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I am not only a student of prayer, praying, and pray-ers, I actually pray. Praying is at the top of my spiritual life, and is the foundation for anything good that comes out of my life. I feel called to introduce Jesus-followers to a life of prayer.
Last week I received my copy of Stanley Grenz's Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom. Only $7 at amazon.com!
Grenz, who died in 2005, was one of our best theologians. I love the title of his book on prayer, positioning prayer within the dominion of God (the kingdom of God).
I started reading it Tuesday. I did not get past the first paragraph on p. 1. It was affirming and confirming for me. Grenz writes:
"The church of Jesus Christ faces many challenges today. Yet the greatest challenge is not what
might initially come to mind. The greatest challenge is not that of urging Christians to speak
out on the great social issues of the day…Nor is our greatest challenge that of encouraging
each other to be more fervent in evangelizing the world, even though evangelization ought to be of concern to every Christian. Rather, the greatest challenge facing the church of Jesus Christ today, and therefore every local congregation, is motivating the people of God to engage in sincere, honest, fervent prayer." (1)
Think how counterintuitive that sounds in these days of the Entertainment Church.
Reading Grenz's first paragraph gave me the answer to something I have been praying about. Should I do another "Summer of Prayer" thing at Redeemer, and offer it also online? God said, "Yes."
I am now praying about how to do this in a way that will capture people's hearts.
Coming soon: "The Summer of Prayer"
Cost: $0
Cost: Time and space (yours and mine)
(If you want to be part of this please send me an e-mail - johnpiippo@msn.com)
