“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today.  Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown

      There are many churches today that are ok with giving their congregation spiritual “fish” alone. We learn in the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter and Andrew in the books of Mark and Matthew that there is more required of those who follow Christ. In that moment, when they both dropped what they were doing and turned to follow, these two men began the journey of learning how to live, act, and “fish” in such a way that others would come to accept Christ.

Out of all the things the disciples saw Jesus do and say as they followed Him, there was only one action they asked Jesus to teach them. We see the request made here in Luke 11:1 when it says, “It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples’” (NASB). It is here where we see the early church first seek to understand how to communicate with God. Communication is an important part of our relationship with God because it is in our communications with the Lord that we come to know Him. As we come to know Him, our hearts will long to see others come to know Him the same way we do.  

Just as Jesus taught His disciples how to pray and “fish for men”, our churches today must be living out Kingdom focused prayer and seeking out the lost they need to pray for. As the church prays, God will move, and the nets will be full and in need of pulling in!