By Joe Smith
Founder of Strengthening the Church
I recently read The
Kneeling Christian, and have been (and continue to be) impacted by that
book. The book asks the question – “why is there such a lack of prayer in
our churches?” We say we are people of prayer, but most of our prayers
revolve around supplication – we routinely short circuit Adoration,
Confession, Thanksgiving, which may also tell us why we lack prayer
power, answers to prayers, dry-ness in our prayers.
My guess is that many
of you find that prayer (corporate and personal) is more about us requesting
things from God (not that that is necessarily bad in and of itself) – but
seldom listening for periods of time, reflecting on His beauty,
grace, majesty, sovereignty; praising His wisdom and grace, expressing
our thankfulness for His abundant mercy and provision and
protection, and confessing our sins to God but also to another
person, naming the specific sin.
The book presses me to
pray more, and when I pray more I become more aware of my sin nature – and my
need to Battle – daily – my sin tendencies – and to share that battle
with a brother. Our pastor on Sunday talked about the role of confession
– and with that is implied a commitment to transparency and accountability
with at least one other person. I do not think I have ever heard a sermon
where confession was discussed.
“If we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one-another and the blood
of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have not sinned,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7-9).
Is your experience the
same as mine – that when I confess my struggles to another brother, when I
bring the (specific) sin into the light, where the Spirit works – I have
experienced a degree of victory that I have never experienced when I kept the
sin struggle to myself?
Is it possible that
REVIVAL depends on REPENTANCE – and more specifically, repentance in the
presence of another Christian? As a few of us have revitalized a purity
ministry, the key element of healing seems (at least to me) to be the
willingness of the individual to step forward and confess – to another
brother – their struggle with pornography. While that is not the complete
battle – it is the huge first step. Bring the sin into the light – begin
to walk in the light, beginning the process of true fellowship, no longer in
hiding and isolation.
I have also regularly
used the word “Battle” in my mind – that I am to Battle sin in all its forms,
that I am to put to death sin (not just cage sin, but kill it with the Spirit’s
help). Capture that stray thought or that second look and put it under
the blood………..do not allow it to linger….battle sin.
I confess that I have
made peace with sin in the past, perhaps small in the scheme of
things, but compared to the holiness of the God I approach, filthy in His
eyes, draining my prayers of power by staining them with impurity. "If I had
cherished iniquity in my heart the Lord would not have listened" (Ps
66:18). Oh, how we rationalize.
My personal “revival”
seems to be a combination of increased commitment to prayer – which has
fostered an increased commitment to purity – which has fostered an increased
commitment to repentance – which has fostered an increased commitment to
transparency and accountability – which has fostered a renewed spirit, and a
desire for more prayer, more light, more of God, more desire to see more
brothers and sisters committed to more prayer. God’s storehouse is full of
blessings, waiting for His children to ask with a pure heart
Friends – I am asking
that you pray about at least one person in Minnesota, and one person out of
state, or several people, that might need to read this, or something you put
together, and an exhortation for them to find a fellow believer to battle
together sin. I believe God is waiting for us to take seriously the
sin in our life, and battle for holiness.
If you do not have a
true prayer brother or sister, pray and then approach someone. Dare to be
transparent: you will probably have to model this for them.
May God’s people
strive for holiness, commit to robust, God-centered, God-exalting prayer for
his glory and the increasingly winsome testimony of His Bride, the church.
“If my people, who are called by my name, will
humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways” (2 Chron 7:14).
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