Sometimes God just puts things into perspective and smacks me upside the head! I was struggling to write this blog today…nothing was coming to mind, even as I prayed and searched the Scriptures for a jump start. I was beginning to get frustrated and was feeling a bit sorry for myself. And then – God intervened! A phone call came into the office from a desperate woman whose son has been missing for two days. She was weeping from fear and grief over not knowing where he was or if he was okay. Simply – she just needed someone to pray with her.

Usually I ask all kinds of questions to get more information so I can pray an informed prayer. But today, all I asked her was for her name and the name of her son…and I went before the throne of the Almighty Father, who loves her son more than she could ever imagine loving him. He allowed my mother’s heart to resonate with hers in that moment, trusting Him for the right words to comfort and strengthen her. When we were done, she thanked me, I said I would keep praying for her today, and she hung up. Was she filled with peace? Did she sense that the Lord was watching over her son? Did I even pray in a way that opened her up to the possibility that God is able to bring him home safe and sound? How will God respond to this prayer? I will likely never know this side of heaven – but I believe that our loving Father is already sending ministering angels to this woman’s side, and trusting that her son will come home.

So – in the midst my little feeling sorry for myself hissy fit this afternoon, God brought me into the reality of real life and used me for His purposes in an entirely different way to minister to a hurting person…without knowing circumstances or details…just simply trusting that He knows what is needed in this moment of time and will pour out His grace and mercy in response. It was a divine appointment between one mother and another. Thanks Father, You knew just what I needed today too.

“But You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; You, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is Your name” (Isaiah 63:16).

This scripture passage has a powerful and much-needed statement of faith. In spite of the poor spiritual condition of the nation and their estrangement from God, His people still spoke out by faith the truth that God was their Father. It was an essential step for them. There was every indication that the presence of God had been removed. God, earlier in this passage, declared that He was fighting against them. But in their repentance and sorrow, they held on to the truth of their covenant relationship with God as their Father. It was a breakthrough moment.

How often we need those breakthrough moments. Christians everywhere are living below their spiritual potential. Prayers go unanswered. God seems far away.  We wonder about our relationship with Him. It is time to speak by faith who He is and who we are in Christ. When we wonder and doubt whether revival can ever come again, it is time to hold on to the truth of God’s Word–that Jesus is coming for a Bride who is pure and holy, adorned in white . . . a church that has been revived!

Father, how we love to call You by this name! You are indeed our Eternal Father. We have been brought into Your family through Jesus Christ, adopted as sons and daughters, and sealed with Your precious Spirit. Give us boldness to speak Your Word by faith, even when the circumstances around us seem to go against it. We believe You, Lord, more than our circumstances. Thank You for the unchanging nature of Your Word.

For several years now, I’ve been shepherding a creative week by week 24-7 prayer experience called Light the Fire. A “torch” of prayer is passed between churches, colleges and missions organizations that participate throughout the year. Based on the Moravian Community of Herrnhut, which commenced a non-stop “prayer watch” in 1727 lasting over a hundred years, Light the Fire involves creative prayer stations that help to teach people how to engage with God in unique, kingdom-focused ways. Each community of believers sets up its own prayer experience which takes on its own creative life. The goal is to train God’s people to pray what is upon God’s heart for His kingdom…raising up God’s praying people to become what God Himself has named us (Isaiah 56:7, Mark 11:17) – a house of prayer for all nations.

I believe strongly that people must engage in a lifestyle of prayer in order to connect with God in ways that teach them the purposes and power of prayer. It is more than a devotional act that takes place in segmented silos such as “quiet time,” mealtimes, or at bedtime. Of course, these are good practices to engage in, but most believers are left feeling vaguely dissatisfied with the state of their prayer lives when this is all they do. Believers hear from the pulpit and through seminars that they ought to pray more, and sometimes get some good tips for improving their prayer lives; however, people only remember 20% of what they hear. There is a significant relevance to the activity of prayer that people remember 90% of what they do…even if some of the activity involves being still and listening!

Since our creative God has wired us all uniquely with different gifts, talents, personalities and learning styles, it makes sense that He wouldn’t expect us all to pray the same way. Yet, most of us have been molded into the prayer practices of whoever taught us to pray: our parents, Sunday school teachers, youth leaders, etc. Most of them experienced similar training…and on it goes…generations of dysfunctional praying people training up more generations to pray exactly the same. Many of God’s people never actually step into the presence of God and experience the kind of intimacy with Him that unleashes powerful prayer focused upon His kingdom purposes and plans. Giving people of all ages opportunities to learn to pray through creative, experiential means so they can discover ways that click with how God wired each of them is crucial. Can you imagine the Church once again becoming the house of prayer God designed and Jesus left behind in Jerusalem?

Throughout Scripture, “fire” is used as a symbol of God’s presence, power and purity. As His people learn how to seek His presence, He will demonstrate His power and fill us with it through His Spirit! As we recognize our sinfulness and turn from it He will purify us from all unrighteousness and transform us into holy people, set apart for His purposes. So, Light the Fire is a prophetically powerful name for a week (hopefully leading to a lifestyle) of prayer that engages God’s people with God’s kingdom purposes. If you are interested in more information about Light the Fire, or want to explore the possibilities of engaging in a week of 24-7 prayer with your church, school or organization, feel free to connect with me: kim@harvestprayer.com.

By the way, 65 years after the beginning of the day and night Moravian prayer watch, this small community of believers had already sent 300 missionaries to the ends of the earth. Do it again God! Light the fire of Your presence in us! Engage us in Your work – in our homes, churches, communities…and to the ends of the earth!

“Where is He who set His Holy Spirit among them, who sent His glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for Himself everlasting renown, who led them through the depths? Like a horse in open country, they did not stumble; like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the Lord. This is how You guided Your people to make for Yourself a glorious name” (Isa. 63:11b-14).

When the people of God were experiencing the Lord’s manifest presence, it was a time of great power and awesome deeds from the Lord’s hand. Moses and the time of the Exodus was always the prime example of this for the people of Judah. The Israelites passing through the waters of the Red Sea was a continual reminder of God’s great power employed on their behalf. His presence was clearly with them, and provided for them, even in the midst of difficult times.

It is easy for us to miss the main point of this passage, and the story of the Exodus. It was not primarily about Israel or Moses . . . it was about God and His power and grace. Isaiah points this out twice in this passage. The miracles of God on behalf of Israel were done: “to gain for Himself everlasting renown,” and “to make for Yourself a glorious name.” As we seek the Lord’s presence and the joy of revival, it is vital that we remember this is not for us to just have a good time in the Lord. It is all about Christ receiving even greater glory and honor as He blesses His people with His presence.

Lord Jesus, how we long to see You receive honor and glory among the nations. Do a mighty work within us so that Your name will be glorified. We do not seek to be recognized. Instead, we want You to be celebrated! Show us ways that we can continually point others to You.

“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god” (Psalm 24:3-4).

When my husband and I were preparing for a three month sabbatical in 2015, it was our sense that our most effective years of ministry lay ahead, and we felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to spend some time in rest and play…but also much time in silence and solitude…drawing apart to hear clearly from God without being encumbered by all of our day to day ministry activity.

I never realized how difficult it would be to prepare to disengage and unplug from ministry for a season of rest and seeking the heart of God. As the time drew near for our departure (our first two weeks was spent in Israel), there was a sense of near desperation to “get it all done” and to “get ahead” on all of my deadlines, etc. As this process was taking place, I discovered some serious iDolatry in my life. The iDols are iPhone, iPad, and  iNternet.  I had no idea how addicted I had become to the technology that is so pervasively important to the work I do – writing, posting, communicating, compiling newsletters, blogging, etc. Although I spend much time in prayer and the Word, I believe the usage of “devices” far exceeds the time I spend in heartfelt devotion. And, since I was  committed to the disciplines of silence and solitude during much of our sabbatical time, I was able to see how the enemy can easily distract me and trip me up here!

I was prompted to do a study on idols and idolatry as it would relate to my own lack of proper balance, and what I now know has tempted me to cross the line into sinfulness. I have often trusted in the iDol of technology, which Psalm 24 warns about. It has quite literally become a false god in my life. 1 Samuel 12:21 says, “Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.”

And I want to scream out – “But they aren’t useless – they are very useful to me!” And so, as I read “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols” (Isaiah 42:8), I must wrestle with this! Technology is surely an iDol the enemy of my soul has used…surreptitiously invading my day to day living, and covertly inserting a cancerous addiction to challenge my journey towards Christlikeness.

Certainly I use my phone, iPad and computer for God’s purposes, but I also waste a lot of time uselessly becoming distracted by all of the amazing things the internet has to offer me. Where is the balance that will help me to step back over the line I have crossed and put technology back into proper perspective? How am I to “…flee from idolatry” as Paul admonishes and to keep myself form idols, as John warns?  I certainly don’t want to “cling to worthless idols,” forfeiting the grace that could be mine (Jonah 2:8).

As I prayed about this issue in my life, the prophet Jeremiah brought perspective: “Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this” (Jeremiah 14:22).

This verse makes me evaluate: Am I putting my hope in technology – giving it too much of my discretionary time…looking at my email during meals with my family, asking Siri endless questions about this or that, pinning and Facebooking things that are not ministry related, etc.? There must be a balance. As I unplug from it all during the sabbatical (I’ve already reduced my daily emails substantially by simply unsubscribing from MANY things I never have time to read and just spend time deleting everyday), it feels good – freeing! I actually am beginning to feel the weight lifting as I intentionally leave my phone turned off more, and am not checking Facebook “one more time” before going to sleep, etc. This allows my first and last thoughts of the day (as well as most of the time in between) to be tuned in to the voice of my Lord rather than to be turned aside by lesser things.

My prayer is that by unplugging from technology from time to time, my heart will be pure and my hands clean so that I may give myself to standing in the Father’s holy place, fully committed to Him alone!