Prayer - Strategy #1
I love how cross-cultural ministry forces me to be dependent on prayer. My prayer life has changed throughout my journey as a believer, and I am excited for what is to come.
When I first became a believer, I was taught the CATS form of prayer. CATS is an acronym that stands for Confession, Adoration, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Put simply, it means that one starts prayer by asking forgiveness for sins, then praises God for who He is, then thanks God for what He has done, and ends with asking God to help, heal, and provide. I used to follow this form of prayer religiously. When I paired it with journaling my prayers, it helped me stay focused and not let my mind wander.
After a year or so of being a Christian, I found myself alone. I had just broken up with the girl who took me to church. I lost my non-Christian friends, and I had kept people at church at a distance up until that point. I was in the middle of football season during my senior year, so it was hard to make new friends. During this time, I would drive around in my truck, sing the worship songs I had learned at church, and pray. God became my friend—someone I would talk to about everything. The loneliness I experienced drove me to depend on God and grow in my relationship with Him.
When I first went to Turkey a few years later, that dependence on God carried me through. I needed God’s help when I got lost, when I didn’t understand what someone was saying in Turkish, and when I was overwhelmed by the unfamiliar culture. Later, when my wife and I were preparing to go to Turkey long term, we decided to raise our financial support simply through prayer. We asked God to move in people’s hearts to give to our ministry—and God answered those prayers. For over 15 years, we operated by simply asking God to provide for us financially, and He consistently moved people to give. I’m in awe of the power of prayer and God’s faithfulness.
Now, my convictions about how to raise money have changed. I currently raise funds for my own financial support, as well as for church building projects and other people. I ask people directly to consider partnering with me and giving. I pray before I meet with potential donors, and I pray that God would move in their hearts. Support raising has gone fairly well. I haven’t reached 100% of my target amount, but I’m able to serve within my means. I’ve networked and strategized, and God has been faithful to lead.
At the same time, I’ve been convicted that I need to have prayer as my number one strategy. Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." This Psalm demonstrates the parallel between human effort and God’s work. I don’t want my ministry to be based solely on my efforts. I want everything I do to align with the will of God. In order to discern God’s will for me, I must make prayer my primary strategy.
Implementing this strategy is going to take time and effort. I’m really good at putting my head down and solving problems. I know how to work hard and get the job done. Now, slowing down and listening to God is difficult for me. At the last conference I attended, the speaker said that God doesn’t speak to him quickly—he needs more than just a 5- or 10-minute prayer time. I admit that the same is true for me. I’m grateful that God has blessed me with the ability to play the guitar and piano, so I use those skills to sing and worship in order to focus my heart on God. Having my hands busy tends to settle my mind. When I play the guitar or piano, my hands get tired, and then I tend to sit quietly and listen in prayer.
Charles Spurgeon has many great quotes about prayer:
“Prayer itself is an art which only the Holy Ghost can teach us. He is the giver of all prayer. Pray for prayer—pray till you can pray.”
“Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.”
“To pray is to enter the treasure-house of God and to gather riches out of an inexhaustible storehouse.”
In prayer I will seek God to connect me with people and organizations. In prayer I will seek God to fill me with wisdom. I need God to shape me and mold me into the implement that He desires to do His work. I need God’s power, mind and heart. I need God’s clarity to know what things I need to work on and what things I need to say no to. I am excited to see what is to come as I implement prayer as my number one strategy.