Do You Long to Preach?

First, crying out to God to use you to preach His Word should not be your top priority. You should cry out to Him to conform you (your life, your obedience, etc.) to the likeness of Christ. As one preacher said, "The most dangerous prayer anyone can ever pray is 'God, make me like Christ. Whatever it takes; if you need to crush me to pieces, if you need to tear apart my ministry, and kick me off of my throne, do it. I don't care, just make me like Jesus'."

Second, I'm convinced by the testimony and histories recorded about every prominent preacher that the preparation to preach is just as if not more important than the act itself. This idea is not original and is contrary to the spirit of the age which tries to prop man up, boosting his self-esteem, and giving him books and websites containing thousands of ready-to-preach sermons in a box. One of the first things I have learned about preaching is that it is primarily testimonial; specifically first-hand testimony! A. W. Tozer worded an expression of this thought well in his book The Pursuit of God saying:

"Hearts that are `fit to break' with love for the Godhead are those who have been in the Presence and have looked with opened eye upon the majesty of Deity. Men of the breaking hearts had a quality about them not known or understood by common men. They habitually spoke with spiritual authority. They had been in the Presence of God and they reported what they saw there. They were prophets, not scribes, for the scribe tells us what he has read, and the prophet tells us what he has seen.
The distinction is not an imaginary one. Between the scribe who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a difference as wide as the sea. We are today overrun with orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they? The hard voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the Church waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is God. And yet, thus to penetrate, to push in sensitive living experience into the holy Presence, is a privilege open to every child of God."

Lastly, a good study aid, while it presents the potential to overwhelm your study of the Bible itself, is a valuable resource when used properly. Here are two books that are excellent on this topic of preaching.

Preaching by Fred Craddock - This one is more of an easy read
Handbook of Contemporary Preaching by Michael Duduit (Ed.) - This one is excellent for study and reference.


On a side note, I must mention two more things. 1) Charles Spurgeon - called the Prince of Preachers. Learn as much as you can from him and his sermons. 2) I have been learning the most about preaching by simply hearing good preaching. Check the resources on the site for good examples.

Any commentary or suggestion is much appreciated. I am no expert.