The Unthinkable
We must be in continual prayer and have a spiritual revival to stop the violence and win the spiritual war.
Ed Wrather emphasizes the urgent need for continuous prayer in the face of escalating violence and tragedies, such as shootings in schools and churches. He highlights the reality of a violent spiritual war manifesting in physical violence, stressing the importance of genuine, fervent prayer as the solution. Wrather calls for a revival of unprecedented magnitude, urging believers to pray ceaselessly to combat the darkness and protect their communities from further harm.
Text
Pray without ceasing. - 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
The unthinkable has become reality for America and for so many other places. We now have shootings at schools and churches. (The shooting at Wedgewood Baptist Church of Ft. Worth, Texas had just occurred on September 15, 1999.
Eight people were killed, including the shooter, and seven injured in this tragedy.) We have seen the bombing of public buildings and now random bombings of apartment buildings in Moscow. Who would even think of doing such things? We keep thinking this one will be the last one. But each shooting, each bombing seems to fuel the lust for more violence and bloodshed. Will the shooting at the church in Ft. Worth, Texas be the last? Not if we look at how things have progressed over the last couple of years. The shooting at the church only means that not only can people be shot while
they work, at schools, daycares, and restaurants but now churches as well.
We seem to be rapidly progressing toward a point where there will be no area of life safe from violence. We do not want to think about it. We do not want to talk about it. We don't want to read about it. We would like for it all to just go away. But the fact is that it is not going away. We are in the midst of a violent spiritual war which is manifesting itself in the physical. We can take away the guns, bomb making materials, and everything else associated with violence and it will not stop. It will not stop as long as we are losing the spiritual war. We talk about prayer. We sing about prayer. We read about prayer. We hear sermons on prayer. But do we really pray?
We prayed at the flagpoles across this country and many other countries yesterday morning. We prayed for the protection of students across the world. But it was not enough. One morning a year for a few minutes of prayer
will never be enough. This war is going on 24 hours a day every day. We must be in continual prayer. Every day must be a day of prayer. If we seriously want the violence to stop then we must have a revival like this earth has never seen before. Revival will only come as each of us take seriously our responsibility in prayer each hour of the day. We must pray harder and more than any have prayed before. Why? Because next time it could be where we work, it could be our church, our school, our home.... Let us pray before it is too late.
Sermon Outline
- The Unreality of a Safe World
- The Spiritual War Behind the Violence
- The Importance of Prayer
- The Need for a Spiritual Revival
- A revival is necessary to stop the violence
- We must take our responsibility in prayer seriously
Key Quotes
“We are in the midst of a violent spiritual war which is manifesting itself in the physical.” — Ed Wrather
“One morning a year for a few minutes of prayer will never be enough.” — Ed Wrather
“Let us pray before it is too late.” — Ed Wrather
Application Points
- We must take our responsibility in prayer seriously and be in continual prayer.
- A revival is necessary to stop the violence and win the spiritual war.
- We must not just pray for a few minutes, but for every hour of the day.