Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Watching and Praying

One of the most interesting things about our church is its capacity to respond to a challenge (and often at the last minute). The Pastor’s Prayer Partners, one of several prayer teams at church, wanted us to do a 24/7 “week of prayer” leading up to Easter again this year. That team really does want us to be a “house of prayer.” They are serious about it.

So they planned the week of prayer, promoted it, publicized it, and posted a schedule on the wall of church. Almost no one signed up. It looked like this was going to be a bust. Until the day it started – last Sunday -- when everyone signed up. We are now well into the week, and prayer is going up from church hour after hour, around the clock. I am still amazed at the last minute sign-up. It was a two-minute drill that would make John Elway proud.

Back to the business of prayer: it really isn’t a business, it’s a lifestyle. But like any business, it does involve some work. At times, hard work. One of the hardest-praying men who ever lived was the celebrated preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, of London, England.

Spurgeon was called “The Prince of Preachers” and his preaching was extraordinary. He began preaching around the time of the American Civil War, and pastured one church for 38 years. He would often preach ten sermons a week, and over his lifetime spoke to ten million people, without the aid of radio or television (but he would have loved pod-casting over the internet).

Spurgeon was also a man of prayer, and believed that his church must be a house of prayer. Here’s what he said about that:

There is no waiting on God for help, and there is no help from God, without watchful expectation on our part. If we ever fail to receive strength and defense from Him, it is because we are not on the outlook for it. Many a proffered succour from heaven (i.e., a promise of help from God) goes past us, because we are not standing on our watchtower to catch the far-off indications of its approach, and to fling open the gates of our heart for its entrance. He whose expectation does not lead him to be on the alert for its coming will get but little. Watch for God in the events of your life.

The only homely proverb says: “They that watch for Providence will never want a providence to watch for,” and you may turn it the other way and say, “They that do not watch for providences will never have a providence to watch for.” Unless you put out the water-jars when it rains you will catch no water.

Spurgeon might have been thinking of a bible verse from Habakkuk 2:1. “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me.” How thankful I am, to be part of a church where we are “watching” for God 24/7 this week.

A Blessing on all of our people who are watching and praying for Providence!

Pastor Jim

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