Standing at the abortion mill in Augusta as I did last week and just praying will NOT get it done. Praying to end the genocide of over a million image-bearers each year in America will NOT get it done. Begging God for revival of His Church in our monthly Columbia Call to Prayer will NOT get it done. Going to church weekly and sending up prayers for a nation that has already gone over the cliff spiritually, morally, ethically, financially, educationally, and culturally will NOT get it done.

God’s Word is very clear that prayer is critical to the advancement of the Kingdom. When troops go into battle, communication with headquarters is vital. Headquarters knows what is happening on the ground and can send reinforcements, firepower, and resources to direct and empower the troops. But communication alone will not get it done. There must be warriors on the ground taking enemy territory. The same is true in this cosmic spiritual battle.

Prayer alone with not get it done! It is time for the Church to NOT just pray, but to SPEAK! Yes, our Lord has commanded us to pray, but He has also commanded us to SPEAK. And it the Gospel that we must SPEAK.

Just look at a few of our Lord’s commands and the example and words of the apostles:

• What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. (Mt 10:27)
• And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. (Mk 16:15)
• And He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations. beginning from Jerusalem. (Lk 24:46-47)
• But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
• How I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)
• For we are not like many peddling the Word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the Presence of God. (2 Corinthians 2:17)
• But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, there we also speak. (2 Corinthians 3:13)

Did you catch the last one? The Apostle Paul said, we believe, therefore we speak. If we believe the Gospel, you and I are commanded to SPEAK the Gospel.

One of the great lies foisted on the Church over the last thousands years is the one by St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” Church, we are commanded by our Lord and His Apostles to speak the Gospel and live the Gospel. It is NOT enough just to pray. It is NOT enough just to live out the Gospel in your personal life. You must SPEAK the Gospel to the lost.

Not all of us are called to be open-air preachers, However, all of us are commanded to SPEAK the Gospel. If you are not SPEAKING the Gospel, repent and run into the arms of Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit for boldness in SPEAKING the Gospel with your family, friends, and school/work associates.

Our culture is largely in the mess it is in because the Church lives in fear of people and their rejection. Paul’s two greatest motivations for SPEAKING the Gospel was the “fear of the Lord” and the “love of Christ” (2 Cor 5:11.14).

Church, our Lord Jesus commands us to SPEAK the Gospel using words. Yes, it is time for the Church of the Lord Jesus to “fervently agonize in prayer” (Col 4:12) crying out for the glory of the Lord to spread to more and more people. But it is also time for the Church to boldly go and SPEAK the Gospel in the face of a world that grows increasingly hostile to the Gospel. We must SPEAK the Gospel no matter the consequences.

If you are interested in getting help in this, please contact me. I would love to help you SPEAK THE GOSPEL.