent power to be manifested in our
mortal world and the community around us - PRAYER - unrelenting,
long-suffering, faith-filled, travailing, love-covered, tearful prayer
for the lost.
I agree, we don't do anybody favors by ignoring their self-destructive
behaviors. And we don't do our neighbors any favors by
trying to approach them without a commitment to love and relationship
that has been covered in prayer even before we may have ever even met.
Thankfully, we can trust God to equip, enable, raise up and provide
us with the loving tools needed to make those truthful relationships
a reality and an evangelical path paved.
I love one of the questions Dana challenges to ask our friends,
that if you could know what God is doing in the world, would you
want to be a part of it? I think it opens up the door to blessing a
person - helping them recognize the potential that God may have
designed for them and being the one on earth that sees that same
potential in them as well. Who wouldn't want to be riding on the
end of that arrow that God could release straight into the heart
that He has had prepped and readied with prayer you already had
the opportunity to pray?
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