Spiritual Awakening

I wrote this article and it can be found in Wednesday’s edition of the The Watertown Public Opinion. 06.12.19

“SPIRITUAL AWAKENING”

I love the city of Watertown. I have been in Watertown for a little over four years and my family and I have found the people here to be friendly, kind and welcoming. Because of my love for this city I have a growing desire to see God work in a new way in our community. My greatest prayer for my family, my church and this city is that we come to know and love Jesus Christ more than anything else on earth. In the book of Philippians 3:8 the apostle Paul clearly communicates what life is all about when he writes this, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

I would briefly like to mention a few barriers that keep individuals, churches and communities from experiencing a spiritual awakening. One obstacle is lifeless, dead religion. Due to the fact that I am a preacher’s kid I know what it is like to be very religious and yet at the same time to be far from God. Going to church, being baptized, and church membership simply do not mean that a person knows or loves Jesus Christ. So the first barrier we must overcome is simply going through the religious motions that give one the semblance of Christianity but fails to have the heart of Christ. Second, we must be aware of how short sighted it is to make pursuing pleasure and comfort our primary goals in life. We live in a great country and we have been blessed with so many material possessions. The problem is that we end up making our hobbies, jobs, sports, education, retirement, bank account what life is all about. Third, many people simply misunderstand what Christianity is about in the first place, so we end up disregarding it or thinking that it is irrelevant. Christianity is not first and foremost about rule keeping. Christianity is not keeping you from the good life. In fact, Christianity is the doorway to where the deepest joy and satisfaction that your heart could ever experience is found.

So, the question we should ask at this time is how do we experience a spiritual awakening in our life, churches, and in our city? I believe with all of my heart that the place it begins is when we seek after God in prayer. In 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read this, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Seeking after God in prayer will mean turning off the TV, putting down our iPhones, refusing to be distracted by a million trivialities, and asking God to do in a new work in our day and time.

A group of local Watertown pastors have begun what we are calling a “Community Evening of Worship and Prayer.” We have already met twice over the past few months and we have experienced a great time of singing, prayer and fellowship. This is a gathering that goes beyond denominational lines. We are, and should be, focusing on more than our own religious turf and thinking about the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). The next Community of Worship and Prayer will be at Midwest Bible Camp on Sunday, August 18th, 6-7 PM. If you want more details you can go to www.prayforwatertownsd.com. Whether you have been in the church for years, or you have never been to church, you are invited to join us as we seek after God and ask him to be at work in our community in a powerful new way. We hope you will join us!

Pastor Michael Wallenmeyer
New Life Church