Fear of Losing Control in the Church
When we pray, God loosens our grip on our own lives, our plans and our ministries. As He takes over, things change because people change. No surprise that some in the church would rather stay in control of perpetuated spiritual lethargy rather than let God take charge via a transformational spiritual movement.
When the Spirit moves in and through a praying church, people have to let go of their comfortable “forms” in order to accommodate fresh spiritual realities. We are not called to protect our traditional wineskins. Rather, we must adjust our preferred manmade wineskins to accommodate the new wine of renewal. Frankly, some people prefer things just the way they have always been even if it means they miss out on the fresh spiritual work the Lord wants to accomplish for His glory.
It is common knowledge among pastors that some churches stay small because a few “church bosses” refuse to let the ministry grow beyond their span of carnal control. The spirit of Diotrophes is still alive and well (3 John 1:9). Prayer movements always ruffle the feathers of ecclesiastical controllers. They are sometimes overt in their opposition through open criticism or visible resistance. At other times they simply play a game of passive-aggressive non-participation.
Fear of Abandoning the Comfort Zone
It will be on my tombstone: “The comfort zone is the danger zone.” Biblical, spiritually-passionate prayer is simply uncomfortable for self-satisfied Christians. The fresh movement of the Spirit in a praying church is, by God’s design, fresh, free-flowing and yet unimaginably fruitful. For folks uncomfortable with this, I often quote a verse from 2 Daniel 3:5 (smile) where it says, “Get over yourself.” It is not about us. It is about Him. It is about His gospel. It is about the supernatural accomplishment of His mission through us as we journey in this very short earthly appearance. None of this can happen apart from the Holy Spirit. None of this will happen unless we pray—collectively, passionately, enduringly. This is the New Testament pattern—like it or not.
Fear Not His Goodness and Calling
So “fear not,” my friend. God is good in His intentions to build a praying church. And, yes, He has your best interests in mind when He draws you into prayer with others. So ask Him for the grace to dispel all fear and experience His “power, love and self-control.” The kind that only occurs when we pray.
Copyright © 2018 Daniel Henderson. All rights reserved.
[i] https://michaelhyatt.com/author/erinwildermuth/
[ii] Norman Grubb, Continuous Revival: The Secret of Victorious Living (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: CLC Publications 1952)
This article originally appeared here.
