Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing to see God work powerfully as His people gather is a good and biblical desire. God has not changed. He is still able to do visible and unmistakable works, and any lack of such power is not because He is unwilling or unable. Scripture shows He is a God who still answers and still acts in ways that leave no doubt that it is His hand.
At the same time, the pattern God gave for His church is seen most clearly in the book of Acts. Much of what has happened in later church history does not reflect what He intended. There we see a people devoted to the Word, to purity, and to love for one another. Power followed purity. When hypocrisy was dealt with and the church was cleansed, power was present. When the Word was faithfully taught, the people grew strong. The church has often emphasized gifted speakers while neglecting steady teaching of Scripture, and the result is weak believers who are not built up. God has set in the church a clear order, first apostles and prophets and teachers, and then works of power. Miracles have their place, but they come after faithfulness to the truth and they are meant to serve and build up the body, not to replace the Word.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him worship in spirit and in truth. That worship is not confined to any building. You can worship Him anywhere, at any time, and He hears. Yet when believers gather together in the name of Jesus, He is present among them in a special way, and it is right to ask Him to move among them.
There is also a more excellent way that God has shown, which is love. The greatest works are not only outward signs, but hearts transformed by grace, lives marked by charity and service and faith and patience, and the miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. That new birth is the greatest miracle of all.
So we join you in praying that as the church gathers today, the Lord would indeed work with power, but in His way and for His glory. We pray that He would purify His people from hypocrisy, that He would cause His Word to be taught clearly and received with faith, that worship would be in spirit and in truth, and that love would abound. We ask Him to do what only He can do, to heal and restore and deliver as it pleases Him, to draw unbelievers to faith in Jesus, and to strengthen believers to walk in obedience. May any miracle that He does point clearly to Jesus, build up the church, and lead people to turn from empty things to the living God who made heaven and earth.
At the same time, the pattern God gave for His church is seen most clearly in the book of Acts. Much of what has happened in later church history does not reflect what He intended. There we see a people devoted to the Word, to purity, and to love for one another. Power followed purity. When hypocrisy was dealt with and the church was cleansed, power was present. When the Word was faithfully taught, the people grew strong. The church has often emphasized gifted speakers while neglecting steady teaching of Scripture, and the result is weak believers who are not built up. God has set in the church a clear order, first apostles and prophets and teachers, and then works of power. Miracles have their place, but they come after faithfulness to the truth and they are meant to serve and build up the body, not to replace the Word.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him worship in spirit and in truth. That worship is not confined to any building. You can worship Him anywhere, at any time, and He hears. Yet when believers gather together in the name of Jesus, He is present among them in a special way, and it is right to ask Him to move among them.
There is also a more excellent way that God has shown, which is love. The greatest works are not only outward signs, but hearts transformed by grace, lives marked by charity and service and faith and patience, and the miracle of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. That new birth is the greatest miracle of all.
So we join you in praying that as the church gathers today, the Lord would indeed work with power, but in His way and for His glory. We pray that He would purify His people from hypocrisy, that He would cause His Word to be taught clearly and received with faith, that worship would be in spirit and in truth, and that love would abound. We ask Him to do what only He can do, to heal and restore and deliver as it pleases Him, to draw unbelievers to faith in Jesus, and to strengthen believers to walk in obedience. May any miracle that He does point clearly to Jesus, build up the church, and lead people to turn from empty things to the living God who made heaven and earth.
