Are You Motivated More By Performance Or People In Ministry?

In a conversation I was having with a friend today, I was reminded of an important lesson that God taught me several years ago about the things that motivate me in ministry. This was a very difficult lesson for me to learn, and I think that I am still in the processing of learning it; regardless, the truths that I am about to share with you have probably been more formative in my understanding of what it means to serve God than anything else I have come across in many, many years.

To be specific, the lesson that God taught me several years ago, but which I was reminded of today, has to do with what my motivation is in ministry. As I start this discussion, I want to point out that God has gifted each of us differently, giving us different talents, temperaments, personalities, and experiences. As such, some people tend to be more "task-oriented", and they are usually the ones you find going from task to task, always thinking about what needs to be done to make the next big event succeed, to finish the term paper, to pull together the group project, etc. On the other hand, some people tend to be "people-oriented", and they are more concerned about creating, developing, and sustaining relationships with people than they are with tasks and projects. There is obvious overlap between these two categories (no one is 100% task-oriented to the exclusion of being people-oriented, and vice-versa), but these two categories do seem to generally be a true description of what we see in life. For my own part, I have always tended to be more task-oriented than people-oriented, and it was precisely in this area of my life that I would find that I had much to learn.

The problems began as I started getting involved in different ministries. Over the past six or seven years, I have been involved in a number of different ministry roles, including Sunday school teaching, preaching, evangelism, discipleship, and counseling. As I went into these different situations with my task-oriented personality, I excelled in many different ways. I always completed tasks on time (sometimes well before the due-date), I was always well-prepared, and people generally had very positive feedback about the things that I said, taught, and did. But at the same time, I also noticed a pattern developing. While I was excelling in getting tasks completed, I was neglecting another important aspect of ministry: people. You see, I have the tendency to become so focused on completing tasks (and doing my absolute best while I'm at it) that I overlook people. As long as they go along with what I'm doing, things go fine; but as soon as they start having different opinions, moving in different directions, or disagreeing with what I'm doing, problems begin. And because of this, I got to a place where I almost saw people as a "hindrance" to ministry at times. I don't think I ever consciously thought this, but my general attitude at one point was probably along the lines of "ministry would be great if there were just no people to deal with!" This was a sinful attitude, and God began to show me this in a powerful way.

As years passed and I began to venture into new and fresh ministry contexts, many people began to challenge me and offer correction in some of the areas I mentioned above. They told me that while I was doing great in getting stuff done, I wasn't focusing enough on developing relationships with those I was ministering with and to. This correction hurt, but I knew it was true. And as I wrestled with this in thought, in prayer, and in seeking counsel from others, I realized that my personality (a very driven one at that) was getting in the way of ministry. God showed me that ministry is something that we are to do with people and for their benefit and growth; it is not something we do at them. Then I finally saw the heart of the issue: for God, the most important thing is people; He loves sinful men and women so much that He sent His Son to the wickedness, corruption, and decay of this world. For me, however, I wanted to be productive, stay busy, and get a lot of things done, but I didn't share God's heart for people. He gradually began changing my perspective, giving me a new heart for people that I didn't have before, and a new willingness to enter into the brokenness, despair, and emptiness that so often fills their lives.

So how about you? Are you more of a task-oriented person (like me), or do you tend to be more people-oriented? Let me make it clear that this is not an issue of one being right and the other being wrong; instead, it's an issue of recognizing how God has created us, being aware of the pitfalls that any personality has, and using what we have as best as we can to the glory of God. If you are more task-oriented, you need to be aware that people are not a hindrance to ministry, as I once seemed to think; people are ministry. God can use your personality in a powerful way (since you are motivated and driven to get stuff done), but you can never let this motivation get in the way of the final goal (reaching people). If you are more people-oriented, however, you need to remember that God does expect us to work hard, to diligently use the resources we've been given, and to spend and to be spent in the process of ministry. You will probably always find it easier and more motivating just getting to know people and entering into their lives, but if the relationship you are developing is not intentionally focused on building the kingdom of God, then it is ultimately misguided at best. The personalities that we have been given, then, are not the problem; the problem lies in the fact that so often we emphasize the strengths of our given temperament, and forget about our weaknesses. May God give us the grace to see how He has equipped us, to be vigilant against misusing or misunderstanding His gifts, and to find, through His grace, how He intends for us to fit into the body of Christ.

So Great Salvation-Paris Reidhead

A Call To Anguish

I just came across a sermon by Dave Wilkerson called "A Call To Anguish" and I want to strongly recommend that you listen to it. You can download it here. Sermon Index describes this message by stating: "Wilkerson in this message gives out a call for all Believers to allow the anguish of God's heart for His Church and the world, into their own. Be prepared to be stirred by the Holy Spirit. You will truly never be the same!"

"They Shall Expel Demons": Some Thoughts On Discerning Between The Supernatural and Physical Based On Recent Experiences In Evangelism

In Mark 16:17-18 we read: "And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” I have been thinking about this passage a lot lately based on some recent experiences in personal evangelism, specifically the part that says "they will cast out demons". I don't doubt for a second that demons are very real, and that in Jesus Christ we find the authority to cast out demons; but I have been wrestling with when it is actually appropriate to use this authority. Specifically, I have been struggling to discern when the problems we confront in sharing the gospel are physical (i.e. mental illness, anxiety, depression, etc.) and when they are spiritual (i.e. demonic).

For some Christians, this will seem like a silly question, since they virtually deny the reality of any sort of mental illness or other bodily disorder that is not spiritual in nature; regardless, we must never forget C.S. Lewis's warning contained in "The Screwtape Letters":

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."

The caveat to this is that we must always be willing to consider and examine the possibility that the strange things we encounter in this world very well could be spiritual. There is a ditch on both sides of this issue, and in order to remain biblical, we will have to find a way to carefully navigate between the two.

To tackle this question, then, I want to offer a few personal encounters that I have had in personal evangelism as a suggestive illustration of how we might attempt to discern between the supernatural and the merely physical.

To start off with, let me share the story of a man that was struggling with some very real problems. About a year ago, my brother and I were downtown sharing the gospel, and we met a young man who was standing on the sidewalk, deep in thought. As we approach him we struck up a conversation, and we found him to be very agreeable to talking with us and pleasant overall. In talking with him, however, we quickly found out that he believed that the city we were living in (Portland, Oregon) is actually laid out along the same pattern as the ancient city of Jerusalem. As such, he was able to describe different landmarks in Portland that corresponded to the Temple complex, the twelve stones of the tribes of Israel, and the pool of Bethesda. In this conversation, it became clear that he was very serious, and that he actually believed what he was telling us. To make things even more interesting, he told us that he had recently been hanging out underneath a local bridge, and that he had met Enoch (like out of the book of Genesis, that Enoch). He said that he made eye contact with Enoch and nodded to him, but that he didn't strike up a conversation with him because he would obviously speak Hebrew and wouldn't understand English. Through this conversation, I distinctly got the impression that I was talking with someone who had some serious mental problems (probably a form of schizophrenia), but nothing that suggested to me that anything was going on at a deeper, spiritual level. I felt deeply troubled and broken for this young man, but it was obvious that he was suffering physically, a reminder of the terrible effects that Adam's sin (and our ongoing sin) has had on the human race.

In contrast to that first experience, I have had a couple of experiences recently that were similar in certain ways, but radically different in others. One happened about a year ago when I met a man who asked me for money for beer. I told him I wouldn't give him money for beer, but that I would buy him some food. He wasn't interested in this, but it did allow us to get into a good conversation. As I spoke with this man, he quickly began describing different "forces" in his life that gave him special benefits. When I heard this, I pressed deeper, and I learned that these forces were actually personal, and that each of them had names and personalities. To make matters worse, he was actually able to tell me precisely when he had made certain agreements and covenants with these powers, and he let me know in no uncertain terms that he was not interested in seeing them go. In contrast to my first experience I mentioned above, there was something clearly different happening here. This second man was clearly aware of certain spirits that were operating in his life, the benefits that they brought to him, their point of access, and even what their personalities were like. Looking back, I do not believe that this man was suffering from mental illness (at least primarily); instead, there was something clearly spiritual and demonic here.

One final example should serve to clarify the difference between dealing with the supernatural and the physical. Just last week I struck up a conversation with a man who had a strange set of horns tattooed on his forehead, a skull on his t-shirt, and a bizarre demeanor overall. As some friends and I went up to this man, we asked him his name, and he told us, "I am a god." I've heard this before, so I wasn't too shocked, but I pressed a bit further to find out where he stood spiritually. I pointedly asked him: "Have you read the Bible before? Do you believe it is true?" When I asked him this question, his speech quickly changed, he started speaking in very soft tones, and I was forced to lean in to hear him. When I leaned in, I only caught part of what he said, but I distinctly heard the words "If the Bible is true, then I am going to kill you." At that point, I decided it was time to cut off the conversation, so I stepped back and told him, "Ok, have a nice day!" and walked away. He responded with something similar, and that was it. In this third conversation, I specifically got the impression that I was talking to more than just a person, and I could feel a sense of spiritual darkness the entire time. This man was clearly influenced by demons in my judgment as well, and it was obvious that he was not simply struggling with mental illness.

So what difference does this discussion make? To put it quite bluntly, if you ever get serious about sharing your faith beyond the circle of your friends and family, you will encounter people like this, and you will have to make a judgment call about whether they are simply suffering from a physical/mental ailment, or if there is something going on at a deeper, spiritual level. In my experience, people with physical and mental problems are generally harmless and easy-going; they have just lost touch with reality. People under genuine demonic influence, however, may have lost touch with reality, but there is also an added dimension of involvement in the occult, alliances with spirits, rapid changes in personality, and a general sense in your spirit that all is not as it should be. I don't want you to become obsessed with demons or be constantly worried that you will run into one in every conversation that you have, but as you seek to put your theology into practice (which is what this blog is all about), this is an unfortunate reality of life that you will find yourself dealing with. May God give us the grace to be truly discerning, to know when to show mercy and compassion to those who are suffering, and to be wise in using the authority we find in Him in overcoming the powers of darkness.

How Do You Know When It's Time To Leave A Church?

As some of the people reading this will definitely know, the local church that I am a part of has been having some difficult times. Over the past five or six months the size of our congregation has been cut at least in half, there have been many rumors circulating about the future of the church, and there has been a general sense of uncertainty regard what is going to happen next. Because of this, I have struggled with knowing whether I ought to stay at my local church or go somewhere else. To complicate matters further, I have had a number of people suggest to me that perhaps it is time for me to leave my church and start over. I firmly believe now that God wants me to stay, but I did not come to this conclusion quickly; my circumstances really caused me to wrestle with the question, "How do you know when it's time to leave a church?"

This is obviously a very practical question, and I won't begin to pretend that I can do full justice to it. I will, however, attempt to give some of my thoughts on the matter, and explain how I came to the decision I reached.

One of the most helpful tools that I have found in tackling the question of whether or not to leave a church is called the "Levels of Essentiality" scale. I learned about this concept from Gerry Breshears, a professor of mine at Western Seminary (you can learn more about Gerry and the "Levels of Essentiality" here). In this concept, you can basically place any issue that you are facing into one of four categories based on their level of "essentialness":

1. The "Die-For's": This category would include the essentials of what it means to a Christian and the fundamental doctrines of our faith. Here I would include things like the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus Christ, the inspiration of the Bible, and the second coming of Jesus Christ. These are issues that we cannot afford to waver on and which, if necessary, we would die for. These are definitely issues that I would be willing to leave a church over if neglected or denied.
   
2. The "Divide-For's": This category would include things like the governing-structure of a local church, the nature of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, whether baptism should be administered to infants or only to adults, and the fundamental strategy of missions and evangelism used by a church. For me, none of these are issues that I would die over; they are issues which I would most likely have to break fellowship over. I can still view those who disagree as genuine brothers and sisters in Christ, but it is usually at this level where church splits occur.
   
3. The "Debate-For's": This third category is an area where we can still remain in fellowship with one another, but where we will have genuine disagreements at times. I would include in this category the debate over Calvinism and Arminianism, the nature of the end-times, the level of political involvement that a local congregation ought to pursue, and even the dominant style of worship used in the worship service. As you might notice, there are some issues that I listed here that you might move up one level into the "divide-for" category; this only goes to show that this tool is somewhat fluid and can vary from person to person. Regardless, the "debate-for" issues are those over which I would have genuine disagreements, but over which I would not break fellowship.
   
4. The "Decide-For's": Finally, this category includes doctrines and practices over which there might be a significant level of disagreement and which are not clearly taught as essentials in the Bible. In this category I would include minor doctrinal disagreements (who were the Nephilim in Genesis 6?) and squabbles over practice (should we take the offering before or after the sermon?). These issues become so insignificant that it may not be worth a lot of time even discussing.

In examining these different levels of essentiality, then, you can get a rough idea of how important the issue that you are really wrestling with is. By way of application, you might be struggling with whether you should leave your church over what is being taught from the pulpit. If the pastor is questioning the authority and accuracy of the Bible in his sermons, I would consider this a "die-for" issue, and one that would clearly be worth considering very seriously. On the other hand, if the pastor occasionally mentions that he favors Arminianism, while I am a Calvinist, I might be a little ruffled, but I would personally not leave a church over this issue. As a result, you can see how examining the issues that you are facing from this perspective helps bring greater clarity to many different issues.

For me, then, as I have wrestled with whether or not to leave my church, I have walked myself through the levels of essentiality, considering the issues that I am facing. I came to the conclusion that every problem our congregation is facing is either a "debate-for" or a "decide-for" issue; in my judgment, none of them were "divide-for" issues as far as I am concerned. When I realized this, I came to the conclusion that while things may be difficult for a while, I am not comfortable leaving just so that I can find a church that will be more pleasant for the time being. God's will may not always be easy, but it will always be good.

How about you-how could you apply this to your life? I would commend the levels of essentiality as a tool to employ whenever you are seeking to work your way through a problem or to weigh options. When we initially face problems, they can often take on a life of their own and seem much bigger than they actually are. As we step back and calmly examine them, however, we begin to see them in perspective, and we realize that what at one time looked like a "divide-for" is actually just a "debate-for", if even that. May God give us all the patience to examine life from a clear perspective and with a cool mind, and the wisdom to see the importance of things in the same way that He sees them!

Praise Adonai

Praise Adonai (by Paul Baloche)

Who is like Him
The Lion and the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Mountains bow down
Every ocean roars
To the Lord of hosts

Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
‘Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing Praise

Who is like Him
The Lion and the Lamb
Seated on the throne
Mountains bow down
Every ocean roars
To the Lord of hosts

Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
‘Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing Praise

INSTRUMENTAL INTERLUDE

Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
‘Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing
Praise Adonai
From the rising of the sun
‘Til the end of every day
Praise Adonai
All the nations of the earth
All the angels and the saints
Sing Praise

Planning An Evangelistic Outreach

For everyone who lives in or around the Portland-Metro area, I want to let you know about an exciting opportunity coming up. I am planning an evangelistic outreach on the streets of downtown Portland for the evening of either September 5th or September 12th. We will spend time passing out gospel-saturated literature, engaging people in evangelistic conversations, praying for our city, and possibly doing some street preaching as God leads. If you haven't done this kind of outreach before, just the thought of it can be a little bit daunting, but once you do it, you will never regret spending your time this way again! If you are interested in helping make this happen or in being a part of the outreach, please contact me (stevenmarquardt@gmail.com). God bless!

Are You Seeking God's Face, Or Only His Hand?

God placed a message on my heart yesterday to share with my church, and although I was afraid to share it, it ended up being what needed to be said. God has also used this message to point out a lot of things in my life, and I suspect that He might use it in your life as well. It has to do with this question: "Are you seeking God's face, or only His hand?"

Now obviously God does not have a literal face or a literal hand, these are certainly figures of speech. At the same time, we read:

2 Chronicles 7:13-14: "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

And again:

Psalm 27:7-8: "Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, “ Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.”"

But this raises an obvious problem: the Bible clearly explains that no one can see God's face, because if they do they will certainly die (cf. Ex. 33:20). So why would God command us to do something that will result in our death?

The answer to this problem comes from recognizing that the Bible speaks of God's "face" in at least two different ways. On the one hand, God's face can refer to the full unveiling of God's glory, majesty, and power; this is what God warned Moses about in Exodus 33:20. Anyone who saw God's "face" on this level would die instantly; it is only with glorified and resurrected bodies that we will be able to look upon the face of God. On the other hand, though, God's face can also refer to God's presence (as we see in Psalm 27). As such, seeking God's face in this context means to seek God out for who He is as a person, to come to know Him in truth, and to experience full fellowship with Him. It is in this second sense that we are commanded to seek God's face, and which is clearly lacking in many of our lives.

In contrast to seeking God's face, there is also the ever-present danger of seeking God's hand. In the Bible, God's hand refers to His mighty deeds of salvation of behalf of His people. With this in mind, we read:

Deuteronomy 4:34: "Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?"

In this passage, God's "mighty hand" refers more to what He does in the course of the history of salvation than to who He is in Himself. It is of course not wrong to desire for God to deliver you and rescue you from tough times, but it can become a problem if this is all you are interested in God for.

Let me see if I can illustrate this idea with an example. For those of you who are married, suppose that every day your spouse complimented you on something good that you did. "Honey, that was a great dinner last night! You always make the best meals." "I'm so happy that you finally fixed the garage door-you are the best!" Or even, "You are the best husband, you are the only husband I know of who always buys his wife roses on her birthday." These are all good complements, but they are all focused on what a spouse can do for you. If your spouse thought that you were only interested in them for what they could do for you, would that make them very happy? No way! If I get married someday, I want my spouse to love me not just because I can provide food and shelter or anything else, but because I am the kind of person that she delights in. And I suggest to you that it's the same way with God. God wants the kind of love and desire from us that is not only interested in what He can do for us, but a love that is also interested in who He is! That is perhaps the thing that makes love so mysterious and so majestic, and God will certainly not be one to be satisfied with a passion that is second best.

So, let me ask you the question again: are you seeking God's face (who He is in and of Himself), or are you just interested in His hand (His benefits)? If you are just interested in the benefits, you will eventually be disappointed, because the time will come when you and God don't see eye-to-eye on what's best for you. But if you are seeking God for who He is-seeking Him out as a treasure and discovering what a glorious reward He is-you will never be disappointed.

Father, make us the kind of people today who are interested in getting to know you not just for what you can do, but also because of who you are. You are our treasure, you are our delight, and you are our everlasting reward. We bless and thank you that your word teaches us, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent," and because this is true, we can experience the life of the kingdom of God right now. We trust that you will be pleased to hear our cries, and that you will be faithful to answer our prayers. In Christ's name, amen.

What Is The Point Behind Patience? Some Thoughts on James 5:7-11

As I begin this blog post, I have a confession that I need to make. I am writing this post more for my own sake than for yours, because there are some things that the Lord is taking me through right now that make the topic of patience incredibly relevant for me. I think the best way to get my thoughts together on the subject is to write, so here I am. But since patience is also something that you will need from time to time, I decided to share the fruit of my study with you.

So why patience? What is the point behind it all? Why should God take us through difficult seasons of waiting, uncertainty, and even frustration when He could just snap His fingers and we be done with it all?

The answer that the Lord brought me to this question comes from a powerful passage, James 5:7-11. There we read:

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

The entire point of this section of James obviously focuses on patience, and James gives us a couple different images to wrap our minds around: the image of a farmer, and the image of a judge. I could talk about this passage for hours because there is so much here, but for our present purposes I want to focus in on what James said about the farmer and the results of his labor.

So what do we learn about patience from how a farmer cares for his crops? Think of it this way-when a farmer plants a seed in the ground, he only plants something that is tiny, helpless, and seemingly insignificant. If a person didn't know better, they would think the venture is hopeless. But the farmer plants in hope-hope that the seasons of life will be faithful, hope that God will be gracious to bring rain and other important nutrients in due time, and hope that, by the will of the Lord, he will reap a crop. And there is really no way around this process. If he plants a seed, grows impatient, and digs up the crop weeks or months early, he will be disappointed. He might reap a "harvest", but it will only be a fraction of what it ought to be, and it will doubtless end up being bitter and unsatisfying. It is only if the farmer waits until the right time-when God has brought everything about in its' appropriate season-that he will reap the harvest that God intended for him.

How, then, should we apply this lesson from the farmer to patience? For me, the part that I can really relate to right now is the reference to the "early and late rains". In the context of James, these rains obviously refer to the provision of God to bring about what the farmer desires, but they also seem to represent a sense of uncertainty. There will be times when the farmer wonders if the rains will come in due time. Will it be a year of a lot of rain, or will it be a year of drought? Will the crops produce enough to support the farmer and his family, or will they have to find some other means of provision? These are all natural questions, and they are all questions that come up in the context of patience and waiting. In fact, you could even say that waiting, uncertainty, and frustration are part of what it is that makes patience so rewarding.

This last statement might have caught you off guard, but what do you think? Do waiting, uncertainty, and frustration really make patience worthwhile? I think so, and here is why. When we go through difficult times in life-whether we fail, make a mistake, etc.-there is obviously and understandably pain and heartache. But the pain and heartache are what make life so real, and they are what make patience so desirable. When we fail, when we are misguided, and when things don't turn out the way that we think they should, this should remind us of one main thing-there is something better for us out there. It is only because we intuitively know that there is something better, something truer, something even more real and more desirable, that we see failure as such a disappointment. Because we are looking forward to something better, failure, discouragement, and difficulty take on such power, but they also reminds us that patience and diligence is well worth the fight.

What, then, should we say in conclusion to the matter? Patience is so worthwhile because as we learn to be patient, we grow as a result of failure, discouragement, and disappointment, and this gives us all the more reason to look forward to the things which God has prepared for us. If God just gave us everything we desired as soon as we desired it, we would lose respect for the value of God's good gifts, and we would think that they were just toys to be trifled with. As it is, however, God has decided to cause us to grow through patiently waiting, so that we could learn to value the growing process for what it truly is, and so that we could learn, like Job, that "the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful."

What Role Does Prayer Play In The Life Of Your Church?

I was reflecting in my mind recently about the early church as we learn about it from the book of Acts, and something startling hit me. Many people have rightly pointed out that the book of Acts is primarily about the working of the Holy Spirit in the early church (so much so that some commentators recommend calling the book 'Acts of the Holy Spirit' rather than 'Acts of the Apostles'). At the same time, I realized that quite often when we see the Holy Spirit at work in the book of Acts, His power is regularly and routinely seen in the context of the corporate prayer of the early church. Consider these passages with me:

Acts 1:14, 2:1-4: "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers... When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."

Acts 4:31: "And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness."

Acts 8:14-17: "Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit."

Acts 12:5: "So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God."

Acts 12:12: "And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying."

There are many more passages than this related to prayer to be found, and I would highly recommend that you attempt a study of your own on "prayer" in the book of Acts. These selections are enough, however, to show you that not only was the Holy Spirit alive and well in the early church, but that He also tended to manifest His power in the context of the church as it fervently prayed together to God.

So would difference should this observation make? As I was reflecting and meditating on these truths, I recognized a few things. First of all, I was convicted by the fact that while prayer is simply one activity among many that I perform as a Christian, the early church was radically marked and distinguished by prayer! Prayer wasn't just one program among many for the earliest believers; instead, prayer was the air they breathed, the food they ate, and the world that they moved in. Secondly, I recognized that I rarely devote myself and my time to long periods of prayer. Sure, I have half an hour every morning that I set aside specifically to pray, and then I pray as I go about my day, but when was the last time I took an entire day only to spend in the practice of prayer? In this regard, my Christian life falls far short of the example set by these men and women we read about in Acts. Thirdly, and most significantly, I realized that much of the prayer which happens in the American church today tends to be focused on the individual rather than on the corporate church body. When we think of prayer, we tend to think of ourselves in our "prayer closets" spending time alone with Jesus as the dominant mode of prayer, rather than in a room full of believers, sweating, tired, and exhausted from the difficult labor of intercession, yet strangely refreshed by the presence and power of the indwelling Spirit of God in their midst. In short, I realized that my prayer life, and the prayer life of the American church in general, seems to fall far short of the standard.

On the basis of these observations, I feel that I can safely make a few conclusions and reasonable predictions about the future. While many in the church today are constantly seeking after more power and a greater filling of the Holy Spirit, they seldom actually subject themselves to the means that God has ordained for us to receive that very filling! We want the power of God, but we don't want God's power in God's way. Because of this, we will see more and more people seeking after the filling of the Spirit, and more and more people being disappointed and maybe even manufacturing a counterfeit experience to substitute for the life of the Spirit. Beyond this, our churches today are struggling to find the next great "trick" to make church work; in the past, the church-growth movement, small-groups, the seeker-sensitive model, and the emerging church have all met with some success, but it remains to be revealed what the dominant model for bringing people into the church will be in this next generation. If we seek simply another method, it will ultimately fail. Wouldn't we be better off if we abandoned these well-intentioned but misleading methods, and instead returned to the pattern of power in the early church? Wouldn't we be better off if, like those earliest disciples who walked and talked, ate and drank with Jesus, we put ourselves as a body into a room, locked the doors, and refused to leave until God shook the place we were meeting-whether figuratively or literally (cf. Acts 4:31)? There is certainly more to the pattern of prayer that we find in the book of Acts than I have mentioned here, but you should be able to see my point. We cannot possibly hope to have the power that the believers experienced in the early church if at the same time we neglect the very means that God used to bring that power in the first place. May God give all of us the grace to repent of this neglect of prayer, and the power to return to Him and do His work in His way.

O Lord, in prayer I launch far out into the eternal world, and on that broad ocean my soul triumphs over all evils on the shores of mortality. Time, with its gay amusements and cruel disappointments never appears so inconsiderate as then.

In prayer I see myself as nothing; I find my heart going after Thee with intensity, and long with vehement thirst to live to Thee. Blessed be the strong gales of the Spirit that speed me on my way to the New Jerusalem.

In prayer all things here below vanish, and nothing seems important but holiness of heart and the salvation of others.

In prayer all my worldly cares, fears, anxieties disappear, and are of as little significance as a puff of wind.

In prayer my soul inwardly exults with lively thoughts at what Thou art doing for Thy church, and I long that Thou shouldest get Thyself a great name from sinners returning to Zion.

In prayer I am lifted above the frowns and flatteries of life, and taste heavenly joys; entering into the eternal world I can give myself to Thee with all my heart, to be Thine for ever.

In prayer I can place all my concerns in Thy hands, to be entirely at Thy disposal, having no will or interest of my own.

In prayer I can intercede for my friends, ministers, sinners, the church, Thy kingdom to come, with greatest freedom, ardent hopes, as a son to his father, as a lover to the beloved.

Help me to be all prayer and never to cease praying.

(In Prayer, taken from "The Valley of Vision)