Whether from the outside or from the inside of the church, the Adversary will stop at nothing to try to disrupt and dismantle the body of Christ. But these struggles are not the demise of God’s people. On the contrary. They are our opportunities to apply biblical principles and priorities—the only solutions to the challenges we face.
We must keep our fingers on the pages of Scripture like a boat moored to the pier in a raging storm. While we do not worship the print on the page, the paper and ink lead us to the knowledge of the One whom we do worship—Jesus, our Master and Savior.
We need to stay on our knees. As I wrote last week, prayer is a radical interference with the status quo. It is the means by which God grants power to those who rely on Him. This dependence never changes. Even as a sixty-something-year-old man who had been preaching faithfully for years, the apostle Paul continued to walk in a state of dependence on God. You have to love Paul’s humility.
Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. (Colossians 4:2–4)
There was no pretense with Paul. No degree of success or number of years in the ministry gave him a false sense of ultimate accomplishment. He knew he had not yet arrived. He remained dependent on the Spirit of God. And so with a genuinely thankful heart, he entreated his fellow believers for their prayers. Can you see the power of that kind of attitude? Very refreshing in the first century. And very rare in the twenty-first. No wonder the man made such a lasting impact for Christ! The Lord honored and blessed Paul’s ministry because he upheld prayer and promoted God’s Word.
Rather than trying to ape the world’s system, God points us in another direction. It’s a way of life that stays out of step with the world and yet is not aloof from those in the world.
The early church didn’t ask God to bless their gimmicks. So, the church today doesn’t need gimmicks to attract people—it needs pastors who lead prayerfully, biblical truth preached passionately, and Christianity lived out authentically.
See also The Praying Pastor, Part 1
Dear Chuck
I so look forward to your articles every week from the Pastor's Soul for pastors. You bring a cup of cold water to me and I am so comforted by your words. It is good to see there are true Father's of our faith and not just a proffesional workmen
Posted by: Eileen | January 27, 2010 at 08:05 AM
Appreciate your last two paragraphs. They tell it exactly like it is. Time to dump the gimmicks and get back to basics.
Posted by: Bill (cycleguy) | January 27, 2010 at 08:06 AM
Chuck,
Right on!!! The early church knew better than to create gimmicks because they worshipped and followed the Creator! Why settle for second best? Great and encouraging thoughts today!!!
Posted by: Robert Stamey | January 27, 2010 at 09:15 AM
Pastor Chuck, I am a pastor of a little church in rural America with a full-time job on the side and just this past week while not having the proper time for sermon preparation prayed to the Lord to give the sermon to me so that I could relay it on to His Church. He not only did that but my wife said it was one of my best sermons. I had to sheepishly admit to her that I didn't have anything to do with it. When God answers your prayer so immediately it is an exciting thing indeed!!! Please continue to remind us of prayer to our Wonderful Lord and Savior. He is excellent at sermon preparation. :)
Posted by: Mike | January 27, 2010 at 11:04 AM
some time ago I was listen to one of your teachings about bringing up girls, You had said something about four anchors for the soul, but I can not remember what they were. Can you refresh Me?
Posted by: Duane C Ike Sr | January 27, 2010 at 11:07 AM
Thanks so much Chuck for such a powerful reminder. I believe that a lack of prayer is a proof of independency towards God, which makes us drive the people of God instead of hearing and following God's direction! Your starting illustration made it so clear, a boat needs to know where it is going before being rightly operated. It is the Lord's direction that we need to find at first, then we need his insights as to how to get there. In all aspects we need a constant and faithful contact with Him through prayer and the word! Thanks so much for everything!
Posted by: Jean-Francois Moquin | January 28, 2010 at 09:57 AM
Duane,
You may be thinking of Chuck's message called "You and Your Daughter, Part 1" which you can hear here: http://www.insightforliving.com/3/ArchivePlayer.asp?id=1011889&date=11/6/2007
Part 2 is here:
http://www.insightforliving.com/3/ArchivePlayer.asp?id=1012053&date=1/15/2009
I hope that helps!
Wayne Stiles
Posted by: Wayne Stiles | January 29, 2010 at 09:50 AM