This resolution of Daily United Prayer is based on An Humble Attempt, originally put forward by Jonathan Edwards in 1748. Its design is to encourage God's people in the duty of united extraordinary prayer; setting aside some time every day to pray for the revival of His church and the advancement of Christ's kingdom in our homes, in our churches, in our nation, and in the world.
"Ye are the salt of the earth." Matthew 5:13.
Reflecting one last time on this quick trip to Key West, I thank God for the faithful labors of our brother, Bill Welzien (retired OPC pastor). As Jamie and I were walking the streets, we couldn't help notice the barrage of noise, loud music, and the constant party atmosphere all around especially late into the night. It made us thankful that Bill is there and has been there for such a long time—doing what he can to be salt and light in a dark place. It will be a sad day if that witness is no longer there. This is true of Key West, but it should be true of where we are as well, friends. Whether it be Cambodia, South Africa, the UK, or America.
The thing I noticed about Bill is that he is always carrying around with him some tracts "just in case." Evangelism is not just something he does, it has become a part of who he is. He was telling us that when he first started doing open-air work, it was done strictly out of raw duty. But one evening while he was preaching and watching the sun go down, it dawned on him that what he was doing was actually an immense privilege and honor. He was commissioned by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to declare to the world the only message of salvation and reconciliation with God. This revolutionized his thinking ever since. As we sat talking at dinner afterwards, Jamie and I just enjoyed listening to the wisdom of an older saint share with us what he has learned by experience over the years—to be kind and courteous, patient with the public, and to do what he can so as not to come across as obnoxious or angry. We finished the evening leaving a tract and generous tip for our waiter.
On the way home in the plane, I had an opportunity to speak with the man sitting next to me. When I got around to talking about "Bible Bill," he lit up and told me that he remembered seeing him out there at Mallory Square. He had the deepest of respect for him and said he would be sure to stop and listen to him the next time he's there.
This quote from The Case for United Prayer on page 117 shows us that evangelism was a natural result of the 1857 revival in NYC.
"So far as this city was concerned, the organized systems
of tract and Sunday-school visitation had much to
do with the beginning of the revival, with its spread, and
with its continuance to the present hour."
I put together another short video that gives you a feel of Bill's outreach ministry in Key West. As I mentioned yesterday, Bill has been doing open-air evangelism every Monday, Wednesday, Friday since 1986 (36 years!). He is affectionately known by the locals as "Bible Bill" and uses easel evangelism to help draw attention to the message of Jesus Christ.
I tried to get him setup with the necessary equipment to live webcast his outreach. We had a lot of connectivity trouble since it was outside in a crowded environment. But even so, both he and his wife were very encouraged by the extra reach they had to folks all over the world. They will try it again and see how it goes.
DAILY UNITED PRAYER unitedprayer.net
Mon-Fri @ 12pm EDT // Sat @ 10am EDT
We invite you to join our dedicated and earnest group of praying participants of all ages from around the world that meet every day over Zoom to pray. At the start of each prayer call, a different individual will bring a brief Scriptural meditation. Here's the most recent:
