Influencers Weekly Devotional

THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCIPLINE

by

Pete McKenzie

(Influencers West)

“MEN are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods: God is looking for better men. What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organization or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer.” -E.M. Bounds-

A few years ago a pastor friend asked me, “If you were mentoring a man and you could only teach him one thing in the spiritual disciplines, what would it be?” There was a time in my Christian life when I would have had to think long and hard about this. Would I want him to be strong in the Word, having regular quiet times, memorizing Scripture, or maybe having a method in how to study the Bible? Would I want him to link with a band of like-minded men who were chasing after Christ together? Would I want him to have a good method and habit of sharing his faith with others? These are not just good things, they're crucial to Christian living and growth. BUT THE QUESTION REALLY IS, WHAT IS THE MOST CRUCIAL DISCIPLINE? What discipline will be foundational to all of the others? Which will be the deciding factor in whether the others are ever really realized in our lives? My response today after forty two years in ministry, hands down is…I would want that man to know how to pray, or in other words, to be comfortable in God’s presence. Now you might ask 10 disciple makers this question and get 12 answers, but let me explain why I adamantly feel this is the most crucial discipline: All of the other disciplines flow out of this one. A man needs to connect with God at the heart to know Him and serve Him. Too many men want to serve God but will not take the time to get to know Him. To truly serve Christ, we must know Him intimately. To know Him intimately, we must spend time with Him. Transformation comes through proximity. To glorify Jesus, we must learn to act like Jesus. We must be with Him if we are going to learn to know His voice, to think like Him and have His perspective. Only when a man is with Him intimately can he discover that Jesus loves him. Love begets love, and his love for Jesus must be what drives a man in service and relationship. A man must be free in his relationship with God. This freedom comes when he hears Him say, “Son I love you.” This love drives a man to stand in the face of danger, to bear up under suffering, and to sacrifice for the good of others, as Jesus did. Ministry is living in Christ to so that people are drawn to Him through our reflection of His glory. This happens when we have been in His presence. Why would a man want to discipline himself in the first place? Discipline is no fun. For many years I have sought to get men to memorize scripture, have quiet times, share their faith, involve themselves in ministry and service, and it has been like pulling teeth. They say they can’t memorize or journal and the “tyranny of the urgent” has captured them so that they are too busy doing good things to concentrate on the best things. They know they SHOULD do all these things, but they are not motivated to do them. WHY IS THAT? “Men ought always to pray and not faint.” (Luke 18:1) Of all the duties enjoined by Christianity none is more essential and yet more neglected than prayer.” -Fenelon- “I will behold Your face in righteousness: I will be satisfied, when I awake, with Your likeness.” (Psalms 17:15) “We can never expect to grow in the likeness of our Lord unless we follow His example and give more time to communion with the Father.” -E.M. Bounds- Men are uncomfortable in God’s presence because they have a wrong view of who He is. They have lived their lives on such a performance-based religious system, they think God is disappointed in them because they can’t consistently keep His rules. They feel they can’t please Him and the result is their guilt and shame makes them tend to run from God rather than to Him in their struggle with sin. This is killing the effectiveness of the church. We are seeking to help men get into God’s presence so that they can learn there is no condemnation in Him towards them. In His presence, they learn that they can run to Him in their sin because He is gentle and humble in heart and they will rest for their souls. It all starts with prayer, or being in His presence. We are seeking to create environments where God is welcome to come and help Himself to our lives. Because men do not know God intimately, there’s too much Christ-less Christianity going on out there; too many man-centered sermons; too many folks exercising their gifts of service because their need is to feel better about themselves. These are symptoms of a church where works have replaced grace, where men have been given the idea that it's all about them, and they think they have to live this Christian life by their own self effort. If the church is ever going to be what God intended it to be…well consider this quote: “Praying men are God’s chosen leaders. The distinction between the leaders God brings to the front to lead and bless His people, and those leaders who owe their position of leadership to a worldly, selfish, un-sanctified selection, is this: God’s leaders are preeminently men of prayer.” -E.M. Bounds- It’s not complicated, but it’s also not easy. Our spiritual battle is relentlessly seeking to separate men from God and to render helpless the work of God’s church. We’re a small bunch of guys seeking to influence a large bunch of guys in the direction of knowing Jesus, engaging the battle in His power, and seeking to be God’s men for such a time as this. We believe with Oswald Chambers that prayer doesn't support the work, prayer IS the work! The path to the prayer room is usually not very well worn, but we are making progress. Therefore, we are seeing transformation in men by getting them into God's presence. Marriages, families, churches, businesses, and the community are better off for it. God's answering our prayers, and we're going to trust Him for more. Let's pray for God to give us men like this... “Watch and pray.” (Mark 13:33) “If there be anything I do, if there be anything I leave undone, let me be perfect in prayer. After all, whatever God may appoint, prayer is the great thing. Oh that I might be a man of prayer!” -H. Martyn-