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It’s been a long-asked question that I haven’t always had a ready answer for. I’m going to try today. It’s the question that your people sometimes ask when they say, “How can we pray for you, pastor?”
I love that people believe in prayer, and that they pray for me. More than love, I’m grateful. Even eternally grateful! However, I’m not sure I’ve always been helpful in answering that question. The Apostle Paul, on the other hand, had a good answer to it. I first read about this take on praying for your pastor in “Sparkling Gems of the New Testament Greek.” It’s an excellent article. Here’s my adaptation: It’s said that prayer is the best thing you can do for a man. And that praying for someone increases your love for them. I believe it. Do it for both reasons. “..strive together with me in your prayers for me…” (Rom. 15:30) To strive is to “do battle.” It means to wrestle or agonize together against the enemy. The same way we wrestle over sin or temptation, we’re to battle for our pastors and spiritual leaders against all that would hold them back. We are so much more powerful together. And the spiritual war, as you know, is intense. “that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient…” (Romans 15:31) Persecution and pressure are real. My pastor friends in India know the importance of this prayer more than I do. Their bodies bear the scars of violent encounters. But we all need this kind of praying on our behalf, no matter where we serve. Pray for boldness and freedom from fear from unbelievers, from government, from those who are enemies of the cross. “…and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints…” (Romans 15:31b) Every spiritual leader wants to bless, build up and equip the saints. That’s no easy task. It requires supernatural power and anointing. Pray for power, for ability, for authenticity and receptivity. “…so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.” (Romans 15:32) Sometimes spiritual leaders lose their joy. Joy is lost from personal disappointment, from weariness, from opposition – from sometimes standing alone. Some face broken relationships, abandonment, fractured churches, and the list goes on. I’ve been blessed in so many ways, but I can tell you of many pastor friends who’ve fought off bitterness, disillusionment and some who have given up hope. They lost their joy. Praying for your spiritual leader or pastor to be able to have and retain the joy of serving Christ is huge. The last part of that line is the “by the will of God…” portion. Every pastor knows he must be in the middle of the will of God for the Lord to maximize his life. I want that. I want to be so in the middle, that there is no chance of me slipping even the slightest degree out of alignment. Pray that for us as leaders. There’s more. But this is a start. Begin here, and God may well open the window of your heart and mind to know more specifically how to lift up your pastor! And…we’re grateful for every prayer, every moment spent asking God to do these things in our lives.
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The “7″ Series on prayer began with “Seven Truths About Prayer”.
My message (June 22) covered Truths #1-4. Watch the message at firsteuless.com Truth #7: Prayer wages a Supernatural Battle. Jesus said we were to pray this way, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Doesn’t that sound a bit like a war? Whole volumes have been written on “supernatural battles,” so this is a brief summary of some principles to remember in war: 1. Remember that the enemy’s goal is to isolate you from God, His Truth and His will for your life. It is not essentially a power struggle, but it is more of a truth struggle. God guides you with His truth, the enemy attempts to draw you away. When you move away from truth, you’re on the enemy’s turf. 2. Remember that our opponent always strikes the “weak links” in the chain of our life. It might be your thought life, your discipline, your desires. It could be your marriage, your children or your business. It could be your habits, your past or your blind spots. Be on guard. Shore up your weak links and make sure you have a watchful eye. 3. Remember that the enemy can often make sin sound “right.” He convinced Eve. He’s been doing this for thousands of years. Don’t agree with him. 4. Remember that true prayer puts you in a conversation with the undefeated King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He won’t lose. And you won’t lose if you stick close to Him. 5. Remember He has given you power and authority to resist the enemy and his ways. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 This simply means that we must put on the armor of God and stand firm in conflict, RESISTING the enemy’s tactics. It’s sweaty and difficult, sometimes bloody, but we can win this battle, says Jesus. Jesus is the one who told us to ask the Father, “deliver us from evil.” We must believe Jesus’ words that our Father can deliver us from the evil one. Keep praying, and keep following along with us online. #GetToThe7. The “7″ Series on prayer began with “Seven Truths About Prayer”.
My message (June 22) covered Truths #1-4. Watch the message at firsteuless.com Truth #6: Prayer initiates INCREDIBLE GRACE. When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, He emphasizes FORGIVENESS more than anything else. Forgiveness means that we “extend grace” to others the way God extends grace and forgiveness to us. It is IMPOSSIBLE for me to truly pray (and by “pray” I mean that I realize that I don’t deserve prayer or mercy or grace or this access to the Holy Throne Room of God) without realizing I’ve been absolutely and graciously FORGIVEN of my sinfulness and sin and am only able to pray because of that forgiveness. I know this sentence is long. Read it again. You can’t truly pray without understanding you’re forgiven. That means, as a forgiven and cleansed person, I know that I must extend that same forgiveness to those who’ve sinned against me. This is what Jesus means in Matthew 6:12 when He says, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” And if this is not clear, Jesus emphasizes it twice more in this text. When Jesus says something three times in one conversation, it’s a sure thing that we need to “get it.” For us to “get it,” we must “give it.” Grace, that is. When I pause to pray, I remember the huge debt I’ve been forgiven, and I so desire to walk in that forgiveness and access that I willingly, immediately, completely and sometimes excruciatingly and painfully, forgive others for anything they’ve wronged me in. And I am to do this each time I pray. It does so much. It reminds me of God’s amazing grace toward me. It cuts loose the dead weight of unforgiveness and bitterness and lets me be unhindered in my praying. It lets me get up from that prayer completely at peace with God and man. And it lets me initiate grace in my behavior, my words and actions wherever I go. Pray with incredible grace this week and watch and Him work in you. Keep praying, and keep following along with us online to #GetToThe7.  The “7” Series on prayer began with “Seven Truths About Prayer”.
My message (June 22) covered Truths #1-4. Watch the message at firsteuless.com Truth #5: Prayer creates an ELEVATED VISION. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus said, “Pray this way!” Why is this powerful? Because your world is small. His world is huge. Your kingdom (and mine) is limited. His kingdom is unlimited. Every time I deny my own will and my own kingdom to submit to His, I enter an elevated state of living – one initiated by GOD Himself. When I ask Him to bring His kingdom and His will into my life, I become acquainted with His plans for living. So, instead of the disciples arguing over who was greatest among them, He wanted them to become servants of the kingdom. They needed to pray that. In the same way, instead of, “Help me have a good day.” I can pray, “Make this day count for You and for eternity.” Instead of just, “Fix my marriage problems” (which He assuredly can do). I can choose to pray, “Let everything that’s happened create in me the character that counts and a testimony for You.” Instead of praying about someone’s ingrown toenail (I know that can be painful, but…) maybe I pray for my lost Muslim neighbors to be awakened to Christ. Instead of praying about parking spaces for my convenience, I might pray for people groups to be converted. Instead of asking Him to help my sports team win, I might begin to ask Him to win the spiritual battle my friends are facing with their children. See? It’s a bigger kingdom. It’s acknowledging that I can see His greater agenda and I’m asking to be included in it. In my life. Today. Now. Exercise elevated vision this week in your prayers and watch Him use your prayers in things of eternal importance. Keep praying, and keep following along with us online to #GetToThe7. “Many churches try to be attractional – some do it well, most don’t – but the Gospel is not attractional – it’s conversational. Always has been.”
That’s what I tweeted. Here’s why: I’ve noticed that as a church, we could have a huge marketing budget, the pristine location or the “cool” factor going to reach lots of people – but sometimes have very low outreach into neighborhoods and communities to target the people who are actually unsaved. Lots of transfer growth. Little sowing in the fields with seeds of the Gospel. Statistics in American churches will back me up here. We’re barely baptizing our own children in America. You know what’s wrong with this, right? You know if you have tons of people in your church, you have a huge responsibility to the Lord to help send them to their neighborhoods, schools and communities equipped to share the Gospel. Some are – and I commend them. But if they are not – if they are satisfied with transfer growth – that’s bad stewardship and even disobedience. It doesn’t look anything like the Great Commission or the insistence from Jesus that we go to the fields. And then there are those churches who try to be LIKE those attractional models, but really can’t compete. They aren’t sowing many seeds either, just moving about busily trying to be like the big guys. So, what should we be doing? We should be doing what most churches don’t do. We should have leaders who equip their people to share the Gospel in a way that initiates Gospel-centered conversations in their home, their schools and their neighborhoods. ..Simple, authentic conversations where a person can be led to trust Christ. If you’re a pastor, let me ask you, “What’s your plan? What are you doing to help this happen?” If you don’t have a plan, use ours, but get a plan! Sometimes prayer is ALL you can do. I vividly remember a pastor-mentor, Ron Dunn, preaching a prayer conference centered on the power of prayer. After the conference, someone in attendance asked him if prayer was enough. “I mean, don’t we actually have to DO something to change things?” the man said.
Ron’s response was classic. “Prayer IS actually doing something.” I’ve never forgotten that. Prayer is DOING something about a situation. Prayer is going to God about it, and asking Him to do something. When you think about it, God can do more as a result of prayer in a mili-second than we can do by ourselves in a hundred years. Recently, I learned of a dire situation that needed fervent prayer. If I’d been near it, I’d also have tried to help. But I wasn’t near. I was far away. I was, however, praying. I also happened to know I was the only one praying. It was all I could do. And, someone once said, the best thing you can do for a person is pray for them. When I did get near the situation, many days had passed, and I learned that God was indeed at work without my help. Prayer was enough. Prayer is the greatest thing you can do for a person. Prayer asks God to do what we can’t. Unless God tells us to do something else, prayer is enough. “Get to the 7” #gettothe7 You’re going to hear a lot about 7 from me in these days ahead. Why? Because it’s an incredible prayer principle. Remember Joshua marching around Jericho? How many days did he march? 7. How many times did they march around the city on the seventh day? 7. (we practice this weekly in our church by urging people to pray 6 days about your “walls” and then joining others on the 7th, on Sunday, and crying out to God) Remember Elijah sending his servant up to the mountain to see if the prayed-for rain was about to happen? How many times did he go up? 7. Naaman was told to dip in the Jordan seven times. 7. And I could go on and on. 7. I’m going to be challenging you in learning to pray in a life-changing way in the series I’m beginning. It involves getting to the 7. Enduring. Following through. Forgiving. Seeking. Asking. Watching. Then seeing the power of God. When you get to the 7, you are carrying through in prayer – asking and expecting God to work – and He will work supernaturally on your behalf. 7 is a number of completion. A number that signifies a journey to completion. Take the prayer journey with me in the 7 series. Get ready for a ride. Get ready for the time of your life. #gettothe7 Something is in the air, and it smells like good news. The conversation at the Southern Baptist Convention was steadfastly Gospel-oriented. Speaker after speaker, including myself, advocated the primacy of the Gospel and the realization that it is the only commonality we need. We’ll never look and act the same in everything. We cannot hope, nor should we ever think of hoping for a return to those days of sameness. The world is different. We have some incredible and amazing diversity in our churches. Uniquely gifted leaders are leading their churches to be contextually relevant to the community they are in – all the while focusing on the one thing that matters – the Gospel! And not just preaching the Gospel to those who’ve heard it over and over, but also equipping people to share the Gospel in the lost culture where people live and struggle and look for hope! That’s where we must be active with this game-changer that we know as the Gospel. We must become a single-silo convention, and we must do it now. Other things matter, but not as much as the Gospel does. From every corner, we have to rally to this point. Every pastor and leader, every seminary, every SBC entity must find, in their own approach, a way to support the single-silo priority. The Gospel must increase among us. Or we lose it all. I think we know this.
In recent days, I’ve heard some great messages and read some articles advocating this. Today I read Alvin Reid’s call to this. Paige Patterson and Malcolm Yarnell have both posted on their blogs to this end. Hey, if seminary leaders and pastors can get on the same page, can’t we all? All I know is this – we’re ripe for a revival that comes from obedience. What if revival in this era consisted of the church becoming obedient to the Great Commission as never before? What if it were an Acts-like, Pentecost-like revival? What if a renewed passion and white-hot burning to share the Gospel in our communities was the game-changer? I think it is. I think it’s now or never. I think we’re like so many ships passing near each other but going in so many directions. What if we aligned under a banner that is sure to please the Lord – the banner of getting the Gospel to every person in our communities, nation, and across the world? That’s a revival I want to be a part of. It’s an amazing thing to have a great dad like I have! I’m painfully aware, however, that all don’t have this. But here’s what one looks like:
*He’s THERE. My dad made sure he was at all my important events as a kid. Ball games, the lake, CHURCH, in the hospital when I broke stuff, and watching me work at the jobs HE came up with. BE THIS! *He’s a RESCUER. I could count on dad to be there when I was in trouble – and I was! He “delivered me from evil” more than a few times. He set me straight A LOT, with patience, not anger. BE THIS! *He’s an EXAMPLE. My mom and dad carried on in front of me. It was PG, but it was there. I know how to love a woman because he showed me. He was an example in a ton of things, but this comes to mind. He said, “I love you” a lot to his family. BE THIS! *He’s REAL. I saw my dad cry more than once – for all the right reasons. Spiritual reasons. Disappointment and pain-type reasons. BE THIS! *He’s DURABLE. I watched him get hit hard in life by some things in ministry, family and personally. He got back up. Every. Single. Time. BE THIS! *He’s a true FOLLOWER of Christ. Lasting image – my dad on the porch in the mornings with coffee and a Bible in hand. I do that now. BE THIS! *He’s FOR YOU. Dad always had dreams for me. He wasn’t living through me, so he adjusted often, but he did dream greatness for me – in football (which I eventually left for basketball), in life, in school, in marriage and now in ministry. You need someone to dream with you – to believe in you. He did that. BE THIS! THERE’S MORE. But if you begin here, you’ll figure out the rest. Get after it, dad. When I was 14, my father enlisted me to work with a peanut farmer, hoeing peanuts in a hot Oklahoma summer. There were a dozen or so of us working in those fields, with a huge and intimidating foreman keeping us at it. I had never hoed peanuts. I’d never worked in any fields. I had no idea what to do.
I thought maybe that big foreman might show me what to do. So, when I arrived, I asked him, “How do you do this?” He just looked at me without expression for moment, pointed to the big pile of wooden-handled hoes next to him, then to the field behind us, and said, “Grab a hoe, pick a row. It’s that simple.” And I did. For weeks. It was the hottest and sometimes the least enjoyable work I’ve ever done. You have stay at it to get those weeds out of there so the peanut crops can grow. Today, I’m a pastor. When someone asks me how we reach people who’ve never heard the Gospel, I like to use that old line. “Grab a hoe, pick a row – it’s that simple.” “Grab a hoe.” By that, I mean find the best possible method to share the Gospel that you can find. Teach your people how to do it. Equip them. “Pick a row.” Where do you send them? What’s the greatest need in your community where they can begin to share? Pick that spot, then go! “It’s that simple.” Actually, sharing the Gospel is not complicated. It’s just hard work. It takes us out of our comfort zone. But it’s SO IMPORTANT. If every Christ-follower, and if every church leader would just decide to be a Gospel-sharing follower, we can see the tide turn in our nation toward the God of the Gospel. But we must get into the fields. |
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