Chapter 3: Living on a Prayer
How NOT to be a Poser
Your relationship with God is a… relationship. As in all relationships, the more time you
spend with someone - the better you know them and the more you take on their
characteristics.
When I was young I had a best friend. We would spend every moment allowed together.
We could finish each other’s sentences and knew exactly what the other was thinking in
response to any question. We would call each other on the phone and knew the voice
without a name or introduction. My mom would joke that she couldn’t tell which one of
us was her son and which one wasn’t.
Too often people limit their prayer life to making requests and seeking direction. Prayer
is spending time with God. Listening. Conversing. I once asked Jimmy Johnson (the
former Weslyan Kansas District Superintendent - not the former Cowboy’s coach) how I
could know God’s Will for my life. He said, “God’s Will is 99% relationship and only 1%
direction - stop looking for a sign.”
Are you looking for signs and wonders and missing the words of Jesus in John 10:27,
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”?
Your ministry capacity is directly proportional to your prayer capacity. Spend time
knowing the Father. You can’t lead someone somewhere that you haven’t been or aren’t
going yourself.
My mom may have joked about my friend and I being indistinguishable from each other,
but my prayer for you is: May you spend time falling in love with the Father. And may
you know the Father so intimately that people can’t tell where you end and where He
begins.
That is the foundation and and the fuel of life-giving ministry.