What is the goal of our 40 days of prayer? It is important to remember that the goal is increased faith not religion. What is the difference?
Religion builds walls. Walls of ritual, rules, roles, and routines. These walls create boundaries that classify people as insiders or outsiders. Religion builds a wall and then tries to herd everyone into its protective shadow.
Faith digs wells. Wells of the water of the Spirit. Wells of salvation. Wells that put people over process, relationship over rules, results over methods, and obedience over success.
- Abraham had the faith to follow God’s leading to a new place. He dug wells where none had yet existed.
- Isaac had the faith to reopen wells covered up by the enemies of his father.
- Jacob removed a stone from a well in order that the sheep could drink fresh water.
- Moses fought for the right to water the sheep at a well in the wilderness.
In Australia the “stations” are so large that there is no way to fence in the livestock. Instead they dig wells knowing that the herds will never wander too far away from fresh water.
Both building walls and digging wells takes a lot of hard work. But the results are dramatically different. As you pray, don’t get religious, get faithful.