• The Men’s Night of Prayer begins tomorrow at Midnight and ends at 6:00 am with breakfast. A brief word on why we would do such a crazy thing.
• When Jesus tells the disciples, who look out on a crowd of eight to ten thousand, “you give them something to eat,” he’s probing them. He’s asking them a question, which is: “has being with me changed what you consider possible?” Have they come to see that the rules governing the operation of the natural world do not apply to Jesus, and as Jesus permits, to them. Or are their terms for what is possible basically the same as those of any unbeliever? In other words, do they have faith?
• When someone tells us to pray “believing that you have already received” what you are asking for, we think of them as name-it-and-claim-it Pentecostals. They’re from the sensationalistic faction of Evangelicalism. But those words, of course, belong to Jesus. In that passage (Mk 11:24; Mt 21:22), he says a handful of things that are even more challenging. What do you believe? Do you have faith? Jesus is probing you.
• Providential hindrances notwithstanding, my guess is that most men don’t come to the night of prayer because it doesn’t survive their cost-benefit analysis. It’s just too hard, too much sacrifice, relative to the supposed benefit. Well, I have two responses. First, following Christ is likely to get a lot harder in the next 25 years. If this seems hard, you may want to re-think that perception. Second, you are probably grossly underestimating the benefits, which is to say, your faith in what God can do is likely small.
• Finally, if the enemy is saying to you, “hey, you can just pray at home like you usually do. No need for this hassle.” Well, praying all night is like fasting — it’s a statement, a demonstration in solid, material terms of what ultimately matters to you. We need both food and sleep. When we purposefully go without them, we’re saying, “I, too, live on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father.” We’re saying he is sufficient. We’re saying we truly believe we can seek first his kingdom, and all our other needs will be met in his generosity (Mt 6:19-34).
• I’ve never heard a real Christian express regret over praying more. I always hear real Christians regret praying less. Come, let us spur one another on to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24).