In our American culture we see the Church as a cruise ship and the pastor is a cruise director. You board the ship on Sunday morning and it’s all about your comfort. It is the cruise director’s job to make sure all your wants are met. (Sorry, I meant “NEEDS”.) The room temperature must be right. The level of music must be totally comfortable. The length of service must suit your fancy. The message must be prepared for the finest of delicate tastes and perfectly pleasing to the palate.
That is not the Church of Scripture. The Church of Scripture is a battleship. It is about search and rescue. It is about war.

Until we see that life is war we have know idea what prayer is for. We think prayer is for getting our needs met. We never dream of prayer as spiritual battle, unless it’s spiritual battle to pray through until I get the house I want, the job I want, the wife I want, the car I want…

Life is war. Prayer is warfare. It is engaging the enemy at the highest levels to ask for the Kingdom of God to come in manifest power. That may not mean my total comfort! It may mean shots across the bow from the enemy. It may mean some sleepless nights. It may mean a lot of things that challenge my comfort.

What do I dream of for my life? Do I want a life of prayer so much that I dream of dying while I am on my knees? As a preacher, the most “romantic” way for me to go would have been to preach, then just slip into eternity.

My dreams aren’t big enough. That would be for MY glory. How foolish.

Let my dreams be of advancing the Kingdom in prayer. Let me go THAT way!