John always prayed for his unbelieving son – regardless of what people thought. His prayers involved tears, and his voice would tremble as he implored God to intervene. Yet sometimes I could detect something of an unspoken “tut” in the prayer meeting.
For some people such persistence in prayer showed a lack of trust in the Lord, while for others such demonstrations of emotion were unseemly, and certainly slightly awkward for us British!
Yet, I suspect John’s relentless hammering on the doors of heaven for the lost was closer to the kind of prayer that Jesus taught, than some of the more arid prayer meetings I have been part of.
A responsibility to welcome
During the early summer months, many churches see an increase in attendance from families hoping to secure a place at …