Little Prayer & Evangelism Outreach Grows, Zech 4:10, Weekly Prayer Meetings Increase from 1 to 2 or 3 per Wk, Steady Gospel Outreaches, Effectiveness

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

You ask God not to let you despise the day of small beginnings, and rightly so. But do you truly reckon what a small thing can become when it is rooted not in human zeal but in the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead? You mention Zechariah: the eyes of the Lord run to and fro to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are committed to Him. That promise is sure, but it searches the inner chambers. Is your heart fully committed, or do you trust partly in plans and partly in prayer? The Spirit of grace and supplication is not poured out on the self-sufficient. Those who think they have no need of the prayers of others are the ones most in need. Even Peter, that pillar, did not say, "What need have I of prayer?" while the Church prayed earnestly for him. And you, while you labour to compel souls to the wedding feast, must first be compelled yourself by the love of Christ, daily dying to that subtle pride which makes a man think his outreach stands by his own diligence.

You fear excuses, heat, rain, a field to inspect, a wife to attend. But the heart that seeks ease will always find a field or an ox. The true battle is not against the weather, but against that sleep of the soul which treats the work of the Gospel as a light thing. Do you understand what is at stake? We are not playing a game; we are snatching souls from the fire that has no end. Do not calculate by the short moment of sin that the punishment is brief. You pray for the word to prevail and for sound conversions like Zacchaeus. Such conversions are born in travailing prayer, not in passing words. When you say, "Let the love of Christ compel us," see that it is a fire kindled first in the closet at dawn. If in the morning we have made God propitious by prayer, we go into the marketplace of souls armed; without that, the day is shipwreck. The early Church did not grow because they met often, but because they met as a house of prayer, not a den of thieves trafficking in their own reputations.

Therefore, ask yourself: do you desire more meetings, or do you desire God? If your heart is fully His, He will draw the multitude. But if you let the meetings increase while the prayer that pierces heaven grows thin, you will have crowds but no stars that shine forever. Keep asking for the Spirit of supplication, but begin by confessing that even your asking is weak unless He kindles it. Labour to have Christ formed in you first, then in them. The wise win souls not by eloquence but by being so near to the heart of the Bridegroom that their very presence compels others to come in. Do not let the evil one snatch away the seed through distractions that seem lawful. The love of Christ compels when a man sees that he is already dead and his life is hid with Christ. Go forth, then, not despising the day of small things, but trembling that even the small thing requires the strength of God, and rejoicing that He is ready to show that strength in those whose hope is wholly in Him.