November Newsletter

Hey people of God,

Long time no talk. That’s my fault for getting busy, but I’m back and wondering as usual. Anyway…I have been thinking about what’s happening to America and its steady deterioration morally, economically, socially, etc. and wondering what God’s heart is in this matter. And this got me to thinking about something. Let me explain it through something that I’ve noticed in my own life and experience that may help illustrate what I’ve been pondering.

About four months ago a group of us began to sense the Spirit of God asking us to start crying out to the Lord for our neighborhood through the avenue of morning prayer meetings. So in obedience to this leading we began to meet every morning at five a.m. to pray. This has been very difficult but very rewarding, and it began to expose some things almost immediately. There were those of us who began coming immediately almost every day as soon as the call went out to morning prayer. There were those of us who came at least a couple times a week and then those of us who came sporadically here and there. This isn’t a judgment on anyone, but through the process of becoming a house of prayer for all nations (Matthew 21:13) I noticed that some who were excited in the beginning stopped coming like they used to and some who came sporadically stopped coming at all. But I also noticed that we would meet new people who would come for the first time and have kept coming very regularly. And this is when I began to think about two things: Our convictions and priorities direct out activities and we develop our convictions without having given them thought.

My son is in basketball and loves the sport deeply. He will get up early, go to bed late, and do whatever it takes to be at non-mandatory conditioning and practice sessions for the game he loves. My father has been getting up at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. every morning for years to go to work to provide for his family. I know people who will adjust schedules and find child care so that they can work out or attend a function that they feel strongly about. My point is if it is a priority to us we’ll find a way to work it into our daily routine. What I’ve been thinking is that it’s possible that our enemy has made things priority for the Church that seem important but have little effect on his activities against us or the people we’re called to minister to.

I don’t know of many Christians who will say that prayer is not important. Most of us believe that it is. For most of us in the U.S. though it is not a priority. You can see it in our activities. But in places where Christianity is exploding (Africa, Latin America, or Asia for example) prayer is the priority. Through careful reflection it seems like for us here in the United States priorities are relevant worship services, charismatic Bible teaching, or exciting outreach events. All of these are important so please don’t hear what I’m not saying, but as good as these things are they are still leaving us wanting and our nation failing. We’re still seeing our cities going to hell and the majority of our people living for self. If you can truly tell a tree by its fruit, then maybe it’s time for us to begin planting some different seeds.

Frequently, when we tell people about our prayer meetings we’ll hear something like, “Wow that’s a little early.” I know it is but the people who are coming are showing their convictions and priorities by their actions. All I’m asking you to consider is what do your activities show about your convictions and then do your convictions need to undergo an overhaul for the sake of our nation and our mission?

Still thinking carefully on this,

N8