Sept. 23 | The Role of Prayer in Preaching the Gospel
1 Timothy 2:1, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”
Prayer has preceded every great move of God in history and in modern times. From the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the modern day revivals sweeping across the nations of Iran, Brazil, China, South Korea and Nigeria- all have their roots in prayer. Prayer is a two-way communication with God. First, it starts with us making our requests known to God. And then second, prayer is God responding through His guidance, presence and supernatural power.
The truth is we're not waiting for God to win the lost, God is waiting for us to ask Him to give Jesus the nations!
All great evangelists and soul winners have attributed their success to the power of prayer. Great soul winners in the past such as John Wesley, Charles Finney, D.L. Moody and Lester Sumrall never did anything without first praying and seeking God for His leading and power. D.L. Moody, the great Chicago evangelist and preacher once said, “I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught his disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.”
Modern evangelists like Carlos Annacondia, Steve Hill and Reinhard Bonke not only depend upon prayer for power, but they believe that the prayer of intercession made before their crusades is the only way to clear the path for the Lord to come into people’s hearts in power.
Carlos Annacondia, the radical evangelist and spark of the ten year revival in Argentina, referred to spiritual warfare in two parts- first, intercessory prayer was like the aerial assault that defeated the enemy’s power and second, preaching is like the infantry that takes the land and enforces the battle won in prayer! Therefore, I encourage you before and after every outreach to pray with your team.
Make prayer a daily part of your life. As Paul taught in today’s passage make petitions, prayers, intercession and then thanksgiving for all people. Prayers and petitions are basically the same thing- they mean to ask God to do things on your behalf for His Kingdom. Intercession is praying on behalf of someone else, especially for their salvation. And thanksgiving is a prayer of gratitude to God because He always does what He promised. Giving God thanks each time you pray, especially for people, will fill your heart with hope for His Kingdom to come and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I believe when you pray like how Paul commanded, God will move in miraculous ways!
Reflection
Do you regularly pray and intercede for the lost to be saved?
Action
- Repent if your prayer life is not where God wants it to be.
- Make time daily to pray for the lost to be saved.
- Live a life of prayer and dependence upon the Holy Spirit.