Many pray and pray, and when we tell them, “Brothers, let’s take that neighborhood for Christ,” they answer, “We are praying about it.” A year later we tell them again, “Brothers, we have to take that neighborhood for Christ; there are many drug addicts there.” Again their answer is the same – they are praying about it. They spend their lives doing just that, praying. We need to pray, but once God gives us His confirmation we need to stand up as Nehemiah did and say, “Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace” (Neh. 2:17).
We are always expecting God to do everything; we want Him to come and do the preaching. We pray for two minutes, and then we say, “Lord, save the neighborhood.” and that’s it. And that is how we expect people to come to the Lord.
Once God gave me a vision of a big oasis with exotic plants, all kinds of fruit trees, streams of crystal clear waters, flowers, dark green grass, birds, and a large crowd drinking refreshing drinks, eating fruit, singing, laughing and playing. I thought, This place must be paradise.
But as I came closer to the fence around its borders, I saw a desert on the other side. There were no trees, no water, no flowers, and no shade; the hot sun was splitting the rocks in two, and I saw an agonizing crowd staring at us. Many had parched, broken skin; their tongues were swollen, and they had to help each other stand. Their hands were extended toward those of us in paradise, begging for help.
This vision helped me to reflect the church of Jesus. The walls in our buildings are tired of listening to us. Every single brick could become a doctor in theology. Let’s take the message of the pulpit to the streets, to the town squares, to the parks. Let’s go door to door talking about Christ. The cries of those who suffer resonate in our ears. Let’s wake up; the news on radio and television, the daily newspapers, and the weekly magazines are singing praise to the destroyer. Let’s preach about Jesus Christ!
God wants men and women of action. Let’s be sensible and wise. In life, if we don’t give ourselves to action, things don’t happen. If we don’t make an effort, we fail. If there is no action, even when we have great wisdom, we won’t win souls for Christ. Even if they build a whole church for us with everything we need in it, forget it! There needs to be action in every one of our projects, and that means going out to serve the Lord.
If you are lazy, just give up your ministry or ask the Lord to remove your laziness. No lazy person can succeed in serving the Lord, because He needs courageous and hard-working people to work for Him. God told Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged” (Josh. 1:9).
What does it mean to work hard? It is to go beyond our limitations. If, for example, we like to sleep a lot, the ministry will not prosper. Everything needs to have a limit and a measure. It isn’t necessary, however, to then go the other extreme and be so busy that all we do is run all day and not pray.
(From the book Listen to Me, Satan! By Carlos Annacondia, pg 26-27)