The Unlikely Apostle Pt.1 : Pray Without Ceasing

Something has been stirring in me for a while. A restlessness. A dissatisfaction with the status quo. A feeling like I’m in a rut. A feeling like my church is in a rut.

A couple weeks ago it came out that several other people have been having a similar experience. So, I began to seek God’s direction and desire for me and the people. I believe He answered, and it was not what I expected.

I believe God has called us to pray, just to pray, during our Sunday and Wednesday services for the next month. No music. No Bible study. Just prayer.

That may seem crazy to some folks. I understand. I have spent many years planning order of services. I know how desperately people want a bulletin that tells them what’s coming next. I am fully aware of how uncomfortable it gets when there’s the slightest break in the action.

We have become experts at orchestrating and executing worship services that pacify the crowds yet don’t require God’s presence.

Frankly, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of the show. I’m tired of the games. I’m tired of holding a form of godliness twice a week, yet not experiencing God’s power. I’m tired of lukewarm American Christianity. It’s corroding my soul.

I want Jesus. No, I need Jesus. I need Jesus exceedingly and abundantly more than I realize. We do too.

We say a little prayer before meals. We say a little prayer before business meetings. We say a little prayer before offerings. We memorize Scripture verses about prayer. We devote entire sermons to the subject of prayer. We have bible studies devoted to prayer. We post inspiring quotes on social media about prayer. Yet, we are far too pragmatic to actually be people of prayer.

And that is exactly what we are called to be: People of prayer who pray without ceasing.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I’ve heard grown men that were leaders in churches joke about this verse, shrugging it off since God can’t possibly be calling us to drive down the freeway with our eyes closed. I think we tend to make light of things that terrify us. We fear what we don’t understand, and making a mockery of such things has a way of taking a bit of the edge off.

How our hearts deceive us.

Paul flat out says that God’s will for our lives is for us to pray without ceasing. Yet, we sit around at Bible studies joking about the verse so we can convince ourselves that it's okay to not do God’s will. I wonder what the chances are that Jesus was just kidding when He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter (Matthew 7:21).” Perhaps we need to take God's will seriously.

So, what does it mean to pray without ceasing?

I plead with you, by the grace with which you are clothed, to press forward in thy progress, and to exhort everyone so that they may be saved. … Give yourself to prayer without ceasing. Plead for additional understanding to what you already have. Be watchful, possessing a sleepless spirit. Speak to every man separately, as God enables you. Bear the infirmities of all, as being a perfect athlete [in the Christian life]: where the labor is great, but the reward is even greater. – Ignatius 105CE, Volume 1, p. 152 [CD-ROM]

According to Ignatius, praying without ceasing first means maintaining a desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Second, we must keep an ambassadorial mindset. Third, we should be imploring our Father for steady infillings of heavenly wisdom. Fourth, we need to remain vigilant, seeking God’s direction in all things for all people so that we can make the most of every opportunity. And finally, to pray without ceasing, Ignatius calls us to never forget the reward of living for the kingdom of heaven.

It takes prayer to become a person of prayer. And that is what I want to be. That is what I want for each person of my church. That is what I want for you.

Are you in a spiritual rut? Do you feel restless in your faith? Then join me in this quest to pray without ceasing, and let’s experience Jesus together. 

Lord's Prayer Pt. 3 - May Your Kingdom Come

Once when my church was still meeting in an elementary school, a well-spoken, gentle young man decided to visit us. We happened to be teaching on Luke 4:40-43 where Jesus heals scores of people and casts out demons from sundown to sunup one night. We talked about how Luke records Jesus saying in verse 43, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

We discussed how many of those people probably felt as if Jesus was turning their world upside down. However, what Jesus was actually doing was helping to set everything right side up again.

So many areas that had been turned upside down by the Fall in Eden were getting turned right side up by Jesus bringing the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Little did I know, the kingdom of God was about to invade that young man’s life. After the service as folks were tearing stuff down, he came up to me weeping and asking if I would pray for him. So I took him behind the stage and off to the side where we wouldn’t attract any attention.

I felt led to ask him if he was having any compulsive sinful behaviors or thoughts. Areas where he almost felt driven to do or think those destructive things, no matter how hard he fought against them. He mentioned three areas and confirmed that those were the reasons he wanted prayer.

So I began by helping him with a prayer of confession in each of those areas. Then, starting with the first area of concern, I prayed that God would bring him cleansing and deliverance from that stronghold, and that His kingdom would come.

Suddenly, he began convulsing and vomited all over the floor and a little on one of my boots. Assuring him everything was okay, I gently began praying for the second area and… another big puddle of vomit. This time, though, I was able to get my feet out of the way in time. God blessed us with similar success in the third area as well.

The young man was overwhelmed with a feeling of peace as he shed a few tears of joy. It was amazing to watch Jesus’ kingdom begin to flip upside down areas of his life right side up in such a dramatic way. Praise God!

However, when Jesus commands us to pray for His kingdom to come, He isn’t speaking only of exorcisms and healings. He’s mostly speaking of us letting the King be Himself in us. And can you imagine what a tremendous blessing we Christians would be to the world if we believed and prayed the promise Jesus made that His disciples would do the same works as He did?

Cyprian did:

In the prayer, “Thy kingdom come,” we ask that the kingdom of God may be set forth to us, even as we also ask that His name may be sanctified in us. … He who dedicates himself to God and Christ desires not earthly, but heavenly kingdoms. … We add, also, and say, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” … Now that is the will of God, which Christ both did and taught. Humility in conversation; steadfastness in faith; modesty in words; justice in deeds; mercifulness in works; discipline in morals; to be unable to do a wrong, and to be able to bear a wrong when done; to keep peace with the brethren; to love God with all one’s heart; to love Him in that He is a Father; to fear Him in that He is God; to prefer nothing whatever to Christ, because He did not prefer anything to us; to adhere inseparably to His love; to stand by His cross bravely and faithfully. – Cyprian 250CE Volume 5, p. 788-789

Out of Comfort, Into Experiencing God

Two months ago my church decided to have a service where the majority of the time would be free for the Holy Spirit to move spontaneously. This was a scary proposition, but it felt like the direction God was leading us.

Admittedly, though, a part of me felt like I was being led like a lamb to slaughter. I could hear the possible complaints: “You really believe God called you, our pastor, to not plan anything? Really? For an hour-and-a-half?”

Either God would move or things would turn south quickly.   

The day before the service my wife, Stephanie, began to experience excruciating back pain. Like an 8-9 on the pain scale. I thought about praying for her, then got the sensation that I needed to wait. That decision earned me a night in the doghouse.

The next morning, after a brief devotional, we spent time in groups seeking God’s direction for the rest of the gathering. Afterwards, one of our elders suggested that we all come around two men, and ask the Lord to help them be bolder in praying out loud. So we did.

After ten minutes or so, we prayed for other needs and people. We just kept on standing and praying together. It was awesome! Then, I felt led to let the group know about Stephanie’s back issue, which she was trying to hide from everyone. She’s tough like her dad in that way.

I called her forward, and then asked the two men if they would pray out loud for God to heal Stephanie. I said they didn’t need to pray in a complicated way, just 5-10 seconds, very simply. But, I did ask that they not pray for doctors to heal Steph, just that Jesus would heal her.

They both prayed simple, beautiful, compassionate prayers. Stephanie’s back pain immediately went from an 8-9 to a 1. Later that day it was completely gone. Praise God!

Let me encourage you. God doesn’t just want to use pastors to pray. In fact, I would venture to say God likes using non-pastors more than pastors to do great things for His kingdom (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). But ultimately, God wants to use anyone who will be available for Him.

God knows how you don't think you speak well. God also knows how you don’t like looking foolish. And, to God, those characteristics make for a perfect opportunity. So, are you ready to start seeing God answer many of the childlike, experiencing-God type prayers that you’ve offered up throughout your life?

God says to us, “I know you don't speak well, Moses. I know you’re just a teenager, Jeremiah. I know you’ve repeatedly over-committed and under-delivered, Peter, and I know you feel like you don’t have much to offer. But there are crippled beggars at the gate called beautiful who need what each of y'all do have. Me.”

When we move away from comfort and make ourselves available, we will experience God.

Those who are truly His disciples, receiving grace from Him, … perform (works) in His name, in order to promote the welfare of others. … Some truly and certainly cast out devils. … Others have foreknowledge of things to come. They see visions, and they utter prophetic expressions. Still others heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and the sick are made whole. What is more, as I have said, even the dead have been raised up and remained among us from many years. … The name of your Lord Jesus Christ even now confers benefits. It cures thoroughly and effectively all who anywhere believe on Him. – Irenaeus 180CE Volume 1, p. 409 

Tertullian on Christian Gatherings Around 198CE

We are a united body. We are bound together by a common religious conviction, by one and the same divine discipline and by the bond of common hope. We form a permanent society and come together for communal gatherings as if forming an army around God and besieging Him with our prayers. This is the kind of force in which God rejoices. …

In these meetings of our society there is also encouragement, admonition, and divine correction, for holding judgment is a matter which carries great weight among us, as it should be among people who are sure of God’s presence. … The most proven men preside; the “elders” as we call them. They have attained this honor only through their good name, never through the use of money.