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Someone’s
Praying By Dr. Bill Lewis |
Written for the April 2005
It was Sunday morning again, and I stood gazing out the glass entrance doors watching the rain steadily fall and mentally belaboring the fact that the rain would certainly keep away from church the prospects with whom I had been working. As the time to begin services came, my faith was waning and my hope of visitors almost gone when I looked out by the street and noticed a man with an umbrella in hand and a Bible tucked under his arm walking in the rain. Could it be? Yes, it was. He turned toward the church. It was one of the newer attendees to the church. I thought to myself, “Someone’s praying.”
As it turned out that last Sunday in February, Open Door Fellowship had several visitors who came to worship. All of the visitors were appreciated; however, it was Robert who had not notified the folks with whom he normally road to pick him up that day because of his work schedule that blessed my heart. His work schedule had changed and Robert decided to walk through the rain just over a half mile to worship at our mission church.
Most pastors approach rainy days with a certain amount of discouragement. They know that usually on those rainy or cold days they will be relegated to preaching to the faithful core of the church. And that’s alright with them. All pastors love and appreciate the faithful remnant that always shows no matter the circumstances. But pastors always hope that someone new will come and take the first step toward becoming a real part of the faithful core of the church. That is especially true in a mission church.
Churches are built one soul at the time. As a mission pastor you work to meet folks and talk with them about the Lord, but you know that the Holy Spirit has to draw them to Christ. You pray and you hope others pray. As a mission pastor, it is when your faith begins to falter and God blesses anyway that you know you are not alone—someone else is praying.
Paul admonished his fellow workers in I Thessalonians 4:2-4, “Devote yourselves to prayer keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”
We ask that
you remember to pray for the church in