If I were you… I’d pray

At the commissioning of Dave & Margie Wood in Coober Pedy at the beginning of March, I encouraged our newest BCA Field Staff with the words: “If I were you…I’d pray!”

Depending on the tone of voice it can be heard in one of two ways. With desperation in your voice, it becomes a plea to pray, perhaps feeling way in over your head. But with a more pastoral tone, it can be an encouragement – an encouragement to soak your life and ministry in prayer as it were. It was the latter one I wanted them to hear.

This is not some baseless encouragement, but one grounded on the promises in Scripture. I know that from a human point of view, our mission appears nigh on impossible. Yet when we know the
promises of God, we see it from a totally different perspective.

There are numerous Bible passages I could reference but let me note two. Jesus said he would build his church and the very gates of hell would not be able to stand against it (Matthew 16:18). This should remind us that it is Jesus’ mission. Secondly, we read in Psalm 121 that our help comes from not only the maker of the mountains, but from the one who will not slumber or sleep. Just those two promises alone lead me to say to all of us: “If I were you…I’d pray!”

But as I sat down to write this editorial, our gracious God needed to encourage me in this also, and so I share it with you. In my Lenten devotions by the late Tim Keller of Redeemer Church, I read this line based on Ephesians 3:20:

“Thankfully, God reads our hearts and edits our plans and our prayers so that they are far more than we would have dared to ask or imagine. Pray, pray and pray, to the limit of your vision and faith, and then be prepared for God to do something even better.”

I suspect like many of you, the limit of my vision and faith is at times restricted and could be exponentially expanded. Thankfully God provides a higher return on the investment of my prayers.

So I say to myself, as well as to all of you, “If I were you…I’d pray!”