WILL YOU BE PART OF A PRAYER MOVEMENT AT THE MISSION?

I informed the congregation at The Mission on Sunday that I hope to launch a prayer movement at our church. I wouldn't dare go down this road just because I think it's a good idea. I am convinced in my heart that this is the priority God would have for me in the Spiritual Formation ministries over these coming months.

I don't know yet what that will look like. Even as I was preaching and making this announcement I really had no idea what that would entail. I have given it some thought since then, but I'm still pretty fuzzy on how to go about it. I stepped out and made a statement based on what I felt God was saying, and now I'm looking to Him for His guidance and instructions on how to pursue this challenge. The only thing I know for certain at this point is that we need to do it.

I am rather intrigued by a question raised by Corrie Ten Boom ("The Hiding Place). She asks, "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire." In other words, is prayer an integral part of your life so that you look to God for His guidance on a daily basis, or is your prayer life limited to a 911 call to heaven when you run into some problem?

Unfortunately, the truth for many of us is that prayer is our call for help when we need something. God intended that prayer be so much more than that. He wants us to "pray without ceasing", to be in constant communication with Him. It's how we get to know Him, learn to recognize His voice, and come to rely on Him in every thing every day. Our lives would be so different, so much better, if we had that kind of intimate relationship with God.

What is true for us as individuals is also true for the ministries God has established, like the Mission. Some people treat church as if it were the Rotary Club or the Kiwanis Club. There are lots of things that distinguish churches from good service organizations, the most important being that the church belongs to God. It is His organization. It is established by Him to serve His purposes. He entrusts people like us to be stewards of His work, but as good stewards we must always be aware that it's His work and He is the boss.

Here's another important thing that characterizes churches and other Christian ministries. The things we are supposed to accomplish are impossible. That's right, the basic things God established the church for are beyond our abilities.

God's plan seems a bit risky, doesn't it? He establishes churches. He puts people in positions of leadership to make those churches operate. Then He gives us a "mission statement" that He knows full well is impossible for us to fulfill. The only thing that makes the plan work is that He goes on to say; I know you can't do this, so rely on me and I will make it happen.

This spiritual truth isn't really that difficult to understand, but for some reason we keep forgetting it. We busily go about the task of doing what we think churches are supposed to do. We're often filled with a sense of futility because we aren't succeeding like we would hope, but at the same time we're failing to address the fundamental problem. We have left God out of the equation. We have the opportunity to be in partnership with the Almighty God, but instead of exercising that privilege we work away at trying to do the impossible, getting frustrated, and continuing to ignore the source of guidance and strength and miracles. 

Of course I'm exaggerating a wee bit to make a point. If we totally ignored God we would have closed up shop a long time ago. But I think you get what I'm saying.

We have all heard stories of a church body or a ministry organization that decided to truly make prayer a priority. They committed themselves to relying on God and tapping into the resources of heaven. The results were so amazing that the stories found their way into Christian lore as wonderful examples of what God can do when His people pray. We read those stories, are encouraged by them, then go on slugging away, largely trying to accomplish things in our own ability. 

Here's the bottom line. God established The Mission for a purpose, a very long time ago. We have done a pretty good job, I think, of articulating that purpose. "We envision The Mission to be a place of refuge, restoration, and transformation for the community." "The purpose of The Mission is to continually guide people into a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ." These are wonderful statements of what we believe God wants to accomplish through The Mission. They are also totally impossible unless God is in control and exercising His power to make things happen. 

So we can plug away with the best of intentions, trying to do the impossible, seeing good things here and there but never really breaking through. Or we can do what God intended from the beginning, to fully trust Him for the guidance and power to make it work.

As I was preparing and preaching the message God gave me last Sunday, my own heart was stirred. A number of people have told me that God was speaking to them as well. I say this not to be boastful in any way. I simply conveyed what the Word of God said, and God confirmed it to people's hearts.  I give Him all the praise and glory for that.

If you missed this message, would like to hear it again or share it with someone, you can find the recording on http://themissionchurch.ca/index.php/sermons/.

I am looking to God for ways to encourage and facilitate a special movement of prayer at The Mission. If God lays some thoughts on your heart I would be happy to hear from you. As God directs in the coming weeks we will be presenting opportunities for our congregation to participate. Won't it be wonderful to see what God can accomplish at The Mission when we totally rely on Him!