Working Overnight and Preaching

Today I had an interesting experience in preaching that I think needs to happen more often.

Working third shift on Saturday I get home on Sunday it is usually around 6am to 7:30am. My service is at 9am so there isn't a a lot of time to prepare, shower get dressed, grab everything and head to the church. My normal pattern is to go right to bed so I usually hit the pulpit slightly fatigued. I hope to go to bed as soon as possible on Sunday. I can definitely see some changes in my preaching

1. I pray a lot during work on Saturday Night/Sunday Night, in fact I am beginning to see the effects that other preachers talk about when they pray all night over a message. There is real Holy Spirit power here.

2. I have a lot of time to think right before preaching about my passage and so I have time to really clarify myself in my head about what I am going to say. It becomes a real gut and heart check on things for myself.

3. When I hit the pulpit at last, I am tired in a good way. I have little resistance to the holy Spirit. Any preacher knows exactly what I am talking about. What God wants you to say seems to be too much so you soften it or edit it. I don't really have the time to explain it here but it happens and a lot of preachers do it. When I am sightly fatigued I don't do this as much, in fact I don't do it hardly at all. The message is much more free flowing and natural. I also don't edit much out.

All in all this had been a good thing. It was a surprise because I thought I would have to fight to get quality up, but the fact is by fighting I may have been interfering with God in the first place.

The issue is always to be a vessel for God use, the more resistance you have to this the more it is work instead of glory to his name.