THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER AND THE WORD
January is a time for New Year’s resolutions, new
beginnings, implementing new strategies for personal growth, family
fortification, financial discipline, time management, physical health,
etc. There are countless numbers of "experts" who are
clamoring for us to follow their plan (for a handsome fee, of course)
which guarantees instant results and long-term success. As in the
physical realm, so it is in the spiritual, there are innumerable
books, seminars, conferences, and "how-to" programs that
promise health, wealth, and happiness beyond our wildest dreams.
As we enter 2006, I would like to turn our attention
to 2 things that seem to always appear at the top of God’s list of
priorities for His children...the ministry of prayer and the Word.
These are both simple and profound, basic and essential. In the
physical realm, the two basic essentials are breathing and eating. In
the spiritual realm, they are prayer and the Word. Through prayer we
are breathing spiritually as we talk to God. Through the Word we are
eating spiritually as God talks to us, and we partake of His
life-giving milk, bread, and meat.
Jesus taught "that men always ought to pray
(spiritual breathing) and not lose heart" or faint, Luke 18:1.
And He also said, "Men should not live by bread alone, but by
every word (spiritual eating) that proceeds from the mouth of
God", Matthew 4:4. There you have it from Christ Himself...prayer
and the Word...they are absolutely essential to a healthy, victorious
and fruitful Christian life.
In the early, 1st century church, the apostles
recognized this. As the church grew and time went on, problems and
challenges increased. While planning their course of action, they
boldly stated their commitment to the two essentials in Acts 6:4,
"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the
ministry of the Word."
As we stand on the threshold of 2006, I’d like to
echo that challenge to you and all of us in the CBC family. Let’s
each make sure that prayer and the Word are on the top of our personal
and congregational priority lists. Our motto for this New Year is,
"Knowing Christ Better, Making Him Better Known". We can
only know Jesus better by spending time with Him in prayer and the
Bible.
We can only make Christ better known to others by
prayer (talking to God about men) and the ministry of the Word
(talking to men about God). It is so simple, yet so profound! It seems
so easy, and yet it is absolutely essential.
To help us get into the Word, I’m asking you to join
me in reading through the entire Bible this year, all 66 books (66 in
2006)! By God’s grace, I have done this for 20 consecutive years and
I’m looking forward to many of us doing it together this year.
Let’s join with the apostles who said in the 1st century church,
"we will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of
the Word". May we (at CBC) be a 1st century church in the 21st
century! May we devote ourselves to "Knowing Christ Better,
Making Him Better Known".
"Break thou the bread of life, dear Lord to me,
As thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page, I seek thee Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O Living Word.
Break thou the bread of life, O Lord to me,
That hid within my heart Thy Word may be;
Mold Thou each inward thought, from self set free;
And let my steps be all controlled by Thee".