Nothing Else To Do
We are currently in the middle of a pandemic. The COVID-19 virus has devastated the entire world. It has brought death, extreme illness, economic crisis, and a whole lot of fear. To slow down the spread of the virus and protect those who are most vulnerable to its effects, our country is on "lock down." Businesses and gathering places are closed. Schools and sporting events are not happening. The "#stayhome" is the strong recommendation for everyone. We now have all kinds of extra time on our hands that we are trying to figure out what to do with. I've got to admit this has been a really difficult adjustment for me to make. My life is normally fast paced and constantly intertwined with life on life ministry. Like everyone else, the things I normally do, I can't really do, at least not in the same way. So, what do we do when we've got nothing else to do? What if God were giving us the opportunity to do the one thing we actually need to do more than anything else, but are usually too busy to do? What if God was slowing down what we naturally do, so that we could engage in something more supernatural? I'm talking about prayer. In the life of a Christian, especially a disciple maker, there is nothing more essential than prayer. The more I read the Bible, study movements of mass conversions, and try to make disciples in my own life, I am more convinced that nothing happens for the kingdom of God outside of prayer. But if we are honest, praying is probably the thing that is most difficult for us to do consistently. There usually seems to be 1,000 things to be doing in a day, and prayer gets squeezed out. This is a recipe for powerless efforts in leading people to know and follow Jesus. We simply cannot do evangelism and discipleship without praying.
The disciples once tried to do ministry apart from prayer. They tried to drive a demon out from a young boy and were not effective. Jesus had to come behind them to clean things up, and when they asked the Lord why they couldn't accomplish the ministry task, He told them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." (Mark 9:29) See, prayer is what we do when we are convinced that there is nothing else to do. It's what we do when our human efforts to bring about the God glorying results we want to see are just not enough. We pray when we believe that making disciples will be, ..."Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zech. 4:6)
As a sent ambassador of Jesus to make disciples where God has placed us, we are in the business of seeing people saved and changed by Christ. These very people, who just like us at one time, do not naturally desire what we are offering them. Essentially, we are invited to do a task that we don't have any physical tools to make happen. Salvation and sanctification exist in a realm much like the wind. We can lift kites, sails, and flags in the air to catch the wind, but humanly speaking we can't create wind and we certainly can't force it's direction. Paul says this about being in the work of salvation and sanctification.
"For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?" 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 NASB
We are no more adequate for seeing people saved and changed than we are at changing the direction of the wind. I humbly admit that when I don't pray, I am in that moment trusting that somehow "I got this." I blame it on busyness, but I have never been too busy to do essential things like eating or drinking because I know that there is absolutely no other resource that can keep me alive. Busyness doesn't keep me from prayer, pride does. A lack of understanding my inadequacy keeps me from it. We don't pray when we are more dependent on our strategies, our resources, and our charisma than the God who raises the dead and gives them life. So all that said, we must learn to pray. We must learn to rely on the Spirit of God for ministry. In His divine sovereignty, God has provided us with time where we can't do anything, and when it comes to seeing the Word of God change people, I think that is a reality we have long needed to accept. Imagine if we redeemed this extra time to beg God to save our lost neighbors and friends by name. Imagine if we redeemed this time to beg God to change the wind in Louisville and around the world. Imagine if we gave the energy we would typically give to meeting with people and speaking the word to meeting with God on behalf of those people. I've heard it said that prayer is not what we do to get to the work of ministry, prayer is the work of ministry. During COVID-19 quarantine, we have a chance to live that out. Let's make these few weeks, or months, or however long this thing lasts a time of dependent prayer for making disciples. We've got nothing else to do. So let's do the one thing that everything else in ministry hinges on. Here are some ideas for disciple making prayer during COVID-19.
Prayer walk your neighborhood - Do a 14 day challenge to prayer walk your neighborhood. Ask God to grow your heart for those people. Try to learn and study names. Lift each home and family specifically before the Lord. and ask him for doors to share the gospel at some point.
Pray daily for your current and former d-groups - Pray that God would put missional zeal in their hearts. Pray that the Lord of the harvest would make them become laborers for the harvest field and launch them into his mission. Call them and let them know you are praying these things. and pray with them.
Pray for future d-groups - Pray that God would give you the opportunity to lead someone to Christ in the next year and the joy of discipling them to maturity once the quarantine lifts.
Pray for those you have shared the gospel with who haven't yet repented - Jot down the names of people that you have shared Jesus with but for whatever reason they have not yet believed. Pray that God would change their hearts, pray for them to come under the conviction of sin and their need for a savior.
Pray for global disciple making - Pray for church plants and planters that our church has sent around North America. Pray for missionaries that our church has sent out and the precious peoples they are serving in foreign countries. Take 14 days and pray for a different missionary families each day.
Busyness doesn't keep me from prayer, pride does.
New Resources for Evangelism and Mission
We have added a few new resources for evangelism to our webpage. You will find that these resources are designed to help you with a plan for on-going investment with people who are lost but becoming seekers. Stay on the lookout for similar resources in the coming weeks.
Missional Living
4 Week Evangelistic Bible Study
3 Circles Follow Up Bible Study
Grace & Peace, Scott