Advance!

There are 3 things that advance the Kingdom -- prayer, obedience, and persecution [Shawn Baker]. Now you might argue that all 3 carry some degree of pain or "inconvenience" and probably the degree of pain increases in that order.

Prayer is not painful, but it can feel inconvenient, especially to the person who hasn't quite grasped the "love" exchange between two friends. But since God's design is to partner with us in prayer, prayer is KEY! God always sets His people to praying when He's about to move mightily.

Obedience is a little more painful than prayer. It's that darn flesh that doesn't want to behave! Sometimes obedience can feel like taking a beating to the flesh, but obedience produces great joy in the end!

Persecution [for our faith] is something that most of us have not experienced; not like the early Christians, but as time goes on we can expect to see more of it. Paul says in Philippians 1:12-14 that his imprisonment served to advance the gospel. In fact, he goes on to say that even his brothers in the Lord were encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly because of his persecution. Verse 13: "As a result [of my chains], it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ."

Prayer + Obedience + Persecution = Advance!  After all, who wants to retreat?