There are moments when I need to sit silent and let God’s Spirit just work on me. This song has become one of my favorites for those times. What’s yours?
While I Wait….
I’ve struggled with discouragement SO MUCH this week. Not because of anything bad happening but because so much good is possible. There are times that I look out at my congregation; these amazing people God has allowed me to serve; and I see world-changing potential.
I see spiritual gifts just ready to be tapped for the kingdom; I see a people of God who could literally change our city and our world; I see POWER. It’s exciting but its also humbling because it reminds that even tho all those things are already in us because of Christ and His Spirit, they mean NOTHING until His Spirit empowers us to use them; until we cleanse ourselves of sin so that we might experience true revival. I think about Ezekial and the valley bones. In them lay the potential to be a great nation but until God breathed on them, they were nothing….
I want God to breathe on us so bad, I want to see my brothers and sisters in Christ take hold of that world-changing power and let God’s Spirit move them and me into something more. I want to be holy as Christ is holy…… BUT we’re not there yet. I’m not there yet. And so I wait… but I was reminded this morning that as I wait for revival; for His Spirit to fall on us that I will “WORSHIP WHILE I’M WAITING.”
Lord, help me to praise You, to worship and lift Your name high and God fall on us like with a life-giving, powerful breath and bring these dry bones to life!
Total time in prayer this week: 4hours
Spiritual Poverty
I started praying through the Beattitudes this morning and was immediately captivated by how Christ paints the picture of what a transformed life looks like. Too often in American Christianity we look at various lists of virtues and traits that Scripture tells us depict Christ-likeness and we then choose which ones we think fit us. I’m so guilty of this through my life, when in reality God is calling us to ALL OF THEM. I think that’s why Jesus starts the beattitudes this way:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
You see, to be poor in spirit is to understand and acknowledge the deficiency of your spiritual condition. It is to know that we NEED God if we are ever to ascend past this mundane existence and live an eternal life with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. As I prayed this morning, these words came to my heart and lips:
“Lord, help me to be broken today, to be willing to come to You with nothing and allow You to become my everything. Help me this week to start each day fully aware of my spiritual poverty that I may truly discover the riches of Your grace.”
Have you admitted to being spiritually moribund? You are, but so am I. We can’t fix it, but Christ has, all He waits for is for us to accept it and to LIVE it. I never know who reads these ramblings of mine, but I pray for more of you than you may ever know. I’ll be praying for you today, let me know if there’s anything specific I can lift up for you!
Total time in prayer this week: 1 hour
Sometimes it needs to be about me…
and then sometimes it doesn’t. I spent my time walking and praying on Tuesday really focusing on myself. I know that may sound strange but I’m learning that I must continually ask God to work in me. So I spent my time on Tuesday doing just that, asking for forgiveness (that’s starting to happen a lot), asking for His Spirit and Word to be alive me, to purify me, asking for His guidance and wisdom. It was good and it reminded me of Jesus words to his disciples:
“And why do you look at the speck in brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own? Or how can say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and a plank is in yours. Hypocrite!”
I think this holds to prayer too. How can we believe that our prayers will be heard for others if we haven’t first been broken in prayer for our own spiritual condition.
On Wednesday, my prayers turned to those around me, my staff, family, church, our upcoming Men’s Conference. I got to pray with my Sr. Pastor one on one, which is more of a blessing than you can imagine. I have the privilege of working for an amazing man of God and it was awesome getting to pray with him this morning.
Total time in prayer this week: 2.5 hours
