Prayer is the Work
Years ago, in another church, we had some huge decisions before us. As the pastor, I wrestled with God’s direction and led the church to 40 days of prayer and fasting. I simply asked them to set aside time every day to seek God’s wisdom and we devoted the Sunday evening and Wednesday night services to prayer for that purpose.
I was playing golf with a church leader who was a dear friend, and he said something that I couldn’t believe. He said, “pastor, sometimes you got to quit praying, get off the log, and do something.” He was an incredible leader in the business world, but he didn’t understand the spiritual side of leadership of the value of prayer.
I remember what I said after his statement, we were on the box waiting to hit our drives and I said, “You have way too high a view of yourself and way too low a view of God.” We didn’t talk for a couple of holes as he digested that, but I tried to show him the importance of the Body of Christ seeking the will of God at that moment.
Yesterday I spoke of the times Jesus spent alone, in the wilderness, seeking the Father in prayer. His public ministry was only 3 years, but He spent a significant amount of time praying alone in the wilderness and that doesn’t include the day-to-day times He prayed.
David Mathis said, “The healthy Christian life is neither wholly solitary nor wholly communal. We withdraw, like Jesus, to “a desolate place” to commune with God (Mark 1:35), and then return to the bustle of daily tasks and the needs of others. We carve out a season for spiritual respite, in some momentarily sacred space, to feed our souls, enjoying God there in the stillness. Then we enter back in, as light and bread, to a hungry, harassed, and helpless world (Matthew 9:36).”
Time in prayer is never wasted. If you have ever tried to pray you know that pray is never “doing nothing,” it isn’t that we pray and then do the work…what I am saying is simple, PRAYER IS THE WORK! Seek Him, get alone with your Bible and pray the Scriptures, write down prayer requests and lift them before the Father, but above all just pray.
I was playing golf with a church leader who was a dear friend, and he said something that I couldn’t believe. He said, “pastor, sometimes you got to quit praying, get off the log, and do something.” He was an incredible leader in the business world, but he didn’t understand the spiritual side of leadership of the value of prayer.
I remember what I said after his statement, we were on the box waiting to hit our drives and I said, “You have way too high a view of yourself and way too low a view of God.” We didn’t talk for a couple of holes as he digested that, but I tried to show him the importance of the Body of Christ seeking the will of God at that moment.
Yesterday I spoke of the times Jesus spent alone, in the wilderness, seeking the Father in prayer. His public ministry was only 3 years, but He spent a significant amount of time praying alone in the wilderness and that doesn’t include the day-to-day times He prayed.
David Mathis said, “The healthy Christian life is neither wholly solitary nor wholly communal. We withdraw, like Jesus, to “a desolate place” to commune with God (Mark 1:35), and then return to the bustle of daily tasks and the needs of others. We carve out a season for spiritual respite, in some momentarily sacred space, to feed our souls, enjoying God there in the stillness. Then we enter back in, as light and bread, to a hungry, harassed, and helpless world (Matthew 9:36).”
Time in prayer is never wasted. If you have ever tried to pray you know that pray is never “doing nothing,” it isn’t that we pray and then do the work…what I am saying is simple, PRAYER IS THE WORK! Seek Him, get alone with your Bible and pray the Scriptures, write down prayer requests and lift them before the Father, but above all just pray.
Recent
Archive
2025
April
Rungs in the ladder of prayerThe Rung of ResidenceThe Prayer Rung of ComprehensionThe Rung of FullnessCommitment to PrayerChristlike in PrayerPrayer is the WorkHow to PrayPraying the ArmorHow to pray without ceasingPraying the PsalmsThree Kinds of PrayerWrite it DownGood Friday PrayerPraying with TozerPraying with Tozer part 2Praying with Tozer part 3
2024
No Comments