By Doug Beutler
I must admit there have been plenty of times in my life where I have said, “This sounds like a great plan” but did not pray. In so many cases those plans were failures. Likewise, there have been times when I went to the Lord in prayer first and He has blessed me with idea after idea in accomplishing His plans. The key has been aligning my plans with God’s plans. Aligning my will with His will. Isn’t that part of the purpose of prayer in the first place? Alignment is what makes Matthew 7:7 possible, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” This is what we have been experiencing and are currently experiencing at LifeWater and Seeds of Change. I would like to share 3 things I have learned over the years about plans and prayer.
1) Pray Big
I wonder how many times I have limited God because I didn’t think something was possible. I used my logical brain instead of walking by faith. I look at what was practical instead of looking at what might be possible. I look at what I could do verses what God could do. One of our core values at LifeWater is “Prayer is the way things happen.” I know it sounds so simple but do we really believe it? Do I really believe it? It is one of those experiences where I know it in my head but do I know it in my heart? We have an elder that is always saying this. Always reminding us that God can do anything and prayer is the way things get done.
When I started Seeds of Change in April the number twenty kept coming to my mind. So that is what I started to pray for. Twenty churches joining the network by the end of 2024. Why that number I have no idea but that was the number that I thought the Holy Spirit gave me. That number was big since I had zero churches at the time. Where were these churches going to come from? Why would someone join a network like this? Who was I to start something like this? All those questions but I still felt God was leading me in this direction. So I took a step of faith. I started praying for twenty churches to join the Seeds of Change Network in 2024. Two or three churches joined in April, two or three more in May, two more joined in June and July, two in August, one in September, two in October, one in November, and by December we had 15 churches who have joined the network with 4 other churches considering it. One of our new pastors today just gave me a list of 8 churches who he says definitely need this network. In addition to this I also met with the president and managing partner of Lightwell Insurance Advisors who endorsed Seeds of Change to their 173 churches that are in Northeast Indiana who are under 100 people. Wow, maybe I didn’t pray big enough. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do next.
Don’t ever limit God! Dream Big! Pray Big! Not for me but for God’s glory. Watch what He will do if our prayers are aligned with His will. He can do anything!!!
2) Pray Repeatedly
Financial pressure is one of the concerns of pastors today. In a 2020 Lifeway research survey it said that 48% of pastors say the economy is negatively impacting the church. https://research.lifeway.com/2020/11/10/half-of-pastors-see-negative-economic-impact-for-church/ In another survey 90% of pastors feel some level of financial stress, according to the National Association of Evangelicals. Also 76% of pastors know pastors who leave the ministry due to financial pressures, according to a similar study. https://www.yourmoneyline.com/stories/pension-fund#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%2090%25%20of%20pastors,the%20National%20Association%20of%20Evangelicals.
Financial stress is a real threat to the church and to the clergy.
For the last 3 years we have had some very tough financial issues at LifeWater. For the last 2 years December giving somewhat caught us up. This summer we had been praying that God would motivate our people to give to Him more faithfully and generously. There is so much more we could be doing as a church if we were not strapped for money. All summer we prayed and nothing happened but we kept praying. We decided we needed to take special time in the service to pray. Not just for our financial situation but for a variety of situations facing people in our church. We began in September and our giving in that month was the worse month of the year. But we kept praying in our elder’s meetings and in our Sunday services. October came around and our giving changed…it DOUBLED. November giving was the 3rd largest for the year. God is answering our prayers with “yes”. I am so thankful that we kept on praying.
Don’t stop praying. Keep stepping into Him. Following Him wherever He goes. You will never regret it.
3) Praise God for His Answers
This is something I forget to do, praise God for His answers. I forget to celebrate His victories. I fail to give Him glory for His answers. Not only the ones I love but the ones I don’t love. God is on the move and we all need to keep up with Him.
One of the things we started doing was having a worship celebration a couple times a year to celebrate what God was doing in our church and in our lives. That has been very exciting. We also began having testimonies about what God was doing in our disciple making relationships at church. Those little victories are so easy to miss. One pastor from Seeds of Change told me that he was a little discouraged about his church. But then he told me about a family that was very poor and they were not going to be able to celebrate Christmas. Someone in the church realized this and went to talk to them. The first step in beginning a disciple making movement is being concerned for others. After the meeting this family went out and bought a Christmas tree, lights, and Christmas presents for this family. The family was so touched that they continued coming to church and told everyone that every time they look at their Christmas tree they think of the love of God. Praise the Lord!! That should be celebrated!! The act of giving is a powerful testimony. The pastor looked at me and said, “You are right. We should be celebrating. I should be celebrating! We are going to celebrate this Sunday!”
This blog is dedicated to giving God praise for all He has done and is doing in so many people’s lives at LifeWater and in Seeds of Change. May you be drawn to God’s grace and mercy because of the testimonies of His power.