Life Preaching by McClintock Jonathan

Author:McClintock, Jonathan [McClintock, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pentecostal Publishing House
Published: 2015-09-13T16:00:00+00:00

PRAYER AND THE MESSAGE

Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.

—E. M. Bounds

We must never get to the point where we do the job of preaching without prayer. In so doing, we make preaching a job and not a calling. Just as true preaching is biblical preaching; true preaching is only accomplished through prayer.

INTERVIEW

WITH

CHESTER MITCHELL

Below are comments taken from an interview with Chester Mitchell, pastor of Capital Community Church (Ashburn, Virginia), on the importance of prayer and the message:

My preaching flows out of my devotional life. That is what I saw with Bishop Haney. His preaching flowed out of his devotional life. I was close enough to him to watch him on a daily basis, and I noticed that he preached out of his time with God. Quite often I would see him praying and then stopping to go to his legal pad to write down his thoughts, which became the seed for his sermons.

However, on the other side, there is nothing that can take the place of preparation. You just have to prepare.

What have you learned about prayer and its importance in the life of the preacher?

There are so many voices coming at you; when do you hear that still small voice? When do I hear the still small voice? I don’t hear it when I am surfing the web or on Twitter. I hear the still small voice when I get alone with God and listen for His voice to speak. When I get with Him, I hear that still small voice again and again. Later on when I deliver the message, I am always the most surprised guy in the room. I think, “Oh my, what if I had not heard that?”

In my mind, a preacher has to really value and guard the times when he or she can get alone and shut out every voice. Don’t worry about what the guy down the road is preaching or what the guy on television is preaching or what the people are saying in your circle of fellowship. What is God saying to you? You are not going to hear that unless you have a devotion time with God.

What does it mean to have a “prayer life”?

I think what it means is that you are sensitive and respectful enough of the ministry that you carve out time where you listen for God and talk with God. I don’t think it necessarily has to be a formal thing where you are on your knees for eight hours or two hours. It is sensitivity to the fact that you need to hear God’s voice. I have heard the voice of God driving down the road. While I was driving, the need to hear His voice was on my mind; I was in prayer. I have heard it on an airplane while I am sitting there with my legal pad or on my iPad.

What would you say to the preacher who has

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