Stage Overview:

PERSEVERING IN PRAYER

Perseverance is sometimes confused with diligence or hard work, but they are subtly different. We must certainly be diligent in our partnership with the God in pursuing his mission to restore shalom to a broken creation and reconcile humanity to himself, but perseverance speaks to something else. Perseverance is about moving forward even, and especially, in the face of determined opposition. We have all faced opposition at different points in life, and any work of the kingdom will certainly be opposed! Besides the spiritual opposition we will face, we know from research into movements around the world that most movements begin after the outside catalysts involved have at least ten years of cross-cultural experience. Likewise, the inside catalysts are almost always seasoned believers who have been following the Lord five, ten, or more years. Of course ten years is not a magic number that guarantees the outbreak of a movement - many faithful children of God have served for longer than that without seeing a movement begin. So how do we not just start well, but continue well? How do we persevere in prayer through highs and lows, through seasons of both abundance and famine? A whole book could be written on that topic (and many have been!), but from our perspective, it comes down to at least three things.

​ First, our focus must be on God, not the mission. If we are focused on the mission, what happens when the work is not going well? When no one responds? When we have months or years with no tangible breakthrough? But if we live enraptured by the presence and beauty of the Trinity, and take daily joy in that communion with the Father, Son and Spirit, we will find that our goals and strategies fade in importance. This is not to say that such things don't matter, or that we should not have focus, goals, strategies, methodologies that we employ to see the kingdom come in our context, simply that our focus must remain immoveably fixed on God himself, not on the work. The work of ministry will inevitably disappoint you; God never will.

​ Second, we must reconsider our definition of success. If we equate success with seeing a movement, we are not only deceiving ourselves, but setting ourselves up for disappointment. Success is not about numbers or breakthroughs or baptisms or new churches started. Those things may certainly accompany success, but they do not define success. Success in the kingdom of God, in partnership with him, is about rightly discerning God's will, and radically obeying him. When we consider success through that lens, suddenly in many ways the pressure and tension falls away. It is not up to you, my friend! This is God's work, and though he has called you to partner with him in it, he bears the final responsibility. In John 6, Jesus says nobody comes to him, unless the Father draws them. Our job is not to draw people to Jesus or convince believers to join us in the work. Our role is to listen, to discern, and to be faithful in obedience. If you need biblical proof of this notion, just look to the prophets, many of whom were ignored and mistreated. Was Jeremiah successful? By a worldly standard, much of his ministry was a failure (have you ever been tossed into an empty cistern in the course of your ministry?); but he was faithful to God's call and direction in his life. He discerned what he was to do, and he did it faithfully - even when no "success" was apparent. Perhaps we need to reorient our minds and hearts away from success as it is understood by the world, and direct our hearts to faithfulness instead.

​ Lastly, we have to remain connected to the vine, our source of life and nourishment. Persevering in the face of determined opposition is draining; how can we expect to press forward if we are not being regularly replenished by the life of God himself? The only means given us in the kingdom of God for replenishment and refreshment is relationship - with God himself and with other brothers and sisters in the faith. We are called to live daily in joyful connection with God; we are called to be joy-fueled, not duty-driven, and that always brings us back to abiding - our "wellspring work" out of which everything else must flow.

Prayer Priorities for this Stage:

• Pray and listen around our own heart attitude toward our ministry desires and goals
• Clarify with the Lord to what he has called us in this season
• Ask the Lord to reveal unhealthy patterns of prayer and establish healthy, sustainable, life-giving patterns of prayer
• Ask God daily for endurance and training in perseverance
• Pray for focus on simply hearing and obeying God
• Ask God to do what only He can do: draw people to himself, multiply disciples, leaders, and churches
• Pray for God to unite us with local believers that have a God-sized vision and God-given perseverance
• Pray for the disciples, leaders and churches that emerge to have a stubborn perseverance