Certainly, I can pray prayers that will help push back the darkness so that the minds of the people can be opened and they can hear or see the light. But if there is no one to take the light to them, that darkness will have been pushed back for no reason.
I can't just sit in the church and say, "Come" and expect people to come to the light. Thank God, Jesus knew that. He didn't just sit up there in heaven looking down at this dark world and say, "Come up here, people. Come up to My heart of love."
No, Jesus came down into the darkness. The Father sent Him and He came to penetrate that darkness. He left His glorious place in heaven and came into this sinful world to show us and tell us the way of salvation.
And when He finished that earthly mission, He turned and said to us, "...as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John 20:21 KJV).
Let that sink in, dear believer. Jesus has sent you!
Where are you sent? Into the world of darkness. You are sent to seek out sickness, disease, hopelessness, frustration, anxiety, and every other work of the devil because you have the answer to it. You have the power to dispel that darkness and put the devil to flight.
Does that mean you need to buy a plane ticket and go to some far-away place? Not necessarily. You may already be living right in the middle of the mission field God has sent you to. It may be in the world right around you... in the house next door... in the office across the hall... in the lives of those you meet every day.
Maybe you've never before stepped out into that world to share the Gospel. Maybe the very thought of penetrating the darkness makes you feel frightened and inadequate. That's okay. All you have to do is ask and God will help you.
Say,
Father, I want to fulfill my mission. I want to penetrate the darkness and bring people into the light. Give me boldness to do it and wisdom to know how. I commit myself to you, spirit, soul and body. Make me into the very best witness for you I can possibly be. Help me watch for doors of opportunity to share the Gospel, and give me boldness to step through them when they come. I believe I have within me the power to win souls today. I promise You, I will use it. In Jesus' name, Amen."A friend of mine who is a missionary in Italy was praying and the Lord told her, "In these last days, there will be a mass production of laborers sent to bring in the harvest."
I believe it. We may have fallen short in the past, but I am confident that the God who started this Church knows how to finish it. He knows how to equip us. He knows how to empower us. And He is mightily able to send us.
He simply needs us to say, "Here am I, Lord. Send me."
All rights reserved. Used by permission.