Dateline: Prayer request for my prayer life...
A few years ago I dedicated my life to Acts 6:4. Meaning that my life would focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word of God. This far, this personal dedication has resulted in memorizing ten books of the Bible, reading every book related to preaching in the church library, a Master's Degree in Expository Preaching, a PhD in Biblical Preaching, and (above all) I am certain that my preaching has improved considerably. At the very least, all the studies have resulted in a making sermon preparation a much easier task.
Now, on to the reasoning behind my prayer request for you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. As certain as I am that my preaching has improved I am just as certain that my prayer life has not. In fact, I confess that I used to be much more diligent in every aspect of prayer.... As confident as I am to declare success in my dedication to the ministry of the Word, I am ashamed to admit my dedication to prayer has not been as fruitful (I am also aware that there is always room for improvement in my preaching and prayer life).. Here is where I need your help. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would convict me to truly dedicate myself to prayer. I know this is a skill that cannot be taught, it is a command to be obeyed. I just need to do it. Yes I do pray every day but I know there is something missing... There is something more that I can do.
I do believe this world needs great preaching but it also needs great prayers (now before anyone calls me out on the theology of that statement let me make clear that I understand the most important thing the world needs is the great God to whom we pray and of whom we preach). Once again, please pray for me because I know that my prayer life needs improvement. Also, if any of you have ever been convicted of a similar dilemma, please let me know how the Lord brought you out of it. If you are going through a similar situation right now let me know and we can pray for one another.
Thank you for your prayers...
