Time to Fire Up the Power House
In the fall of 2008 we embarked on a church-wide prayer partnership. Instead of meeting at one time and in one place we invited members of GBC to commit to a regular time of prayer of at least ½ an hour every week for twelve weeks. Prayer updates were sent by email and were available on the website. This corporate effort resulted in over 700 hours of prayer ascending to our Lord each week. The results were so tangible to the congregation and individuals participating in the partnership that we decided to do two things: maintain a weekly prayer update on our website’s homepage and make the fall partnership an annual challenge.
The first we have done, though I admit we failed on occasion to provide fresh prayer requests. Each week the new requests were based on the emphasis of the sermon.
In a few weeks we will be in the closing verses of James. In this paragraph he exhorts his readers to persevere in prayer trusting that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Not only will this text reveal new insights into prayer for many of us, it will also provide an excellent launching pad for this year’s fall prayer partnership.
But what’s with the “power house?” You might remember the well-known and oft repeated story of Spurgeon’s “power house.” Below is the account as I quoted it in a sermon last year.
Spurgeon is known as the greatest preacher that England ever produced. Through his ministry, England experienced a great revival and thousands of people came to Christ
One day a group of American evangelists had occasion to visit Spurgeon in England. After the service, they met him at the door and commented on what a great sermon he had preached and how much they had enjoyed the service. He asked them if they would like a tour of his church. They were ecstatic. Here was the great preacher Spurgeon himself leading them through his church and showing them around. As they were finishing their tour, he asked them, “Would you like to see our power plant?” They weren’t really interested in the power plant, but it was Spurgeon, so they followed. He led them into the basement and opened a door. The room was filled with people on their knees, praying and interceding before God for the ministry of the church and for their pastor. Spurgeon turned to the American evangelists and said, “This is the powerhouse of our church. If anything happened in the service today, it was not because of anything I did but because of what went on in this room this morning.”
Spurgeon was a tremendously gifted servant of God. But his confidence lay in the spiritual reality of prayer not in his own abilities. The ministry of the Metropolitan Tabernacle included orphanages, visitation, men and women’s bible studies, literature distribution, a Pastor’s college and their weekly services. Each of these was bathed in prayer.
Prayerlessness belies a subtle yet real self-confidence that James openly rebukes as pride. “God gives grace to the humble.” Corporate prayer is the most visible and tangible expression of a congregation’s humble reliance upon God for everything.
I am amazed every time I am reminded that our Sovereign God has chosen to include us in the outworking of His redemptive plan. He is building His church and calling out a people from every nation, tribe and tongue. Prayer and preaching the gospel are the appointed means to this great end. And though not all of us are gifted evangelists or experienced preachers, every Christian can share in the ministry of corporate prayer.
Many testified to the effect it had on their own walk with Christ. “I felt vital and connected to what God was doing through GBC for the kingdom of God.” “This commitment led to seeing new insights into God’s word.” “This will now become a habit for me.” “I saw direct answers to specific prayers.” These are just a few of the testimonials shared in last year’s luncheon which capped the three month commitment.
This fall please consider partnering with us in the “power house” of the church. I would like to see us surpass last year’s 90 prayer partners and reach at least 150. Watch for the details in the coming weeks. If you would like to prime the pump for this year’s prayer commitment consider listening to last year’s series of messages on the Lord’s Prayer over the next few weeks.
-Tony Sanelli
Tags: Prayer
Notes from the Pastor | admin | 
September 1, 2009 4:25 pm
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