Prayer is not the seasoning for the real meat
of Bible study. It is not a necessary additive to the real work of the church. It
is not something we do briefly before we begin to worship. It is not to be a
perfunctory way of opening to a sermon. I think it might better be thought of
as the marinade that must saturate every aspect of Bible study. Prayer is the
fire that cooks real spiritual meat; that warms the fellowship; that empowers
discipleship; that prepares everything we do for and by God on the earth.
My nephew once told me a story from the church
in China. A traveling evangelist was introducing the gospel to two remote
mountain villages. He was very much afraid he would not be able to return to
these new believers for many months. So he devised a plan to disciple them in
his absence. He painted scriptures on small rocks and gave them to individuals
in the villages. He told each person to memorize the verse and pray over it all
day every day for a month. Then they were to share with the church what God
told them in their verses. The man needed to leave before any believers were at
all mature in the faith. And sure enough he was away even longer than he
expected. Years had gone by before he was finally able to make his was back. He
feared he would not find anyone remaining faithful. But when he arrived he
found the churches thriving with many strong leaders in their midst.
What would God do in your life if you memorized
a single scripture and prayed and meditated over it day and night for a month?
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