Do We Have to Say Yes to Every Need?
"The need is not the call. The call is the call”: on discernment, saying no, and why the Holy Spirit isn't leading us toward burnout.
One of my friends mentioned once how close to overwhelm she’s been, with all the prayer needs around her. “I’ve wanted to disconnect because I felt unable to handle all the need.”
Ah. Yes.
My college mentor Connie told me that obedience does not always look like prayer. “The need is not the call. The call is the call.”
When she first said this, I was pretty sure I didn’t believe it. How could praying for someone ever be the wrong choice?
But then I started to hear certain stories. The person who had been resistant to healing prayer for 17 years who called on Saturday night ready for prayer RIGHT NOW … but the prayer minister was scheduled to speak to a congregation the next day.
Does the prayer minister say yes? Or no?
The Holy Spirit would have to guide. But a NO answer is as legitimate here as a YES.
We don’t have to pray for someone just because they ask.
Or, if we’re not in a good place, it might not be time for us to pray.
Reinhard Bonnke writes in Living a Life of Fire:
The need is not the call. This piece of wisdom has saved the lives of many a missionary, especially in Africa, where the needs are so great that they can pull you to pieces. A missionary can put out so many fires trying to meet needs around him that he suffers burnout. I have known missionary friends who said, ’I hear the cry of lost souls calling me into the mission field.’ These workers are headed for the missionary bone yard. They have responded to the call of the need rather than the call of God. We must go where God sends us, speak what He gives us to speak, hear His voice and obey it—this is our best protection from burnout. It will also guide us to the very best strategy for accomplishing His mission. For everything a man does to follow the call of God, there are ten things he does not do. We cannot do everything. We must focus on the call and not simply the needs.
We get to exercise discernment about when and how to pray.
The Holy Spirit isn’t leading us towards exhaustion and burnout.
Lord, thank you for 1 Corinthians 14:32, which says, “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (KJV), or, as the Good News Translation says, “The gift of proclaiming God’s message should be under the speaker’s control.”
Thank you that we get to walk in alignment with the Holy Spirit. Thank you that you give wisdom for each step of the journey.
May we learn, day by day, what it looks like to walk out our call with you, Lord.
In your precious name, Jesus, amen.
The grace of King Jesus the Lord, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all,
Amy Joy
P.S. Bob vowed that his first book would be about Revelation 4 and 5: two chapters that show us what heaven is like. This allows us to pray “on earth as it is in heaven”: because now we know what heaven looks like. Powerful for prayer, and powerful for perspective.
Get a copy of this gorgeous book here: happybooks.me/heaven