Pray for the Gospel to Spread

by Jonathan Pruitt, PHD, Senior Director of Discipleship Resources

“But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12

Sometimes it can feel like everything depends on us, that if the church is going to grow, we’ve got to work harder or be better. That can be overwhelming. We might even feel that God expects us to become famous, rich, or do some incredible feat in order for him to be happy with us.

There’s a good antidote to this belief in Acts 8. There we meet a man named Simon, who called himself the “Great.” Simon was known as a magician, and many thought he had real supernatural powers. The Bible says he amazed people with his magical works, and all the people “from least to greatest” paid close attention to him. He also apparently had silver and gold to spare.

So, Simon was, from all appearances, doing quite well for himself. He had power, influence, and money. You can imagine what it might be like to visit downtown Samaria when Simon was out and about. Maybe you’d see him make a rabbit disappear or saw a lady in half.

Then Philip, a disciple of Jesus, came to town, proclaiming the good news about God’s kingdom and Jesus. People believed and were baptized (Acts 8:12). Even Simon believed and was baptized. But Simon still wanted to be great. When he tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles rebuked him and called him to repent.

This story reminds us that God’s work cannot be accomplished in our own power. We don’t need to impress people the way that Simon did. The church grows because God is at work, saving and drawing people to himself. We can cast our burdens on him and trust that he will equip us to do every good work (Heb. 13:21). What God wants is for us to be faithful to him.

At ICM, we see God work through people everywhere who are faithful to him, and we are honored to be part of what he is doing.

Prayer

Lord, help us to trust you to do your work and not rely on our own power. Help us to be faithful wherever you have placed us.