THE FIRST OF SEVEN VALUES OF A SOLDIER OF CHRIST - LOYALTY
FOUNDATIONAL VERSE: "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him." (2 Timothy 2:3-4 NASB 1995)
The book, by Senior Pastor Emeritus of Hyde Park Baptist Church/the Quarries of Austin, Texas at first appears manageable enough to read in a single two or three-hour sitting. That would be selling yourself short. It took me a week to go through “Evangelistic Prayer”. It was not only because the author recommended using a pen and highlighter to read it. It is simply because of its richness’ its Biblical foundation and its many life changing illustrations in recent church history.
The eight (8) chapters of “Evangelistic Prayer” are chock full of
proactive points at the very end. These points or “PRAYER PROMPTS” as Dr. Bowman calls them, are tools which I would recommend for prayer huddles; prayer small groups or church prayer meetings at any and all times. Also, if you pick this book up and read it, as intended, and then allow the Holy Spirit to lead, you will find yourself becoming a regular user of the “MY PRAYER LIST” feature. Both tools are the end of each chapter. These are two enriching qualities of an excellent work by Pastor Bowman, who I know practiced what he preached (and wrote) at Hyde Park Church and elsewhere.
In January 2022, I started a twice-monthly prayer meeting at the oldest Baptist church in Illinois – Springfield First Baptist, where I began a long-running men’s bible study in 2012. We launched this prayer meeting with 5 people, where the hour or so was ordered with first praise and a hymn, before intentional intercession, to get into a routine. After three months, I handed it over to the new senior pastor of the Church. While it was structured with an opening hymn and praying through several psalms and portions of Scripture, it was when I introduced the One Cry Prayer Guide, from Byron Paulus, the meeting really grew in numbers. It is now in Year 3 and flourishing. Not only can each individual, huddle, or prayer group do likewise but the “My Prayer List” can be enhanced by then going into the One Cry Guide (HERE) to develop “evangelistic praying” for lost friends, family, communities, and a nation.
The main takeaways I got from this best little book I have read so far, in 2024 are these:
- Evangelism is Biblical and the Lord is willing that none should perish. We are the Hands and Feet of Jesus, so we must have a tremendous burden for the Lost…thereby sharing the good news with as many as possible. We can’t miss – the majority of mankind in this “Christian” are not born again.
- Evangelism cannot be successful without prayer. The Lord is sovereign and can lead us to a person but the most successful form of evangelism that lead the Lost to Christ, begins/continues and ends with prayer.
- Without a foundation of prayer, souls will not be saved and lives cannot be changed. I have personally been a part of three tent revivals. Along with my own preaching and music teams, I led two tent revivals (2015-2016) in Springfield, two years in a row and was part of another one in 2002 run by Life Action Ministries. Life Action Ministries have the best system – a non-stop prayer tent, with intercessors and where the 250 who got saved over those 18 days went, as they got saved. Dr. Bowman recounted similar type tent meetings in his “Evangelistic Prayer”
This review of Dr. Bowman’s “EVANGELISTIC PRAYER” began with a mention of the Words of Jesus as the underpinnings (in my humble view) of evangelistic prayer. Jesus gets the final words: "Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)
The Biblical Foundation for Corporate and/or small group prayer can be found almost exclusively in the New Testament, especially in the Early Church (Book of Acts).
Here are some of the benefits as well as the Scriptural references for group prayer and the Christ-like etiquette we must practice to accomplish this beautiful discipline.
