Strange Omission

... este post do meu blog inglês, está à espera de ser traduzido para português  ...

If at a Christian conference about 'growth' you were asked to list in order of priority, the factors that contribute to the growth of the Church, which one would be at the top of your list?

I guess you could say, "At the top of my list I would put the 'strange omission'.

But what is that?

Before I answer, let me emphasize that in my view, 'growth' is a supernatural process.

Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain”

We must have an excellent leadership/organizational structure, good preaching, teaching, evangelism, missionary programmes etc., with activities not just for young people/children, but for all ages.

We do need to be involved in all these areas (and others) if we want to see our Church growing!

However, there is one 'but'!

Why?

Because, these factors in themselves do not produce growth, if we don’t put the first priority - the 'strange omission' - in its rightful place. The top factor in our list – the 'strange omission' – is the one that moves God’s hand, because “unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain”.

We must remember that we are involved in a "spiritual warfare" and therefore we need to defeat Satan!

We also have a "great commission", to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, with many obstacles on the way to be confronted and conquered!

How can God be involved in our 'spiritual warfare' and in the 'great commission', to enable us to defeat all the enemies? How can our faith grow stronger and be capable of conquering?"

Only if we put PRAYER at the top of our list!

Prayer - the factor that should be at the top of our list – has unfortunately become the 'strange omission'.

When growth of the Church is spoken about, prayer is rarely at the top of the list and sometimes it is not even included in these conferences! Often it is relegated to the bottom of our list and our lives!

1. How much time do we spend praying each day?

2. How long does our Church pray together?

3. Do we have prayer programmes to intensify prayer?

4. Is there enough teaching in our Church, about prayer?

5. Do we involve our Church in spiritual warfare?

6. Are we aware that without prayer there is no 'supernatural growth'?

Prayerlessness is the Church’s major malady!

Put prayer at the TOP of your list and be ready to pay the price, like Moses, Aaron and Hur did.

Exodus 17: 10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

END