Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer…
Following the Lord Jesus is designed by God to be very meaningful and deeply satisfying. It is a thrilling journey and an exhilarating ride. Yes it is deeply sacrificial and thoroughly God-centered and other-focused, but it is very fulfilling. Actually, the reason the Christian life is very joyful is because it is lived for a cause or purpose that is bigger and higher than our own little comforts and dreams- that of bringing honor to the Father in heaven and salvation to the spiritually lost. Today we continue our theme of the revival lifestyle. By his grace and for his glory, the Lord has ignited a spiritual fire of revival in us. It’s changing us as we continue to welcome it and fan the flames of revival so that the fire will get even stronger. And one of the things the Holy Spirit is pointing us to is prayer. So let’s think and talk about prayer. May we capture God’s mind and heart about it so we can live out excellently this significant part of the revival lifestyle. At the outset, some of us may be thinking if we really need a teaching or discussion on prayer because it seems so common. It seems to have been understood and agreed upon as important, and many try to pray as much as they can. Yet a closer examination reveals that there is so much deficiency in prayer. When compared to the standard of the Lord Jesus and the early apostles and Christ-followers, there is a glaring lack of passionate, consistent, and powerful prayer on the part of God’s people in the 21st century. We have all become very distracted with the things of the world or the concerns of life that we have not been giving prayer the priority place it is supposed to have in our lives. One of the areas of prayer that the Lord is calling us to improve on is corporate or group prayer. Many pray alone, but coming together in prayer is part of God’s standard for his people. We also need to pray more for concerns other than our own needs and desires. The pattern of the Bible and even of the Lord’s prayer taught us by Jesus himself is that God’s honor and kingdom are the first prayer items instead of our “daily bread/food” and other concerns. May the Lord stir our hearts more so we will enjoy more frequent and longer times with him in prayer alone and also with others in the spiritual family. This is the “secret” of the victorious Christian life, and this is necessary for continuing in revival. May the Lord abundantly bless you and your family and ministry. Lathur Badoy