The best cure for a melancholy spiritual life is sharing Christ with someone who doesn’t have one because they don’t know HIM. In a startling turn of events, this also happens to be one of the best ways to grow a church!
“But where do I start? I’m not good at this sort of thing, and anyway, I don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism. And besides,I don’t want to scare away my friends or weird out my family, or…”
This could go on for a while. So let me interrupt and suggest a better place to start – with prayer.
Now BEWARE (I always wanted to put up a sign on the church lawn that read “BEWARE OF GOD”) – These are dangerous prayers… because God tends to answer “yes” to them every time, and quickly… and it’s not always comfortable when it happens. But then, ‘God’s more concerned about your character than your comfort,’ and for Christ’s sake, it’s a good thing – God will ensure that the work He started in you matures and is completed (Phil. 1:6), so that the sacrifice of His son was not in vain.
So how does one pray such a prayer? Here are some ideas:
1. Ask God for the opportunity to inject the hope found in Christ into someone’s life today – ask for openings in conversations with old friends, or for chance meetings with a complete stranger, someone who is specifically looking for hope and purpose. Ask for “divine appointments” that will mature you, challenge you, and encourage your faith.
2. Then pray for “eyes to see” the opportunities when they come and “ears to hear” from God what to say when He brings those people across your path. Ask Him to not let you miss those appointments, to make you ultra aware and sensitive of those opportunities so you’ll have no regrets later. Sometimes God waits to do these things in us until we ask.
3. Finally, ask Him for wisdom, and the words to say. Ask God to fill you with the Holy
Spirit in a fresh way today, and each day, and for a peace that comes out of knowing the Holy Spirit will speak through you what God intends for that person or persons to hear. But also be prepared, as Scripture teaches, “to give an answer…for the hope within you” (1Pet. 3:15).
Then – sit back and wait to see what God will do! I guarantee you will experience a spiritual alertness and a degree of watchful expectation that you have rarely felt before. Say a prayer and wave goodbye to spiritual melancholy. Go ahead – I dare you.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Good news! You don't need to be a registered user to leave a comment on this blog. You can even post anonymously, though I wish you wouldn't. I look forward to your feedback!