Would you believe that the picture above is our auditorium about this time last year?
Every time I see this picture, it’s a reminder to me of this simple yet powerful truth:
Prayer is how God gets things done.
Last Sunday, we talked a lot about how prayer aligns us with God’s plan and produces in us a passion to pursue people. The application that came out of that was the question “Who’s your one?” Who is the one person God has put in your life that you know needs to come to church and come to know Jesus? We were challenged to invite our “one” to LifeSpring on September 8 as we kick off “Limitless Life.”
One thing I didn’t mention much, but I’d like to double down on now is this:
Don’t just pursue you your “one”- pray for your “one”- because prayer is how God gets things done!
Don’t just invite your one- pray for them. Pray that God would prepare their heart. Pray that God would work in their heart. Pray that God would get them to LifeSpring on September 8 (or this weekend!). Pray that God would draw them by His Holy Spirit and save them.
Pray for them- because prayer is how God gets things done- and thinking about our journey to our current facility reminds me of that.
Of all the things we could have done in regard to this facility, the one thing I know we did well is we prayed. We prayed that God would shut the door if He didn’t want us to walk through it- but that if He did want us to move into this facility, He would open the doors.
We prayed the planning board would recommend the town ordinance be changed so a church could meet in that location.
We prayed that we could come to an agreement with the landlord on a rent figure- and we even walked away from the table at one point…only for the landlord to call us back and accept our terms.
We prayed that the Town Council would pass the town ordinance and approve our special use permit.
We prayed that God would provide the funds (because there were none) to renovate the facility.
We prayed that God would use the facility to draw people to Himself.
And you know what?
God has answered those prayers! And I believe that, in regard to our “ones”, He wants to answer those even more!
A building is great- but God is far more concerned about people. And if He answered the prayers we prayed concerning this facility, how much more do you think He wants to answer the prayers concerning our “ones”?
I believe the answer is “infinitely more!” Because God did not come to build buildings- but to save people! And a building is only useful for His plan when it is leveraged to reach people with the Gospel. That’s why He’s provided it for us- so we can use it to reach our “ones”.
We do have to realize one final, critical piece of information:
This fall might not be the time your one comes to know Jesus. In fact, your “one” might be someone you’ve been inviting for years. And it has yet to come to pass. What should you do?
Keep praying.
Our facility was and is an answer to a prayer that started in early 2015. It finally became a reality in January 2019. That’s four years of praying before we saw the answer happen.
Don’t stop praying because the answer hasn’t come yet. Keep praying- and trust that God is going to work in HIS timing- and when He does, it will be in a way that is only explainable by Him for His glory.