Leadership AwakeningSample

Beyond the Superficial 

Do you remember the old hair-styling gel commercials for Brylcreem? “A little dab’ll do ya!” Well, unfortunately, too many Christians—even those in leadership—have a similar spiritual life. When it comes to the spiritual disciplines, many people make the mistake of considering the basics as superficial or shallow. Praying, fasting, and Bible study are never superficial or shallow disciplines. On the contrary, they are the fundamental ones that will allow you not only to finish the race, but to do it well. 

It is incredible how many people expect to have great success in business, influence in government or powerful ministries with a “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer life. I’ll never forget the day Leonard Ravenhill told me, “Brother Doug, God doesn’t answer prayer; He answers desperate prayer.” Rather than settling for token, superficial prayers, Christian leaders must learn to wrestle with God and passionately pursue His blessing on their lives (Genesis 32:24–32). Can you imagine Jacob being in the desperate situation that he was in (about to encounter Esau near Bethel) and saying, “God, if you want to, and if you can, bless me…” and then taking a nice comfortable nap? No, of course not. He wrestled all night long with God Himself in order to pursue His blessing. 

In the same way, consistent victory will never be on our side if we just memorize a few favorite Bible verses. We need to consistently take time to saturate ourselves with God’s presence and His Word. This should be one of our top priorities in life. We are called to abide, to remain in Jesus. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain on the vine. How easily do we forget that apart from Jesus we can do nothing? It is fundamental for us to not only make our prayer life and the studying of the Word a priority but also to be committed to applying the Word in every area of our lives. 

Do you ever ask yourself how it is that the first-century Christians rocked the world even though they were known as “uneducated and untrained men”? How did this happen? The answer is found in Acts 4:13: “They had been with Jesus.”

On the day of Pentecost, the apostles received power from above, and in one instant all the failure and frustration that had gone on before was reversed. Weeks before, they had doubted, betrayed, and even denied their Lord. Yet after setting time to study the Word, and praying for weeks to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they became bold witnesses. 

No matter how discouraged you may be at the moment, you can experience this same kind of turnaround! 

Provoke-A-Thought:

Can you be intentional to not only pray and study, but also schedule and think of ways to apply the Word of God in every area of your life?