This last week, we hear about prayer from James 5. I was so excited for that passage because I believe in the power of prayer. I want to be the righteous person whose effective, fervent prayer shows great power as it is working. I am not always. I lack faith, grow bored with prayer, and have to remind myself of its importance. Do you identify?
There is a story often told about Charles Spurgeon that encourages and challenges me in this task.
The 19th-century English preacher was known as the “Prince of Preachers.” It is not an exaggeration to say that thousands came to Christ through His preaching. A group of young ministers came one day to visit his church. After showing them the massive sanctuary, Spurgeon offered to show them his “boiler room.” The guests were not interested because boiler rooms were not pleasant places to visit. They were hot and dirty; usually located down in the basement. In Spurgeon’s time, steam was the power source of the day; boiler rooms were the powerhouses, the driving forces of everything. Spurgeon led the young ministers down to the basement where they found about one hundred people in prayer. “This,” Spurgeon said with a smile, “is my boiler room.” Whenever Spurgeon was asked the secret of his ministry he always replied, “My people pray for me.”
CBC, do we pray as if we expect God to do something only He can do? Do we pray as if any successes we have will only come from Him?
