St. Augustine said, “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” How does God reach the lost and restore lives? He uses people. Praying people are motivated to love, share the gospel, forgive an offense, and reconcile. The reason we have so many churches that fight, fuss, and split is because they are run by carnal, prayerless people. You can measure the health of a church by her Prayer Ministry. If that’s the case, it means the health of a church is determined by the individual health of her members. So, how healthy are you spiritually? The church can never rise above the level of praying done by or the spiritual health of the membership.
In the church, we need revival. Don’t dismiss that word. Revival brings into reality all the things we say we need God to do in our lives. Outside the church, we need a harvest of souls. Please note: a revival is not a harvest, although a revived church will have a harvest. A harvest is accomplished by members, laboring in the fields during the week and bringing the unsaved or recently saved into the church. Prayer is the environment where we are empowered to do both.
E. M. Bounds said, “If prayer puts God to work on earth, then, by the same token, prayerlessness rules God out of the world’s affairs and prevents Him from working. In reality the denial of prayer is a denial of God Himself, for God and prayer are so inseparable that they can never be divorced.”
As you think about prayer, remember that the Great Awakenings began with extraordinary praying. In that environment, God turned this nation’s heart to Himself. Countless numbers were saved, government and order were restored, colleges and hospitals were built, and missionary movements exploded. The wave of revival is started by the wind of prayer.
The question today is simple: if the future of Sherwood Baptist Church is dependent on me, am I an asset or a liability? Every member of the body can and should contribute. Every member of the body needs to embrace the necessity of prayer. If not now, then when? If not you, then who?
Praying for a move of God.