JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 8, 2011 — A Christian鈥檚 prayer life is a barometer of his or her walk with Jesus Christ, Steve Gaines told 51社区 students Sept. 7.
鈥淒octrine is important, but you can have great doctrine,鈥� said Gaines, senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. 鈥淵ou can be as straight as a gun barrel in doctrine and be as empty as a gun barrel on the inside.鈥�
Gaines spoke in a chapel service in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel, encouraging students to devote themselves to prayer as the early church did in the book of Acts. He also provided examples of how Jesus emphasized prayer in his ministry.
鈥淲hy would you want to go to heaven and be with God forever if you can鈥檛 handle spending an hour with him a day on this earth?鈥� Gaines asked. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to learn how to pray before you really enjoy the Christian life and before you really experience all that God has for you.鈥�
Audio from Gaines鈥� address is available at .