core people

A few weeks back I saw a sign at the coast that said: Behind every successful man is a woman rolling her eyes. Sort of true though, right? At least for the Christian because our theology says that God’s the one who does the great work. So how does it work?

I really believe it’s through prayer. Who do you pray with and who prays for you? 

The first group of people I pray with are passionate. Yesterday I started my day at 4 am. I was sick. Felt like crap. I was tired. They were tired. They had long days already, finishing work and ministry. Yet they came to pray because they knew nothing births or is accomplished without prayer. They lead in prayer and often I have to defer to them as they teach me what spiritual prayer is really like.

Though a younger group words like surrender, mercy on us, we give it all to you, and this is yours Oh God were the themes of our prayer time.

They inspire me.
And I love them deeply.

The second group are four women I’ve begun to pray with during the week. What? No men. That’s right. Women. Godly women who have seen a thing or two and could pour truth into any person’s life if they just let them. One has great grand children and is a widow. The other has kids that are my age. The other two could be like older sisters in my family. They love me, though, like I was their own son. And they feed me. Love that part.

What I love the most about praying weekly with these women is that we start around 7ish at night. We get just enough daylight to fill the room. We shut our eyes and we pray endlessly for one another and the families around us. And when we open our eyes it’s completely dark in the room.

We pray when the sun is up and we finish when it’s down.

They too inspire me.
And I love them deeply.

I was reminded this week in John 15 at a fellowship of pastors that the true fruit of those who walk intimately with God is not a good sermon. It’s not a gigantic church. It’s not some divine ability to somehow play incredible music. It’s not planting churches… God knows it’s not about planting churches. It’s not leadership. It’s not vision. We use these word like it’s Jesus’ middle name…

None of these things determine whether one’s divinely appointed to go and make disciples. True fruit?

It’s answered prayer.

Jesus says fruit from abiding in Christ is the ability to pray like him in such a way that it moves God to have prayers answered (like Jesus). The only way this is possible is if one’s found ‘abiding’ in Jesus. That ability to be so close and so loved by God that you know what it’s like for Jesus to be relationally close to God, the Father. The heartache I’m discovering more as I grow in my personal faith is that while it’s the greatest promise we have in being called his disciples, those who call themselves Christians barely pray.

More and more I long for prayer like it was air. I need it. I’m dead at times without it.

Both the younger and the older friends in my life do it right. They give prayers that mean something; prayers that grow on you even after you’ve left your designated time of prayer. Prayers that cry out… prayers that tell Jesus that no matter how much you can plan for a church, service,  a sermon, a job or some relationship nothing happens without the intimate prayer of one who abides in Jesus.

There is one other person in my life that inspires me and that I love deeply in prayer. She is my wife. And she prays for me. Today she did so; we felt completely broken before God in trying to surrender our heart to his calling to plant churches. She prayed this over and over again in my ear:

Protect my husband, Jesus. Protect my husband. Protect my husband.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Any amount of success I or any other individual experiences in the Kingdom is not birthed from giftedness and not even availiblity. I know that’s a popular message but it’s just not true. You could try to be a lot of things because you’re both able and available but that means nothing in the end. It’s the Spirit. It’s when everything you do is saturated by intimate prayer.

Is this religious nonsense to you? Do you roll your eyes when you read about prayer; about bended knees? Does the thought of calloused knees from prayer seem too fanatic like? What about confession when junk in your life catches up with you? About anguish in prayers for mercy? I guess it would all sound foolish if you weren’t abiding in him.

Oh! that we may be such as glorify Christ. Save us, we pray Thee, from the common religion; give us the peculiar grace of a peculiar people. May we abide in Christ, may we live near to God. Let not the frivolities of the world have any power over us whatever.

Spurgeon–The Love Without End