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Paul Washer, founder of the HeartCry Missionary Society, stressed the importance of prayer and warned against what he called “trinket ministries” during the annual Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, last week.

“You can have really good theology and not be abiding in Christ,” Washer told conference attendees. “Every trial, every war, every reckoning, every breaking that goes on in your life has one purpose: to drive you into ongoing communion with Christ, not just through studying good books, but on your knees.”

Preaching from Mark 1:29-38, Washer noted that the “pivotal point” of the passage was “to see the prayer life of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” adding that “in prayer, secret abiding prayer, there is no glory before men, there is only glory from God.”

“This Great Commission is not going to go anywhere — with all your expounding and all your preaching and all your diagramming — it’s going nowhere without prayer,” Washer continued.

Although Washer acknowledged the importance of rest, he argued that personal prayer “is something that even triumphs over sleep and definitely triumphs over ministry.”

He also addressed “all these trifling trinket kind of ministries” that “aren’t necessary” while stressing that “prayer is necessary,” especially for those serving in pastoral ministry.

Adding to his point on prayer, Washer quoted from the late 19th century Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon who said, “I would rather teach one man to pray than ten men to preach.”

Moreover, Washer believes “a lot of historians” of Spurgeon “are going to have a fight on their hands when they cross through the gates of glory” because “they attribute Spurgeon’s preaching to his mighty intellect or to his memory.”

“Those things he had, but he would fight you on that,” Washer continued. “You can’t look at Spurgeon’s sermons, you cannot read them and find a natural explanation for the fact that that much material was preached and yet every paragraph seems to be gold. … He was a man of prayer, like his Lord.”

Washer was among several speakers featured at the Shepherd’s Conference at Grace Community Church, led by pastor John MacArthur, who had been battling with health issues in the past year. In a brief video message at the conference, MacArthur told attendees that he believed he was on his “last lap” and thanked God for all the years he had served in ministry.

“I realize I’m on the last lap,” MacArthur said in his video message. “That takes on a new meaning when you know you’re on the short end of the candle.”

“I am all thanks and praise to God for everything He’s allowed me to be a part of and everything He’s accomplished by His Word in these years of ministry. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ.”

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