Prayer - a surprising activity
a life transformed - a personal story
from Chris Sadler
Soon after I came to believe in Jesus Christ I began to
interact with men and women from around the world who were
experiencing God at work in profound and often powerful
ways.
One common denominator I noticed was that their lives and
ministries were characterised by a lifestyle of prayer. They
not only had a deep commitment to prayer, they were deeply
immersed in actually praying! As a new follower of Jesus
this inspired me to do the same.
Over the years three aspects of prayer have become very
meaningful to me. I call them the Appointment, the Gap, and
the Watch.
The Appointment
In Isaiah 62:6 there is an interesting Hebrew word that
means 'to mark so as to be recognised, to remember, to
mention' (2142 Strong's Concordance). Various English
versions translate it as 'make mention' (KJV), 'remind'
(NASV), 'call on' (NIV). This is about God's calendar of
events (Eccl 3:1).
Daniel is an excellent example of this kind of prayer
work. He discovers in the book of Jeremiah a portion of
God's calendar about Jerusalem, and starts reminding God to
keep to His own timetable (Dan 9:1-3). And much to my
amazement, I also found myself invited to encourage the Lord
of history to keep His appointments in Jerusalem, and at the
ends of the earth!
The Gap
There are many gaps. Gaps between sin and righteousness,
sickness and health, poverty and Biblical prosperity. There
is also the gap between promise and fulfilment, between the
beginning of a gift, calling, and ministry, and its
ending.
Ezekiel (22:30) was alerted to God's desire for
'gap-standers,' and I too found myself positioned in the
breach! The Lord, it seems, is always looking for people to
bridge the gap between His kingdom's coming and its arrival
in a given situation.
The Watch
This is an awesome discipline (Jeremiah 1:12) to be part
of - to watch what God is watching! To be a member (Isaiah
21:6) of the every-hour-of-every-day worldwide watch of the
Lord for the last 25 years has been an incredible journey.
And the momentum is building across the globe right now,
calling many more to their posts…
Chris Sadler is active in the prayer ministry St
Clement's, Kingston.
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