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FRISCO—Instead of figuring out how to penetrate the culture, it’s time for pastors, convention leaders and laymen to return to the most important ingredient in the life of any Christian leader, Ronnie Floyd told those attending the SBTC’s Empower Evangelism Conference in Frisco on Feb. 28.
“If we want to win Texas to Christ, plant thousands of churches, and penetrate cities of this area, it will not happen without the power of prayer in the life of a Christian leader,” said Floyd, a Texas native and pastor of the multi-site Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas.
“When you pray, you’re trusting in God. When you do not pray, you’re trusting in yourself. Prayerlessness is a sign you’re living on your own power,” he said, describing a tendency to trust in brains, expertise, achievements, gifts, experience, resources, the flesh and other people.
Floyd said he first learned the importance of prayer as a boy growing up at Faith Baptist Church in Yoakum. “On Wednesday night I’d hear Frances and Dot and my mom call out to God in a small-church prayer meeting.”
That priority took hold during his freshman year of college as he accepted a preacher’s challenge to give the first hour of the day to God.
“I had no better sense but to go back and begin that journey,” he said.
Men like W.A. Criswell and Harold O’Chester encouraged him further by their examples.
Remembering David as “a man after God’s own heart,” Floyd said, “God did not raise David up because of his intellect, talent or passion to touch his generation. God raised up David because he was a man after God’s own heart and understood the power of prayer.”
Speaking to pastors, Floyd said, “You may not have the talent it takes—whatever that means. You may have limited intellect, and your passion may be waning. But there’s one thing everyone can do: Seek the God of Heaven who can do more in a moment than anyone ever can do in a lifetime.”
From Psalm 5:3, he explained the priority of prayer in the description of David meeting God at daybreak. “At first light he was there calling out to God” and confident that God heard him, Floyd noted.
Similarly, Jesus modeled the priority of prayer in Mark 1:35.
“If Jesus had a need in his life to get up very early in the morning and find a solitary, isolated place and call upon the Father, don’t you think we have greater needs than Jesus, the Son of the living God?” he asked.
“Whether you’re a lay leader in a church, a pastor, an evangelist, a director of missions, or a convention employee, it’s prayer that must be the priority in our day.”
Quoting the famed English Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon, Floyd said, “An hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon.”
The text in Psalms also provided a plan for prayer, Floyd said, noting that David pled his case. “He said ‘I’m going to set in order and arrange my words to you, God alone, not to others.’”
Like arranging a table for a banquet, “We do all we can to be as prepared as possible in the presence of the king.” The lack of a plan causes inconsistency in prayer, added Floyd, encouraging listeners to follow some type of guide. After using a variety of plans over the years, he returned to “an old-fashioned prayer list” about five years ago.
“I’ve never heard of a pastor being dismissed because he was prayerless,” Floyd acknowledged. “It’s hard for a church to hold a pastor accountable for his devotional life. It’s between you and God. You can’t delegate your walk with God away. Just think what could happen in pastoral ministry in a church if we took prayer as seriously as we say we do.”
Psalm 5:3, also, provides a perspective of prayer, Floyd said, referring to David keeping watch. “Are you looking out for God to move when you pray? Are you praying with great expectation? Does it not alter your perspective when you get your eyes on the King of kings and Lord of lords?”
Just as a sentinel goes to an elevated place in the city to look out for the enemies, Floyd said pastors are to take responsibility for their cities spiritually.
“It’s one thing to be an activist in various ways, but no one can bring change like the power of God.
“For too long the world and the church have seen what we can do. Now is the time that the world and the church see what God can do.”
That can happen, he said, when a Christian is “consumed with a conviction that our God can do more in a moment than I could ever do in a lifetime.”
