This week past I served on a team ministry at a small church in Ohio. I do these throughAldersgate Renewal Ministries. This church was a neat example of love your neighbor. They genuinely cared for one another. The people wanted more of God. The hunger in this place was palpable. Coming in with the resource team to lead a retreat it was a tremendous blessing to walk into a church covered in prayer. An Unusual Place.
God did lots of things this weekend. The largest impact on me was arriving in a place covered in prayer. These people were intentional about giving the space and time to Father God. So often I try to do things in my own power. I skip the preparation of prayer and spending time with the Lord. My usual place is harried, rushed, and skittering from one task or project to the next. The other end of the spectrum is when I step into that unusual place. I can move calmly, intentionally, and be in a place of blessing others. I cover my day in prayer. I am calling it the unusual place because I find it so hard to consistently get there amid the demands of life. I love being there in the place of quiet. I love the way I feel Him lifting me up.Yet the urgent tugs me out of the place. Bickering kids, shrilling phone, calling neighbor, they all tug at me. Do this, go get that, stand up, sit down, write this, cook that... I am overwhelmed. I feel like my brain will implode. When I go to the unusual place, focusing on Father God, His guidance, His word, and His will, I find I can deal so much better with whatever my day throws at me.
When I entered this church for the weekend's ministry, the prayer preparation covered me like a warm blanket. It reminded me of the power of preparation, the power of listening and talking with the Lord. I am reminded of the importance of going to my unusual place.
Go to your place. Make time for Him. Let this place not be unusual but normal. Allow Him to impact your day!
Lord, Bring me to the unusual place, heal my imploding mind, prepare me to follow your guidance throughout my days! Bring me to the unusual place...Again.
1 comment:
Amen, my friend. "Let this place not be unusual but normal" I want that place to be the usual place where I can expect to be there, faithfully spending time with the Father. I've called that place my SanctumAsylum; The same name I gave my blog, because I would like it to have that sort of atmosphere- if a blog can have atmosphere. How to not let life force its demands on our time? I'm still trying to figure that out.
Thank you for the description of this experience. It promotes a desire to be in that place -comfortably held by God- sheltered from the chaos of this world.
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