Fire from His Presence

The revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill, once said, “If weak in prayer, we are weak everywhere.”
There are times when I believe him, and jump into the exciting current of intercession. That fast moving stream lets me see God in a new light, and myself where I should be, broken and dependent. However, if I’m honest I have to admit a lot of the time I regulate prayer to my list of to do’s, thereby making it perfunctory. Perfunctory: motion with efficiency lacking heart. It’s like a skater who hits all her jumps, but there’s no fire in her expression. I’m tied up with urgent mission agenda, or dealing with personal crisis. I lose prayer in the myriad of unspoken, but expected priorities that I’ve formulated around my life and mission. When that happens, it never fails that God brings me to a point of weariness. I find myself too exhausted to lay down prejudice, and step out to love someone. It feels easier maintaining status quo, rather than trust God with bold initiatives. The Bible feels like a Friday evening 80’s movie, over rehearsed and predictable. It’s the right moves without the relational fire that keeps me alive and expectant. The jumps are executed, but the heart is missing.
Prayer brings my weariness into the presence of grace and truth. Here, I deeply feel alive and loved, at the same time hearing what I need in order to repent. It takes my will and brings it from a perfunctory to a passionate expression—a vessel filled and emboldened by His Spirit.
Next time God invites you to enter in, use it as a serious opportunity to build a fire in your belly, a renewed sense of His presence. Let this be our quiet agenda; huddled in the basement by the furnace, praying for our movement to experience the whisper of a Holy God. In the presence of the Shepherd, HE will call you by name, you will hear His voice and follow Him. That’s a journey no one needs to miss!