sunday sermon monday

As for me,
far be it from me that I should sin against
the LORD by failing to pray for you.
And I will teach you the way that is good and right.
1 Samuel 12:23

do you ever go to church sometimes, and from almost the second you are there, know without a doubt that God has placed this sermon in the Pastor's hands JUST for you?

that happened to me yesterday. the sermon on prayer hit me hard in the gut. and not in a real good way, except that i think conviction is a pretty good thing.

pastor talked about our prayer lives, or better, the lack of them. awhile back, he did tell us he has stopped saying to people "i'll pray for you" or "i'll pray for that thing" and just asks them, "is it okay if i pray for that right now with you?" i love that. it's harder to do than you think, until you are practiced up.

but i think of this blog. and how many times i have said to you good folks that i'll pray. and how miserably shallow many of those prayers have been. not that i have not done it (ok, sometimes i haven't), but it has not been my PRIORITY to pray. as samuel talks about in the scripture above, i have sinned against God in my prayer life.

i want to change. i thought i'd share the "assignment" that pastor gave us, more like a challenge, really. i love that we get homework at church. because really, isn't church more about our day-to-day life, than waiting for sunday to make it all make sense?

so here goes:

(1) Get before God in prayer and repent for not praying enough.

(2) Plan to pray.
a - set a time and a place.
b - determine to pray more than you have been.

(3) Make a prayer list.
a - Who.
b - What.

(4) Pray big prayers.
a - Ask large that your joy might be full.
b - You have not because you ask not.

(5) Come to prayer meetings.
a - Jesus said "my house shall be called a house of prayer."
b - Seek to establish a prayer group in your circle of influence. (moms/neighbors/work friends/family)

pretty neat, huh? i believe that as the church is falling apart in the modern day, as Christians have watered themselves down to potlucks and bad entertainment, the Lord is calling us back to Him and the things He has set down through the ages for us.

may your day be filled with the prayers and relationship with God that we all need.

oh, oh! almost forgot the best part, the part that got me!
he said failure to pray signifies one of 3 things. i hate these 3 things.

1) you do not value the eternal soul of those you are not praying for.
2) you do not LOVE those who you are not praying for, as you say you do.
3) you do not really BELIEVE in God's power.

huh. wow.