The first Sunday of every month the youth pastors in our town (collectively called “Allies”) put on an event called Burning Bush. It’s a time for all our youth groups to come together for worship, teaching, equipping and building relationships. Tonight was my night to be the speaker. As the evening started and I was getting ready to take the stage, I realized that not once had I prayed over my lesson. It’s like God struck me upside the head and said, “Dude, who’s message is this? Is this your message or my message?!” After all the time of studying and preparation I had put into the talk, not once did I approach God about it. I couldn’t believe my stupidity. I went off and prayed by myself, begging God to forgive me, and then grabbed one of the other youth pastors and prayed with him, too. The difference between teaching in my own strength and teaching is God’s strength is incredible. When I got up on stage, the whole lesson felt different. It felt like it flowed from me from me rather than being recited from memorized notes. It’s a good thing God works in spite of me, not because of me.

The moral of the story: Communicate God’s Word with God, not your own word without God.

Posted on October 7, 2007