Last night, I thought it was going to be a discouraging night b/c when I showed up for our Men's Small Group Bible Study and Fellowship, only one other man showed up, out of a possible 9. Not exactly encouraging. But it ended up being a very blessed night of encouragment and prayer, b/c we (the two of us) decided to join the Intercessory Prayer Group that meets every Thursday night at 7:00 pm. And it was indeed a sweet time of fellowship and prayer.
However, as happy and thrilled as I am that a small group of believers sense the urgency and need to pray and intercede for our church and community, as a Christian and a Pastor, I am also grieved at the great numbers of believers in our church, who evidently have no such desire or sense no such need.
We average anywhere from 95-110 worshipers on any given Sunday. But sadly, last night there were only seven people in the Intercessory Prayer meeting (including myself and the other man). Seven out of One hundred. Where is the devotion to prayer today that is supposed to characterize the church?
When the church was born in Acts 2 and 3,000 souls were saved in one day, the Word of God says, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized;.... And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
But not only do we see the example of the church, but there is also the Scriptural admonition to the church concerning prayer found in Col. 4:2 where the Apostle Paul writes, "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."
(New Living Translation).
What does it mean to be devoted to something? To sacrifice for... to make it a priority... to discipline yourself to perform? Yes, all those and more. And we, as God's people, are devoted to so many things. We're devoted to our spouses... We're devoted to our children... we're devoted to our jobs and careers... and those things are good things that we should be devoted to. But sadly, we're also devoted to things like sports, hobbies, television, the internet, etc... many things that have no eternal value, when we should be more devoted to the Spiritual Disciplines of the Faith so that we might grow as Christians and so that God's Kingdom might be advanced around the globe.
I have heard many years ago that if Satan can defeat us (the church) then he will make us busy. I think he has succeeded on many levels at doing precisely that. May God help us return to a pure and fervent life of faith and devotion, not only as a church, but also as individuals... for His glory, for our well-being, and for the sake of the elect around the world!!
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