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The Priority of Prayer in Front Yard Mission
When it comes to Front Yard Mission, we always say Pray First. If you’ve been a Christ-follower for some time, you know prayer is important. Christians talk a lot about prayer. In fact, we’re often better at talking about it than actually doing it! Think of the typical small group meeting where we spend 30 minutes sharing prayer requests…and only 5 minutes praying! So while you might expect us to talk about prayer, please understand that we mean it when we say “Pray First.” Not as lip service or something to be tacked on at the end, but as something core and foundational to the practice of neighboring itself. But why? Why is prayer of first importance when it comes to Front Yard Mission?
You may have heard the line attributed to Abraham Lincoln, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six of them sharpening my axe.” In this folksy but potent metaphor, Lincoln says that properly honing our instruments for the job at hand is at least as important as the work itself. If you’ve ever sharpened a tool, you know it takes some time and some skill. As tempting as it might be to just get in there and start chopping, it’s much better to spend the time to first sharpen your instrument.
We like to say “Talk to God about your neighbors before you talk to your neighbors about God.” There’s no question that praying first will make you…
