Day 3
Forty days seemed like a long time a few days ago. Now I'm wondering if I'll even scratch the surface of what God wants to reveal and do in that timeframe.
At the end of this forty days I want to care more about what God thinks than what people think! I think this forty days is more about God changing me than me changing others. God always does a new work in us before He does a new work through us.
Prayer Focus
One prayer focus today was that God would help me communicate truth more effectively--that is my passion and calling. When I felt called to preach at nineteen years of age I accepted every opportunity to preach that was presented. I cut me teeth in missions and nursing homes! I've always tried to appraoch every message like it's the last. Some of that is my selfish human motivation--I want people to like my preaching. But on my best days, I just want God to speak through me. I'm always praying to God, "Help me help people." Like every other pastor, sometimes I preach because I have to--I'm on the calendar. But more often than not I preach because I have to--I've got a word of God from God that I've got to get out.
I'm praying for metaphors. I'm praying that the Lord will help me see analogies and parallels everywhere I look so that I can more effectively communicate Scripture. I've found that the Lord often speaks to me in pictures or images. I love to pray and preach in pictures! I think the key to incarnating the gospel so a generation can understand it is picking the right metaphors that "paint a picture." Jesus was the master of metaphors!
I'm also praying for a more prophetic edge. I want to communicate timeless truth but I want to do it in a timely way. I feel like one gift the Lord often uses me in is a "word of knowledge" which is the Spirit inspiring me to say the right thing at the right time to the right person. I think the epitome of preaching is when an entire message is "a word of knowledge." There is no greater confirmation than someone coming up to me after church or emailing me and saying "that message was for me." That is the Holy Spirit at work.
Praydc.com
I checked out a cool website yesterday--praynewyork.com. It inspired me to develop a praydc.com website. The goal would be to help people pray more strategically. I envision links to other churches, prayer groups, a prayer wall, and some interactive or virtual prayer tours of DC. I'm hoping it results in a "rising tide" of prayer for the city.
Isaiah 35
I'm praying two passages for DC. One is Isaiah 35. Verse 2 is actually inscribed over the entrance to Union Station. "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose." I'm praying that springs of living water would spring forth in the dry places (verse 6-7). It's no accident that that verse is inscribed on Union Station. I believe it will play a geographical and spiritual role in what God does in this city. We've often referred to Union Station as a "beachhead." I believe it is a "fountainhead" as well.
Ezekiel 47
The other passage I'm praying is Ezekiel 47. A river of healing flows from the Temple. And there is a "rising tide"--ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep. And then it was "too deep to cross without swimming." I think we're ankle-deep right now. But the tide is rising!
Praying Things Into Existence
Over the years I've learned that different groups have different prayer initiatives at different times, and to my discredit I haven't gotten involved because it wasn't where I was "at" spiritually. I don't think prayer movements happen from the outside-in. I think they happen from the inside-out. I believe in "praying things into existence." Most of our small groups and ministries aren't the result of "pleas from the pulpit." We prayed that God would birth a vision in someone's heart. I believe groups, ministries, movements are "prayed into existence." There is a dual-creation. The first-creation is spiritual--prayer. The second-creation is physical.
I think too many efforts fail because visions are "imposed" instead of birthed in prayer. When a vision is birthed in prayer there is an ownership, and that ownership results in passion, and that passion is what keeps a movement going when the going gets tough. I think the eventual success of every endeavor can be traced back to the headwaters of how it started. If it started in prayer it's destined to succeed as long as it is sustained by holiness.
I feel like this forty days of prayer and fasting is the difference between a faucet and fire hydrant. The trickle of revelation and inspiration is turning into a steady stream.
At the end of this forty days I want to care more about what God thinks than what people think! I think this forty days is more about God changing me than me changing others. God always does a new work in us before He does a new work through us.
Prayer Focus
One prayer focus today was that God would help me communicate truth more effectively--that is my passion and calling. When I felt called to preach at nineteen years of age I accepted every opportunity to preach that was presented. I cut me teeth in missions and nursing homes! I've always tried to appraoch every message like it's the last. Some of that is my selfish human motivation--I want people to like my preaching. But on my best days, I just want God to speak through me. I'm always praying to God, "Help me help people." Like every other pastor, sometimes I preach because I have to--I'm on the calendar. But more often than not I preach because I have to--I've got a word of God from God that I've got to get out.
I'm praying for metaphors. I'm praying that the Lord will help me see analogies and parallels everywhere I look so that I can more effectively communicate Scripture. I've found that the Lord often speaks to me in pictures or images. I love to pray and preach in pictures! I think the key to incarnating the gospel so a generation can understand it is picking the right metaphors that "paint a picture." Jesus was the master of metaphors!
I'm also praying for a more prophetic edge. I want to communicate timeless truth but I want to do it in a timely way. I feel like one gift the Lord often uses me in is a "word of knowledge" which is the Spirit inspiring me to say the right thing at the right time to the right person. I think the epitome of preaching is when an entire message is "a word of knowledge." There is no greater confirmation than someone coming up to me after church or emailing me and saying "that message was for me." That is the Holy Spirit at work.
Praydc.com
I checked out a cool website yesterday--praynewyork.com. It inspired me to develop a praydc.com website. The goal would be to help people pray more strategically. I envision links to other churches, prayer groups, a prayer wall, and some interactive or virtual prayer tours of DC. I'm hoping it results in a "rising tide" of prayer for the city.
Isaiah 35
I'm praying two passages for DC. One is Isaiah 35. Verse 2 is actually inscribed over the entrance to Union Station. "The desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose." I'm praying that springs of living water would spring forth in the dry places (verse 6-7). It's no accident that that verse is inscribed on Union Station. I believe it will play a geographical and spiritual role in what God does in this city. We've often referred to Union Station as a "beachhead." I believe it is a "fountainhead" as well.
Ezekiel 47
The other passage I'm praying is Ezekiel 47. A river of healing flows from the Temple. And there is a "rising tide"--ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep. And then it was "too deep to cross without swimming." I think we're ankle-deep right now. But the tide is rising!
Praying Things Into Existence
Over the years I've learned that different groups have different prayer initiatives at different times, and to my discredit I haven't gotten involved because it wasn't where I was "at" spiritually. I don't think prayer movements happen from the outside-in. I think they happen from the inside-out. I believe in "praying things into existence." Most of our small groups and ministries aren't the result of "pleas from the pulpit." We prayed that God would birth a vision in someone's heart. I believe groups, ministries, movements are "prayed into existence." There is a dual-creation. The first-creation is spiritual--prayer. The second-creation is physical.
I think too many efforts fail because visions are "imposed" instead of birthed in prayer. When a vision is birthed in prayer there is an ownership, and that ownership results in passion, and that passion is what keeps a movement going when the going gets tough. I think the eventual success of every endeavor can be traced back to the headwaters of how it started. If it started in prayer it's destined to succeed as long as it is sustained by holiness.
I feel like this forty days of prayer and fasting is the difference between a faucet and fire hydrant. The trickle of revelation and inspiration is turning into a steady stream.
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