Have you ever wondered about what you would say if you could have a chat with your younger self? I have. If I could get in a time machine and talk to the 1990 version of Greg Stier I would share three things with him, er, me.
1. Prayer is the difference between real and perceived success.
The priority of prayer would lead the conversation. I would go buy myself (and myself) a cup of coffee at the Village Inn restaurant I used to study at every day. There, I would look myself straight in the eyes and talk about the centrality of prayer to everything.
I would remind the less wrinkled and more bullheaded Greg Stier not to wait for a financial, relational or emotional crisis to pray. I would beg the younger me to start learning how to tap the limitless resources of the power of God through passionate and persistent prayer.
I would challenge myself to live and breathe prayer as a priority because that’s where the framework for true and lasting success is built. I would talk about how prayer matters infinitely more than strategy and how effective strategies flow out of time in intercession with God Almighty.
If I argued, I would take myself to Ephesians 6:18, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.â€
I would remind me that the apostle Paul, perhaps the most strategic and effective evangelist of all time, concludes his book to the believers of Ephesus with a powerful challenge to pray. If Paul knew the key to ministry success lied in prayer then how much more do we need to recognize that!
Prayer is the key to unlocking the blessings of heaven on our earthly endeavors. It the words of Andrew Murray, “The link between our impotence and God’s omnipotence is intercession.â€
If I could get in a time machine this would be the first truth I would remind myself of. There are two others I would share with the younger me as well.
Stay tuned.
