A preacher friend of mine told me of an All-Night Men’s Prayer Meeting he attended. He said, “About a dozen guys met in my home. Everyone was upbeat and set in for the long night. We all had personal prayer lists and wrote down notes as we went. It was great to hear the brothers praise God for his goodness and seek His blessings upon their families, the church and work.” But what he said next struck me most. He added, “Sadly, we never really thought to lift our prayers beyond the ordinary. Some of those guys were hurting and needed to hear hope and vision in our prayers. I won’t make that mistake again.”
Satan is never late to a prayer meeting. If there is anyone there who will work to keep our prayers focused on the mundane, it is the devil. The only way to stand against him is to go in prepared to lift our hearts and minds beyond the distractions of everyday life.
We begin by locking in our objective. That being, of course, “the glory of the Father in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).
This will cause one of two reactions. Either the cares of our day will blind us, or the eyes of our hearts will be opened to the wonders of God’s plans for his church.
Believe me, you will fight Satan toe-to-toe when you start praying by faith, not by sight. Though he is a formidable foe, he cannot overpower your will if your will is the will of God.
It is God’s will that we imagine great things for the church…
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
John Staiger
0 Comments