The following is an excerpt from a recient (7-12-05) Bethlehem E-Star newletter, from Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, MN (John Piper's Church). This is a great ministry, and a great ministry idea that is transportable almost anywhere.
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"Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those
invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the
wedding feast as many as you find.' And those servants went out into the
roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding
hall was filled with guests." Matthew 8:8-10
A handful of yellow-shirted Bethlehem folks scatter weekly along Hennepin
Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets asking lunch-hour passers-by, "Can we
pray for you?" As people hear this question some reply with a smile and a
polite, "No thanks." Others, tight-lipped, keep on walking. Some turn and
sneer. A few, however, stop and ask, "Did you say pray?"
Seeking to bring the good-news of God's all-satisfying supremacy to the lost
in our cities by praying that God, in His mercy and by His grace would
reveal His glory by meeting the expressed needs of the people on our streets
and ultimately their eternal need for salvation, "Prayer Place" volunteers
recognize that the Lord is using this simple question as a means of
initiating many Christ-centered conversations. Take Mike, as an example,
dressed in black from head to toe, with shoulder length hair. When asked if
we could pray for him, his response was a terse, "Pray for my soul." As the
Bethlehem team member began to pray, Mike's hardened exterior began to
soften and afterwards he walked away paging through a Bible-saturated tract.
Or Susan, a thin, redheaded 40-something who, when approached, allowed a
faithful Prayer Place team member to pray. Her eyes quickly filled with
tears and she was open to hearing more of Christ and was eager to take some
of the material we willingly give away.
What else have we learned while on the street this summer? We have learned
that:
1. God hears and answers the prayer of faith when we pray in Jesus' name.
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he
will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My
Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." (Jn.
14:12-14) We prayed with a mother and son, asking God to supply a job for
the boy. Within a week we received a phone call from the mother saying, "My
son got a job!"
2. People are desperate - and many know it - apart from Christ. "Many are
the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts
in the Lord." (Ps. 32:10) Drug abusers, alcoholics, the homeless know their
soul-deep desperation and are receptive to prayer and gospel hope.
3. When we pray with people in the name of Jesus Christ through the power
of the Holy Spirit, God is manifestly present. "But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses." (Ac.
1:8) A young, post-modern couple who knew nothing of Jesus paused for
prayer. As the BBC volunteer focused prayer on the expressed needs the Lord
began to move in their hearts so that tears began to flow and their faces
became radiant. They were very open to further gospel-saturated
conversation.
4. Persecution is to be expected. "Blessed are those who are persecuted for
righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Mt. 5:6) Sneers,
cursing and open hostility to offers of prayer make us realize that whitened
harvest fields are also spiritual battlegrounds.
5. In His kindness God offers salvation freely to all who repent and
believe and is storing up wrath on the impenitent. "Or do you presume on
the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that
God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard
and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of
wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed." (Ro. 2:4-5). Our
response to Christ's Great Commission is to go and through Prayer Place
freely offer this good news of salvation to all who will repent and believe.
Would you consider joining us on Mondays throughout the remainder of the
summer at 11:00 a.m. at the Downtown Campus in room 114? No training
necessary, just an authentic love for Christ and a willingness to step out
in faith. Or, if you are unable to join us, would you consider fasting and
praying through your Monday lunch hour that the wedding hall of heaven would
be filed with many guests who come from Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis?
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