The Importance of Prayer In God's Eternal Work

The first requirement of us as a church being able to accomplish God's eternal work in his church is we must tap into the power of his Holy Spirit.

This goes against our human nature.  We want to take the credit for what is happening.

God has been very kind to us.

There is no way He can accept our human flaws.

The Word comes down on our carnality.

The only way we can do God's eternal work is if we get rid of the "proud flesh" and rely on the Holy Spirit.

The glory of what happens in the church can only be given to God.

If we try to take the credit, it frustrates the work of God.

Think about what Christ actually did

Eph 4:

Ephesians 4:12–13 ESV

to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

A second requirement of the church if we are to help in accomplishing God's eternal work is prayer.

No matter who we are in the church, we can pray.

It doesn't matter our stature or maturity, prayer is available to all of God's children.

The prayer of faith engages the heart of God.

Are our prayers in the church like those of a merry-go-round?

Do we pray as part of the rituals of a service, or are our prayers more than that?

WE NEED TO BE HONEST HOW WE VIEW PRAYER DURING OUR SERVICES!!!

Some may think this is a good thing, but we should know better.

We need to offer prayer believing something is going to happen.

If we don't, then our prayers are nothing more than words to impress people.

We not only believe that God answers our prayers, but we should also share when that happens.

When we do this, we offer encouragement to those who are still waiting for their prayers to be answered.

All the advertising we do will not have the same effect as when people hear what God is actually doing in the lives of his people, and the prayers that He is answering.

The third requirement for God to accomplish great things in his church is our dependence on the Holy Spirit and our willingness to exercise the spiritual gifts he has blessed us with.

Exploring with Tozer

God not only needs to get the glory in our triumphs, but our failures as well.

In our failures, we need to know that God is working in us to help us become more reliant on him.

The Spirit must help energize our prayers.

The discipline of the flesh isn't strong enough for the prayers we need to offer.

"We cannot be people of prayer to be seen by people."

It must all be God.

"The Holy Spirit initiates the prayer of the saint as we quietly hear His voice, give the believer promises to cling to in this prayer journey, and empowers the believer to persevere in prayer. “

God enriches the life of one who gives the glory to Him and keeps the fact they've been praying for something in their "prayer closet."

It is important we recognize answered prayer, but we don’t need to talk about how long we've been praying for it or the effort that was placed into it.

God is the one who answered, period.  He is the One who deserves the credit in what He did.

God sees and hears the prayers of His family.  He will reward this Holy Spirit-driven obedience in His time!

Reflect and Apply

Tozer mentions that "in an assembly of redeemed believers there should be marvelous answers to prayer."  Are you aware of such answered prayers in your church?  What has been your response?  Are you aware of such answered prayers in your life?  What was your response then and now!

It is very easy to be trapped in a religious merry-go-round, "simply holding on to the painted mane of the painted horse, repeating a trip of very insignificant circles to a pleasing musical accompaniment."  The Psalmist writes, "Be still ["cease striving" NASB] and know that I am God" ().  Let God search your heart to see if you are on such a merry-go-round in your church, in your own walk with Him, and most importantly in your prayer life.  In light of your assessment, what must be done next?

Does one miraculous answer to prayer with your congregation lift, encourage, and solidify the saints in yoru church more than almost anything?  If the answer is yes, what was the miracle?  If the answer is no, what conclusions or assessments need to be made quickly?  Likewise, consider these same questions for yourself.

"All of the advertising we can do will never equal the interest and participation in the things of God resulting from the gracious answers to the prayers of faith generated by the Holy Spirit."  Is this the model of today's church?  Your church?  How do we begin to move back to the biblical model where everything is driven by the Holy Spirit, even our prayer?