SERVANT LEADERSHIP - The Blue Letter Bible Institute

Servant Leadership – Lesson 30
Prayer and the Word by Bob Hoekstra
I went to a seminary that is dedicated to the Word of God and the preaching of the Word
of God. I have shared this before and I think it is (2 Timothy 4:2) that is their model.
They are so dedicated that written on the walls, not in English but in Greek—I can still
see it—was: Kēruxon ton logon. What did it mean? “Preach the Word.” And my heart
thrills when I hear it. I remember one time in seminary when we almost died getting into
the word, wanting to preach it and forgetting to pray! One of the easiest places to die on
the spiritual vine is in seminary. There were more days with more hang-dog expressions,
coming out of hang-dog spirits saying, “I have another lesson, another analysis of another
book of the Bible.” And we would be bleary-eyed up all night, not praying, just studying.
And the same can happen on the other side. Praying, praying, praying until you fall over
weary from praying, but never hearing from God. So the prayers get stale and ramble off
target, and they are not a joy but become a load to carry.
These early leaders of the church were going to devote themselves to prayer and the
ministry of the word. May the Lord give us nothing less than that same commitment. If
God ordained to start the church that way, how is He going to finish the job? “Okay, they
prayed, they heard up, they taught up, the rest of you can coast on to glory on the coat
tails of the early apostles.” Not quite. If anything, the warfare is more intense today.
Some do not agree with that and it baffles me how they cannot see it. I remember saying
that once at a home Bible study and some young guy (maybe that was the deal, I did it
too when I was young) begged to differ with me. Things have always been awful,
granted, but they are worse now. The Scriptures say that in the last days, “evil men will
go from bad to worse” (cf. 2 Tim 3:13). They will wax worse and worse. May the Lord
give us this heart to devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
And there was a man of God who pastored a big city church in Chicago whose name is
A. W. Tozer. And that man has been an instrument used of God to touch my heart. He
pastored a big city church and he walked what we are teaching right now. And someone
shared a few sermons of his on tape with me recently. They are very precious. Oh, my
heart just burned with the fire of God, as I listened to that man teach!
He was teaching on the classic rapture passage and those who sense the word teaching
that the Lord is coming back before the great day of trouble. And then in the great
tribulation there will be trouble like the world has never seen. Then the Lord will come
back with His saints, according to Revelation 20 and establish His kingdom for a
thousand years. And I was listening to A.W. Tozer teach on that great passage, which I
have heard so many times, in fact, it is one of the cornerstones of the background of my
teaching in the word. And I was just about to weep because my heart was so softened by
his teaching in that passage. And what hit me as I was listening—get this—that man went
into that passage devoted not only to the word and the truth of it but to prayer. He met
God in that passage.
I have taught about the Lord’s return so many times where the major points of the
passage are to order your prophetic calendar. Now have you got it right? Shift your pieces
around, I mean you need to get it right! Amen, there is nothing wrong with being right. I
have been wrong too much, maybe you have too. I would like to be right more often,
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