Origin of True Spiritual Passion

The passion needed to pursue God's heart comes from a devotion forged in the kiln of our private prayer practice. Do anything and everything to create a special place, time and focus. Without prayer the way Jesus intended it, we live at the level of those closest to us, instead living out the passion of authentic relationship. The world can smell when we are going through the motions, wearing our faith as a badge, rather than a conviction. They run the other way. But if Jesus Christ is the true aroma of our lives, nothing will keep them from Him. True prayer means rubbing shoulders with God, and finding part of Him lingering with us, long after we've said amen.

My Vision for a Ministry of Prayer

It happened quite unexpectedly while I was in the attic praying.
In a moment's time, God let me see into His purpose for me related
to prayer.
The following is what I scribbled down on a scratch piece of paper
in an effort to preserve the vision the way He revealed it.

"Trekking through a great expanse,
A whiteout causing all sight to fail,
I walked on groping for a solid north star,
A purpose for the journey on.
Then a huge structure stood before me,
Giant stones inlaid with wooden beams, a massive cathedral!
When I entered the front door all was still,
As I pushed the storm behind me,
A tomb, still dry and warm, so very warm,
Inviting me to enter the sanctuary.
Yes, it was to this place all my failed attempts had built me for.
The expanse of the chamber made me breathless.
And just as I was to kneel upon the polished granite floor,
And face the altar, the sacred place of union;
A voice beckoned me away.
I walked down into the dungeon, a crypt, dark and boding,
And inside the belly of this cave, I came into a room,
Where a hot roaring fire licked upward,
Too far to see the top,
And the words now were clear, chilling, but distinct.
“You are the tender of the fire.
You will work alone, away,
And live the fullness of my love in complete anonymity.
So you will find your place upon this globe.”

Leaving the Ninety Nine

When I was a teenager, I bought an antique picture of this image, not knowing who the person was dangling from the cliff to save the wayward lamb. The night I came to Christ, I returned to my dorm room, and looked at the picture. Immediately, my eyes were opened to see that it was Jesus. He had left the 99 and snatched me off the ledge. Amazing Grace!

I titled this picture, "Hope in the Hood." I was walking home from Thomas Jefferson in East New York one evening and noticed that the sun was dancing on the taller buildings, that although I was walking in realitive dusk, above me there was radiant sun. It reminded me that hope is often found in dark places. This area of town is one of the roughest in New York City, but the students we meet here are some of the most tender hearted. God is on the move through churches and other groups, who have decided that despite gangs, violence, domestic chaos, poverty and drugs, the body of Christ is alive and well!

This is Jeremiah Lamphere, the man God used to usher in the last great awakening in this country in 1857. He rests outside the American Bible Society along Broadway in New York City.

About the Title "On Shoulders of the Shepherd"

For the past seven years I have been involved in an intense study of the Psalms. It began while living in Orlando, and followed me through our transition to New York City to minster to high school students in the urban enclaves of this great city. The practice of reading, meditating, memorizing and then finally writing on each song has brought strength, perspective and insight into what it means to truly know God. I will never be the same.

Somewhere along the way, the Lord whispered to me the phrase "On shoulders of the Shepherd." After watching King David repeatedly cast himself into the merciful hands of God for his deliverance, it occured to me that he knew his strength came from the shoulders of One who watched out for him, and cared deeply about what concerned him. Time and time again, I left my study sensing that God had brought David up upon his shoulders, much like a shepherd would his precious lamb, and there was carried. David says in Psalm 28, "be their Shepherd and carry them forever." There's no other place I would rather be, than firmly and permanently mounted on God's strength, feeling His sinews bend and stretch as He fights my battles and calms my fears. My prayer is that I would take the pages I have written, and compose a tool that could lead others into some of the same revelations about God as I have had the joy of discovering. The commentary will be aptly titled, "On Shoulders of the Shepherd."