I wanted to share a blog that I read this past week. I hope it will be an encouragement to you like it was to me. We don’t need more programs or strategies, we need God to do what only he can do. Join me in this pursuit as stand on the Psalm “Unless the Lord builds the house, we are just laboring in vain.”
WHEN IN TROUBLE, PRAY!by Jim CymbalaHave you ever noticed that Jesus launched the Christian church, not whilesomeone was preaching, but while people were praying? In the first two chaptersof Acts, the disciples were doing nothing but waiting on God. As they were justsitting there . . . worshiping, communing with God, letting Him shape them andcleanse their spirits and do those heart operations that only the Holy Spiritcan do . . . the church was born. The Holy Spirit was poured out.What does it say about our churches today that God birthed the church in aprayer meeting, and prayer meetings today are almost extinct?Am I the only one who gets embarrassed when religious leaders in America talkabout having prayer in public schools? We don’t have even that much prayer inmany churches! Out of humility, you would think we would keep quiet on thatparticular subject until we practice what we preach in our own congregationsI am sure that the Roman emperors didn’t have prayer to God in their schools.But then, the early Christians did not seem to care what Caligula or Claudius orNero did. How could any emperor stop God? How, in fact, could the demons of hellmake headway when God’s people prayed and called upon His name? Impossible!In the New Testament we don’t see Peter or John wringing their hands andsaying, “Oh, what are we going to do? Caligula is bisexual . . . he wants toappoint his horse to the Roman Senate . . . what a terrible model ofleadership! How are we going to respond to this outrage?” Let’s not play games or divert attention away from the weak prayer life ofour own churches. In Acts 4, when the apostles were unjustly arrested,imprisoned, and threatened, they didn’t call for a protest; they didn’treach for some political leverage. Instead, they headed to a prayer meeting.Soon the place was vibrating with the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:23-31).The apostles had this instinct: When in trouble, pray. When intimidated, pray.When challenged, pray. When persecuted, pray! Jim Cymbala began Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small,rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is alongtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson and a frequent speaker at theExpect Church Leadership Conferences sponsored by World Challenge throughoutthe world.