3 WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO PRAY? The prayers of a righteous man accomplish much (James 5:16). As of this writing, our nation is only a few days removed from the largest mass shooting in US history. Our world is broken. People are in desperate need of hope. The media asks, “How can this happen?” Our nation and the world hold rightful moments of silence in respect and honor of those fallen, but let’s not let our reflection stop in silence. Rather, let it be a loud cry of prayer before the Throne of God. We are quick to run to the Throne of Grace in the midst of tragedy, but, in the calm, we forsake our right to petition the God of every good and perfect gift. LET’S NOT LET OUR REFLECTION STOP IN SILENCE BUT RATHER LET IT BE A LOUD CRY OF PRAYER BEFORE THE THRONE OF GOD. “ Are you burdened for the souls of mankind? The greatest advice I can give you is to pray! Oswald Chambers once said: We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all. Most of us would prefer, however, to spend our time doing something that will get immediate results. We don’t want to wait for God to resolve matters in His good time be- cause His idea of ‘good time’ is seldom in sync with ours. If you are not currently praying for the needs of the world and seeing men, women, and children of every ethnic race come to understand and know Jesus, does this mean you are not called to missions? NO! We all must spend more time on our knees on behalf of the nations. We must continue in the work that has the greatest impact. Prayer is often the tool God uses to change our hearts. When we start to pray, “God bring workers into your harvest field”, many times He responds by calling us to go. For many people that is a process that starts with earnest prayer. Prayer does move the hand of God, but more often than not, it convicts our own hearts as well. As we pray for God to work, we see ways in which He has called us to be part of the solution to the problem. Don’t hide from honest prayer, but let it flow freely from your heart as God moves you. 4 WHAT ARE YOUR GIFTS? Many times we think of missionaries as having only one kind of gift, an upfront stage presence . Oh how this is such a lie the enemy wants the church to believe! Why? Because if being called to missions requires a very specific gifting, such as good stage presence, then a majority of God’s people will remain sidelined from actively making disciples. We have all probably heard from the pulpit that, “ Whether you are a plumber or a preacher God desires to use you ”! But how do you actively apply this truth to your life? The majority of God’s Church is not gifted with on stage, great eloquence, musically masterful gifts. Yet Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations was never solely designated
Made with FlippingBook Online document