prayer & fasting

currently, i'm reading a great book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, by one of my favorite authors, John Piper. It is a plea to pastors to not follow a worldly mindset of our calling and try to be professional CEO's of the church, but rather to be Spirit-filled biblical pastors. it's kind of a wakeup call for me b/c there's so much great technology and leadership advancement in the church (which is good), but it leads me sometimes to follow a worldly philosophy on my calling rather than a God-centered biblical philosophy.

so, the chapter i just read has motivated and compelled me to intensify my prayer life. this is the weakest area of my spiritual fellowship with God. i wish prayer was natural habit for me and i could spend an hour or two a day in prayer, but it's not. so, i'm making it a discipline to start each morning with a prayer time for no specific amount of time, but i'm aiming for 30 minutes. this is not a legalistic demand i've put on my favor with God, but rather a spiritual discipline that i hope will turn into a lifelong habit.

Here are some great quotes from the chapter in his book:

"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit knows neither God nor himself. A pastor who does not know the rhythm of desperation and deliverance must have his sights only on what man can achieve."

"The proper goals of the life of a pastor are unquestionably beyond our reach. The changes we long for in the hearts of our people can happen only by a sovereign work of grace."

A. C. Dixon, "When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend on education, we get what education can do; when we depend on man, we get what man can do; but when we depend on prayer, we get what God can do."

"I know that the reason so few conversions are happening through my church is not because we lack a program or staff. It is because we do not love the lost and yearn for their salvation the way we should."

wow! we'll see what happens...through prayer.