Cryin’ & Fires & Prayers Oh My!

I’ve been pretty cranked up for the past week or two.  I finally got my diploma last week.  It was a really cool thing that the dean of students put together for the occasion.  It was a little presentation lunch with some professors and other school employees who I’ve had the chance to get to know.  My family was there too, and it was an honor really.  I appreciated the whole thing a lot.  The sandwiches were incredible, annnd I took the leftovers home (spoils of war… or something… … alright so maybe I’m not real classy, but I usually eat pretty well).

However… the diploma is not why I’ve been cranked up.  I know I might’ve led you to believe that, but I didn’t explicitly say it so we’re cool.  God’s put something in me either right before or during the re:turn prayer thing 2 weekends ago.  I hope it doesn’t disappoint you to know that the “new” thing in me is something that has to do with fervent prayer.  I talked a little bit about it in the last post.  I won’t say too too much about it here either.  I don’t completely understand, but it’s a passion-fire that I didn’t light.  My goal with these few sentences isn’t to boast in myself, but I feel like fire from the altar of heaven is meant to spread.  I don’t know how to do that through a blog post, but if it’s possible, I want to do it.  If something in this post snags your heart… follow it where it pulls you.  If it’s an encouragement to your current pursuit… that’s awesome and keep running.  If it seems like a bunch of weird stuff that’s going on in my life and mind… that’s alright too.  I don’t think it’s good for us to pretend to be something more than we are, but it’s also not good to apologize and act like we’re less than what God calls us just because some people might not like it.  I feel like I have less to boast about than any other man, but I will boast of the good things Jesus has done in me as a testimony to what He wants to do in others.  I think it’s good for everyone to do more of that.

We’ve been praying a lot lately for prayer to rise up in people’s hearts.  I feel like fervent prayer is a big deal.  I’ve heard a verse quoted a lot that I think has been misquoted a lot.  I’ve misquoted it a good bit myself.  It’s not misquoted because people decide to be evil and deceptive at times… not at all.  It’s misquoted because the point that it’s used to make is different than the one I’m about to make…

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”  (James 5:15)

You might already see where I’m going with this… let’s make the trip anyways.  I’ve never heard the words “effective” and “fervent”.  I think it’s because the focus is usually on righteousness.  Righteousness is a HUGE deal.  Putting on the righteousness of Christ is big time.  Usually that’s the only issue talked about here.  I was talking to Brad today about how it seems at times that people like to teach and preach things that release us from responsibility or discomfort.  I feel like much has been taught in the church as a whole recently about our place as sons and daughters in God’s house.  We’ve learned that we don’t need to strive and strain for things.  We can just BE and know that God loves us greatly.  This is a huge revelation, and it is completely right.  It’s soooo freeing and incredible.  It’s a big deal, and something that we undoubtedly need to know.  (Is that not what you expected me to say?)

That understanding is HUGE, and it’s a foundation that must exist in the lives of believers.  However, we can’t stop there, and we shouldn’t use that revelation to emotionally excuse ourselves from the state of our nation.  Sometimes I hear proper theology that is taught for the purposes of making us feel better about being complacent.  Can we embrace things that make us uncomfortable because we’re not there yet?  Read the verse again from James… what is an effective prayer?  What is fervent prayer?  I’m not exactly sure how I would even describe those things.  I know it’s a big deal though.  I also know we don’t have to try to manufacture effective, fervent prayer on our own.  We can open our hearts and let them be vulnerable to God and ask Him to lead us into those things.  I really think that’ll work out for us if we can do it.

“Persistence & Perseverance make the bridge between heaven’s truth and our reality.”  That statement has been in the sidebar for a little while now.  Maybe it hasn’t made any sense to a lot of people.  I feel like a little seed about the importance of persistence in prayer and in living our lives has been put in me… and it’s growing like a sonuvagun.  I mentioned it in a blog a little while ago.  I’m not sure that blog made a lot of sense.  I’m not going to retype it right now or anything because it went a different direction.  Back to the above statement… There are a lot of things that are different in heaven than here on earth.  Jesus told His crew to pray for God’s Kingdom and will to come to earth like it is in heaven.  It seems like the truth of what is real in heaven is pretty far from what we experience here on earth.  For over a year, I’ve been randomly asking God how to bring these heavenly truths into reality.  One morning not too long ago, I feel like the above statement is what He said to me.  It seems simplistic, but what if we gave it a shot?

What if we decided to give our lives to praying for God’s will to come to earth? … and then we keep praying with all persistence until heaven has completely come across the bridge to earth (our present reality) or we die and go there.  Jesus taught about persistence in prayer (Luke).  I also think it’s important to ask God for fiery passion for what moves His heart.  Ask to be broken by what He’d like to see happening here that isn’t.  You never know what might happen in yourself.

Lastly… if you’re reading this, will you pray for me?  Will you keep praying for me?  Some of you who read these pray for me a lot, and I appreciate it so so much.  God is amazing, and I know He’s good and wants to bring me life.  …I’m also aware that there is currently a death that lives inside of me, and it wants to end me.  Please pray if you will.  Thank you a lot.

~ by leemyers on November 12, 2008.