Mark Batterson says he has become "a connoisseur of prayer testimonies".
He means that he cherishes stories of answered prayer because "they have lit a fire under my faith unlike anything I've ever experienced".
I know he's right. I am uplifted every time I hear a story of God answering a prayer in a seemingly impossible situation.
Recently, I read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. The result was that many who saw this miracle believed in Jesus and told others about it. And crowds poured out to see him.
Of course, answers to prayer are not always as miraculous as that. But a striking answer to prayer does build faith.
As Batterson says in his book Draw the Circle, we often react to amazing answers to prayer by thinking: "If God did it for them, he just might do it for me."
Personal stories are important in our lives as believers.
The gospels are really a series of eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did and said.
The apostle Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 that he (Paul) has taught him what he learned about Christ from "reliable witnesses" and he urges Timothy to pass on what he has learned to others.
"When God answers a prayer, no matter how big or how small, we need to share it," Batterson says. ". . . Giving testimony is the way we give God all of the glory. But we also need to share it because others need to hear it."
Batterson adds: "Our testimonies don't just remind us that the victory has already been won; they also remind the enemy that he has already been defeated."
He asks: "Is it any wonder that what gets celebrated gets replicated?"
When we hear stories of people becoming believers or being healed, we are encouraged. And we see more people becoming believers and more healings.
"When we share our testimony, we are loaning our faith to others," he says. "When we listen to a testimony, we are borrowing faith from others."
I have become increasingly convinced that we need to record answers to prayer in our church for the encouragement and building up of members of the congregation.
He means that he cherishes stories of answered prayer because "they have lit a fire under my faith unlike anything I've ever experienced".
I know he's right. I am uplifted every time I hear a story of God answering a prayer in a seemingly impossible situation.
Recently, I read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11. The result was that many who saw this miracle believed in Jesus and told others about it. And crowds poured out to see him.
Of course, answers to prayer are not always as miraculous as that. But a striking answer to prayer does build faith.
As Batterson says in his book Draw the Circle, we often react to amazing answers to prayer by thinking: "If God did it for them, he just might do it for me."
Personal stories are important in our lives as believers.
The gospels are really a series of eyewitness accounts of what Jesus did and said.
The apostle Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 that he (Paul) has taught him what he learned about Christ from "reliable witnesses" and he urges Timothy to pass on what he has learned to others.
"When God answers a prayer, no matter how big or how small, we need to share it," Batterson says. ". . . Giving testimony is the way we give God all of the glory. But we also need to share it because others need to hear it."
Batterson adds: "Our testimonies don't just remind us that the victory has already been won; they also remind the enemy that he has already been defeated."
He asks: "Is it any wonder that what gets celebrated gets replicated?"
When we hear stories of people becoming believers or being healed, we are encouraged. And we see more people becoming believers and more healings.
"When we share our testimony, we are loaning our faith to others," he says. "When we listen to a testimony, we are borrowing faith from others."
I have become increasingly convinced that we need to record answers to prayer in our church for the encouragement and building up of members of the congregation.
No comments:
Post a Comment