Evangelism (6/21/04)

Last week, for a couple days, I was training the person who will be picking up my old responsibilities (Carol). During this time, the conversation rolled around to religion and it turns out that Carol and her immediate family are best defined as agnostic. We talked for a long time about it and she was voicing a lot of the same objections, questions, and criticisms that I had before I was saved. To quote Carol at one point in the conversation - "I just can't stand how self-righteous a lot of these Christians seem". It was tough to just listen and not defend but I think it was the right thing to do. I told her that I remember those same thoughts/feelings well and I suggested some books that helped me answer/address some of my own issues back then. I'm going to send her the books and pray that she reads them.

So the topic this week is evangelism. We are praying for evangelism throughout the world. We are also praying for ourselves - that we obey Christ and spread the word. A couple quick points:

1. If you're at all like me, you probably think it's fairly hard to bring up the topic of your faith in a casual conversation. I'm finding it gets easier the more I do it. So let's just do it.
2. Even harder than bringing it up is saying the right things after the conversation starts. It's hard to not come across as self-righteous or defensive because we do already believe. Just try to remember what it was like when you were on the other side. Listen and empathize.
3. It's important to follow-up and follow through. I need to get Carol the books I mentioned and I need to check in with her in a little while.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Prayer (6/15/04)

Being a part of this list has taught me so much. Probably more than I even know. But I'd have to say the biggest thing is that it has strengthened my prayer life immensely.

I've been thinking about that a lot… trying to understand why fasting does such a great job of strengthening prayer. The conclusion I came to is that it hinges on our selfish nature. The fact that I'm selfish at heart is what makes fasting work for me. If I start a normal day out saying "today I'm going to pray for missionaries in Haiti" I will probably remember to do so 3 or 4 times throughout the day. If I intended on praying for a week, the prayer times would slowly decrease over the week. By the last day, Haiti may not even come to mind at all. However, as soon as I link the prayer topic to my stomach, the dynamic changes dramatically. On a day of fasting, during the first few hours I might pray 2 or 3 times. By the end of the day, my stomach is reminding me to pray every half hour. Imagine what it would be like to fast and pray for a topic for a whole week.

Developing a strong prayer life and strong reliance on prayer is a critical part of our relationship with Christ. It takes that personal suffering to really put the fire under my prayer life. The second part of 2 Corinthians 12:10 says "… for when I am weak, then I am strong".

So this week we are praying for our fast. As we fast this Wednesday and allow hunger to hit us in that personal way, let's pray for our prayer lives. Let's pray that this group and this fast teaches us what it is meant to teach us - how to rely on prayer in all things.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob