I don’t know how long your drive to church is, nor do I know the specific location of your church. You may drive to church alone to get there early, or your family may come with you—but, either way, I encourage you to adopt one or more of these “on the way to church” strategies:
- Pray for each church whose building you pass on the way to your church. I often wonder how many churches we pass without taking time to pray for them. I’m convinced we evangelicals will be more cooperative if we prayed more for each other.
- Watch for people you pass who seemingly aren’t planning to go to church. You can’t know everyone’s plans for certain, but I suspect you can tell when some folks don’t have church attendance on their radar screen. Let your drive to church become a source of increased burden for your community.
- Listen to the read Word. Use an app on your phone to do it, and simply listen to the Word as you drive. The Scriptures have a way of melting our heart and preparing us better to lead others. If you have young children with you, look for a child’s level reading.
- In your mind, review your sermon text and points. Meditate on what you will be teaching soon (and, in my opinion, recognize that you’re not prepared enough if you can’t remember the points without notes . . .).
- If your family is with you, challenge them to pray together for your church and its services even while you’re driving. Let your children help you come up with topics, and then do some “popcorn” praying one sentence at a time. Make the process fun and memorable.
- Pray the prayers of Ephesians 6:18-20 and Colossians 4:2-4 over and over again as you drive. This prayer sounds something like, “Lord, help me share the gospel boldly and clearly today, and You open hearts to make the listeners ready to hear.” Prayer-saturated leaders approach preaching with more Holy-Spirit confidence and faith-driven expectations.
- Quietly (no music, etc.) meditate on who God is, what He’s done for you in the past, and what He promises you in the future. Even in a short drive to church, turning your heart toward God will change the way you lead and preach this weekend.
What other strategies do you follow as you drive to church?
I read #6 and my first thought was what Jesus said about God knowing our needs before we ask and about “vain repetitions.” I would recommend in place of repeating the same prayer over and over again, that you visualize your congregation in your mind and pray for each member of the congregation that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. I usually arrive at church early and walk up and down the pews or the rows of chairs and pray for those who will be occupying for the pews or the chairs. Praying for people whom you pass on the way to church is an excellent idea. I would not only pray for those who obviously have plans other than attending church on Sunday morning but also for those who are unable to attend church for one reason or another. Some people must work on Sundays. Others may find themselves in the midst of an unexpected family emergency. It is not only a good idea to pray for the clergy and congregation of each church that we pass but also for the employees of each convenience store and supermarket, the firefighters of each fire station, the staff and residents of each nursing home, and the staff and patients of each hospital. We also may pass places in our community which from a spiritual warfare perspective have become the focus of demonic activity. We should pray for these places too. It is also a good idea to ask the Holy Spirit to draw to our attention people and places in the community that particularly need our prayers.
I love this, brother. Thank you!