Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find Him. When they found Him, they said, "Everyone is looking for You." (Mark 1:35-37 NLT)
It had been a big day for Jesus - selecting disciples, teaching with authority, casting out demons, and healing the sick. He generated lots of excitement with his activities yesterday. Everyone was wondering what he would do to top it today! Jesus knew just what was needed...prayer. So he separated himself from all distractions and he prayed.
We started out the summer with a little "Where's Pete" campaign so people could track me walking around neighborhoods and meeting new people. No, I don't have gifts that allow me to draw crowds by healing the sick and the only authority in my teaching comes from God's Word. We started the plan to meet people because I was asking God to "increase my territory" just like the prayer of Jabez. "Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, 'Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me', and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request." (1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV)
The average attendance at Life Bridge after a hard winter was about 150 people. I asked God to double that number through the summer. I would pray for the people who came to services each weekend because they filled out a Connect Card that told me of their attendance. Many of them would share prayer requests as well. So I prayed. Since I was asking God to "enlarge my territory" to 300, I figured I was going to have to go out and meet many new people. So, I planned on walking around neighborhoods to meet new folks.
During this time, God really laid it on my heart to begin a personal process that would help me navigate my days to better follow Him. The pattern was "Read, Share, Pray, Care." I would read His Word each day, share some insights for anyone interested (usually on my blog), pray for His Mission, Provision, Unity and Protection and for people (from the Connect Card) by name, and then care for people in any number of ways He provided.
Something unexpected happened. I started wanting to hear how someone was doing after praying earnestly for their requests. I wanted to communicate with them even though I didn't see them again at a weekend service, sometimes for months after the request for prayer was made. I started to follow-up with people via email, text, Facebook and more. I started praying for people consistently, even when their attendance was not. I also recognized that prayer came before Jesus' ministry to people. I remembered the old minister's saying as well, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." So, I changed the order of those 4 things to keep me in sync with God. Now its "Read, Prayer, Care, and Share."
You know what happened? Well, first of all, my travels got boring. People tracking me started seeing that I was sitting at a computer either at my home or at the Life Bridge building quite a bit. Secondly, I had large gaps in my blogging because it would be late at night and I hadn't gotten to the "share" part of my list for the day (at least not in blog format, anyway). But something else happened as well. God increased my territory. My prayer list went from 150 people to over 300 people in only a couple months - even during the summer!
At first I was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. (Have you ever tried to pray for 300 people on a consistent basis?) But with time (and the help of some electronic tools) it started to become manageable. I really don't think we realize the power of the quiet time Jesus spent with the father. We always focus on his public ministry, teaching techniques, and miraculous powers, but we don't give near enough attention to his private time making sure that he and The Father are "one."
I get it now. My private time with Him is becoming more and more important. As it does, He continues to trust me with more and more people. My prayer list just topped 400 people last week. I don't know when He's going to stop. I haven't asked Him to. I just ask for the wisdom to care for each one He entrusts into my care.
You rock, brother. Those 400 are in good hands. :)
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