Praying & The Preacher
August 16, 2011Michael Lawrence wrote a stellar article in Christianity Today about how prayer affects a preacher’s preaching. I’m planning to employ one of his practical suggestions:
‘I pray each day for some of my members by name out of the text I’m going to preach on. As I do this, I move beyond the circumstances of life—health, jobs, and relationships—to address spiritual realities as well. Prayer like this produces divinely directed sympathy for the congregation and leads to divinely directed agendas in our sermons. We’re not content any longer with pious platitudes or personal hot-buttons. Instead, through prayer, our sermons reflect the heart of God for his people.’
Somehow, I missed this article in “Christianity Today,” so I’m very grateful that you took the time to point it out and mention it in your blog post. Judging by this passage that you’ve shared with us, the article seems like one I need to read immediately. I’ve printed it out and look forward to sitting down and studying it. Thanks again for sharing!