All believers are called to ministry. It’s not just for the pastor or missionary but for all of God’s children. The call begins at salvation with a call to follow Jesus. When God elects and calls His children to salvation He empowers them with supernatural gifts to function in the body. Some other notable features of his ministry is the call to faithfulness.
The Call to Ministry is a Call to Faithfulness
Every believer is called to be faithful in the power of the Spirit. One of those areas of faithful service is a devotion to prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." The child of God, regardless of the labor, will devote himself to unrelenting prayer. E. M. Bounds states that "The ministry of prayer, if it be anything worthy of the name, is a ministry of hard labor, a ministry of unwearied and intense longing after God and after His holiness. To be too busy with God’s work to commune with God, to be busy with doing Church work without taking time to talk to God about His work, is the highway to backsliding, and many people have walked therein to the hurt of their immortal souls" (The Essentials of Prayer, pp.34, 36).
The Call to Ministry is a Call to Compassion
In addition to unrelenting prayer, the call to ministry is also a call to compassion. Jesus is the greatest model of compassion. Matthew 9:36 reveals that this characterized His ministry. It says, "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd." People mattered to Jesus, so much that He met their greatest need (Rom.5:8). In Matthew 14:12-14 we see that after the "disciples came and took away the body (of John the Baptist) and buried it," Matthew says they "went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick." Even when He needed a moment alone, He had compassion on those who needed Him. To minister to the body of Christ and the world, we must be follow the example of Jesus by being faithful in prayer and compassionate towards people. But that will only be possible when we love as He loved (see John 13:12-17).
How are you at praying and having compassion for others? I know we struggle with praying "without ceasing," but what about having compassion on those in need. If we can learn anything today, let’s learn from the example of Jesus. He ministered in the power of the Spirit (Mat.3:16) to those in His path. He also ministered against tradition. He was more interested in people rather than institutions (see Mat.23:1-12). This caused Him to also reach out those those who were not Jewish (see John 4). So if God places before you a brother or sister in need, have compassion for them and love them like Jesus does.
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