Prayer as Renewal
Renewal is a profound work of God because it inspires us to live out our faith. But we cannot experience renewal without prayer. So, it is crucial to pray to God for renewal within us. Timothy Keller once said, “Christians are used to thinking about prayer as a means to get their personal needs met. More mature Christians understand prayer as a means to praise and adore God, to know him, to come into his presence, and be changed by him.”
Therefore, we need to be mindful that if our prayers do not include a desire for us to be changed by God and for God to be glorified in us, then we will continue to miss out on God’s power and God’s plan. Rather than relying on God, we will be stuck in our own weaknesses and shortcomings. Relying on God through prayer, we will experience a restoration of renewal to obey His command. Moreover, when we examine the Bible or the history of the church, we will see that all renewal or revival moments have emerged through the devoted prayers of individuals and groups.
In the New Testament, the apostles experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 because they were praying together (Acts 1:14). When the apostles were renewed by the Holy Spirit, they boldly preached about who Jesus is and what Jesus had done for us. In other words, as a result of their prayers, they were renewed by the Holy Spirit, the apostles preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s church began!
Notice: The apostles did not perform miracles for the purposes of providing an emotional high. Rather, the miracles were a result of the power of God as God answered their prayers. Therefore, the authentic renewal of God that resulted from prayer led to the disciples obeying what Jesus asked them to do. Therefore, the church is formed and nourished through the power of sharing the gospel, led by those who earnestly seek the renewal from God through prayer. Without prayer, God’s people will not receive God’s renewal and power, and God’s mission cannot succeed.
This principle can be illustrated from real life. In the summer of 1806, students from William College regularly held a prayer meeting under the willow to the south of West College on Wednesdays and under the maple trees in the meadow to the north of the college building on Saturdays. Notably, in August 1806, five college students -Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green- organized a prayer meeting under the maple trees, but they were interrupted by a rainstorm.
Therefore, they sought shelter to continue the prayer meeting and gathered under the nearby large haystack. In that prayer meeting, they knelt and passionately prayed that the gospel be sent to Asia as they were concerned about the need of salvation of its people. Later, this incident was called the Haystack prayer meeting. It became the historic movement of American mission history because the first American foreign missionary board, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was formed in 1810 from the impactful Haystack prayer meeting four years earlier.
In conclusion, prayer is an essential part of the renewal process in the people of God. Also, prayer fosters renewed people to participate in the mission of God in this fallen world. Therefore, we recognize that God’s renewed people who profoundly seek change through devoted prayers to God are always convinced to involve themselves in the unfinished task of the gospel.
Therefore, we need to be mindful that if our prayers do not include a desire for us to be changed by God and for God to be glorified in us, then we will continue to miss out on God’s power and God’s plan. Rather than relying on God, we will be stuck in our own weaknesses and shortcomings. Relying on God through prayer, we will experience a restoration of renewal to obey His command. Moreover, when we examine the Bible or the history of the church, we will see that all renewal or revival moments have emerged through the devoted prayers of individuals and groups.
In the New Testament, the apostles experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 because they were praying together (Acts 1:14). When the apostles were renewed by the Holy Spirit, they boldly preached about who Jesus is and what Jesus had done for us. In other words, as a result of their prayers, they were renewed by the Holy Spirit, the apostles preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and God’s church began!
Notice: The apostles did not perform miracles for the purposes of providing an emotional high. Rather, the miracles were a result of the power of God as God answered their prayers. Therefore, the authentic renewal of God that resulted from prayer led to the disciples obeying what Jesus asked them to do. Therefore, the church is formed and nourished through the power of sharing the gospel, led by those who earnestly seek the renewal from God through prayer. Without prayer, God’s people will not receive God’s renewal and power, and God’s mission cannot succeed.
This principle can be illustrated from real life. In the summer of 1806, students from William College regularly held a prayer meeting under the willow to the south of West College on Wednesdays and under the maple trees in the meadow to the north of the college building on Saturdays. Notably, in August 1806, five college students -Samuel J. Mills, James Richards, Francis L. Robbins, Harvey Loomis, and Byram Green- organized a prayer meeting under the maple trees, but they were interrupted by a rainstorm.
Therefore, they sought shelter to continue the prayer meeting and gathered under the nearby large haystack. In that prayer meeting, they knelt and passionately prayed that the gospel be sent to Asia as they were concerned about the need of salvation of its people. Later, this incident was called the Haystack prayer meeting. It became the historic movement of American mission history because the first American foreign missionary board, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was formed in 1810 from the impactful Haystack prayer meeting four years earlier.
In conclusion, prayer is an essential part of the renewal process in the people of God. Also, prayer fosters renewed people to participate in the mission of God in this fallen world. Therefore, we recognize that God’s renewed people who profoundly seek change through devoted prayers to God are always convinced to involve themselves in the unfinished task of the gospel.
Posted in Getting on Mission
Recent
Archive
2025
1 Comment
Good stuff brother! Where’s our haystack?!