2 BILLION

I spent Thursday and Friday at a Missions Conference in Atlanta. I was reminded of two things in particular. One was the power and necessity of prayer. Missionaries often times find themselves very alone and helpless and their refuge is prayer and the prayers of their supporters.

Let's face it. We have it pretty easy in the States. We don't often find ourselves in desperate need and therefore, we don't pray because we don't have great needs. But prayer is where the power is. Prayer plows the hard soil and prepares the hearts of unbelievers when the seed of the gospel is planted. Prayer should be more than just a wish list of wants and needs. Prayer is communing with God. It is not reaching for things in the hand of God. It is reaching for the hand of God.

The missionaries that I encountered over the last two days believe in prayer and they served to remind me of its importance. I confess that I do not pray like I should. My prayer life is up and down like a roller coaster. It ought not be that way. I want to give more time to it in the days ahead.

The second thing that God spoke to me about at the conference was the need for our churches to focus on missions. Unfortunately, we have departmentalized missions. We see it as just another ministry of the church. The truth is that missions should be the central focus of the church. It is our commission to go into all the world to baptize and make disciples. We get so caught up trying to meet our own needs and make everyone feel good and happy that we forget about the 2 BILLION people in the world who have little or no access to the Gospel. 2 BILLION. That's 1/3 of the world, folks.

We are guilty of being too busy making sure our pews are polished, our stained glass shiny, and our sermons sweet while 2 billion people go to bed each night without any hope for the Savior.

God help us.