07 May Let Us Agonize in Prayer

I’m still riding high after this past weekend—we had 9 water baptisms total, 7 of which were spontaneous and unplanned—people who just said, “Jesus, I need to obey you”, and they took a step of courage.

Then, we had our Encounter Service that Sunday night where I know many people were touched in a unique way by God’s presence.

But what you may not know that preceded all of that was a simple prayer meeting last Friday morning, where many of our faithful people of prayer in this church gathered, as they normally do, at 7 am, to, as Charles Spurgeon put it, “shake the gates of heaven until they give up their reward.” God met us in a special way that morning as we cried out for you, for those coming on Sunday, and for God’s presence that Sunday night.

It was yet another reminder of the importance and the primacy of prayer in the Christian’s life and the life of the church. Spurgeon was famous for taking visitors to his church’s basement, in the heart of London, and for pointing out all the intercessors who gathered there to pray for the church, city, and nation, and for saying, “Here is the powerhouse of our church”.

Spurgeon fully recognized that the Church’s greatest need was not to have another, “Prince of Preachers”, but to have more princes of prayer. One of his many published sermons expressed his feelings on this:

He wrote, “Shall I give you yet another reason why you should pray? I have preached my very heart out. I could not say any more than I have said. Will not your prayers accomplish that which my preaching fails to do? Is it not likely that the Church has been putting forth its preaching hand but not its praying hand? Oh dear friends! Let us agonize in prayer . . . “

Is there something you need or even desire from your Heavenly Father? Then bring it before a Father who loves to give good gifts to His children.

Our prayers that morning, and my most fervent prayers for you, were/are twofold—number one, that your life (and mine) would be worthy of Jesus’ sacrifice, and second, that you feel that you are a part of something unique and special here at Mosaic, where Jesus continues to touch lives and position us as a church to make a greater and greater impact in the city and, as we continue to be faithful, around the world.

I can’t wait to worship with you this Sunday, as we gather to love our God and one another. This Sunday would be an especially good one to invite a friend or neighbor with you—we are going to, from the last chapter of Job, be taking a special look at the kind of church God has called us to be.

With love and gratitude,

Morgan