Last week I published a post about martyrs.  You can see it here.  I stated that we live in a culture in which Christianity trends toward shallow.  We are in desperate need of witnesses.  We need local churches filled with people gripped by the power of the gospel and propelled by the Spirit to preach the gospel.

Thanks to a comment on last weeks post, I’ve pondered some old sermon material of mine.  Early in my pastoral ministry I preached a sermon titled, “Four Dangerous Prayers.”  It had a great impact on a few church members.  The prayers were a frequent topic of conversation.  So much so that I expanded the sermon and preached an entire series on the dangerous prayers.  Once I arrived at First Baptist Sulphur Springs in 2019, I reworked the series once again, and taught the material in our Wednesday Night Bible Study.

If we desire to be people gripped by the power of the gospel and propelled by the Spirit to preach the gospel … we need to change they way in which we pray.  Here are my four dangerous prayers:

Four Dangerous Prayers

PRAYER #1: Lord, use me! This is a dangerous prayer because God has no problem taking you up on your offer. The church is the chosen instrument to accomplish God’s will. He begs for us to surrender. He wants to use us.

PRAYER #2: Lord, disrupt me! This is a dangerous prayer because God will take you out of your comfort zone. We like comfort, safety, and security. Yet, God likes to move us from our comfort zone. I’m sure the disciples were not comfortable being thrown into prison. Yet, God showed them that comfort is not to be a concern. The ministry of the gospel is of utmost importance.

PRAYER #3: Lord, break me! This is a dangerous prayer because brokenness is not easy. Are there things in your life God wants to remove? Are there things that God wants to add to your life? In Jeremiah 18 God is described as the Potter. As the Potter, he takes the clay in his hands and molds it. If the clay is marred, he breaks it down.

PRAYER #4: Lord, heal me! This is a dangerous prayer because we must come to grips with our need. We are broken people in need of a Savior.  We must never loose sight of this truth. Many of us don’t experience healing because we don’t have a routine practice of confession.  You are broken but God can make you whole.

Perhaps danger isn’t always a bad thing.

Perhaps I need to return to this material once again.