Pray
We have a God who listens and meets our needs.
Out of Options
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf...” - Romans 15:30
One of the most incredible privileges we have as Christians is that we can pray. We can talk to God. You know, the one who formed the universe, knit together babies in the womb, and who even a fallen sparrow doesn’t escape His attention. Not only can we pray, but in Christ God desires our prayers, He leans in with benevolence at His children’s words. Not only does He smile upon our prayers, but He is capable and does work through them!
One of the most unfortunate realities is that we often find ourselves most fervent and faithful in prayer when we are desperate. When our back is against the wall. If only we knew how fragile and dependent we always were, we might pray more.
If there’s one thing church planting has taught me up to this point, it’s that this has to be a work of God. While we can make our way through life surviving by the labor of our hands, disillusioned by our self-sufficiency, we cannot make a church. Only Christ does that. You would not imagine the myriad strategies, schemes, and marketing ploys the church growth and planting world has adopted from the secular world. There is so much offered that takes a work only Christ can do and gives one the illusion that he can do it instead.
Christ makes the dead alive.
Christ founds His church.
Christ builds His church.
Not me. Not you. If you built it, it’s not a church. But, because it’s out of our hands, it immediately places anyone endeavoring to accomplish this task at the mercy of God. And what does God want? He wants us to pray. What will God work through? Prayer. Not always the way we expect or want, but He always answers them. Yes. No. Not yet.
“You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
- James 4:2b-3
It seems like every day comes with new questions that I don’t always have answers to. New challenges that must be tackled with conviction, wisdom, and tact. A treadmill that for some odd reason only accelerates, in spite of repeatedly hitting the “For Pete’s sake can you slow down” button. Never mind the innumerable questions about the future that I have yet to receive any kind of tea leaf readings about. But, you know what? God knows all that, and God cares for me and everyone else and the church and His witness. So, I pray and I ask you again to pray.
Every success we experience in church planting is because God answered prayer. It’s not because of my cleverness, y’all know me. I’m not nearly clever enough. This has been and will continue to be difficult work, but part of that is by design. It brings us to the end of ourselves so God can display His marvelous glory.
Do you need God to sustain you? We sure do. So, for your sake and ours, pray!
Do not grow tired of praying. Remember that it is to this God that we pray:
“It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.”
- Jeremiah 10:12
See the Prayer Requests below for items we need prayer for.
Mosaic College Retreat
Saturday I got to teach a breakout session at a college retreat put on by Redemption Church. I even got to see a college gal who I went to church with some years ago which was a fun surprise. I talked about authority, the biblical defense of membership, and the purposes it serves. It’s always a joy to open people’s perspectives up to the beauty of God’s church and how meaningful membership shapes the duties and delights of belonging to a local church.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the church plant. June and July will be very busy months for us as we finalize details and hit the ground running. We are expecting God to be glorified in our labor and trusting Him with the results.
Pray for favor with our canvasing efforts in July.
Pray for favor with the Springfield School district as we pursue renting a room in Springfield High School.
Pray for relationships to be built with the businesses and patrons of Main st. as well as at the public library and city hall.
Pray that our zeal continues to be fanned into flames as we have Gospel conversations with people.
Pray for God to continue to bring the right people to plant with.
Pray for Pastor Matt here at RBC. He will be taking several weeks to vacation. I’m thrilled he gets to do this before I leave in August so pray it is rejuvenating. I’ll be preaching the month of June so pray God is glorified and His people are edified by the Word.
