Truth Is...: November 2008

Last night during my small group the Holy Spirit asked what is the first thing that pops in your mind concerning the purpose of prayer? My first response was intercession, because I have been reading a book on intercession but the Holy Spirit said go a little deeper. “Source” was the next thing that came to mind. This week I had not been faithful in denying the comfort of my bed and getting up to seek the Lord and it has shown. He showed me the example of a cell phone, I plug up my cell phone every night before I go to sleep so that it will have enough power to last through the next day. I can remember days where I did not plug it in to charge it up and how I spent the next day screening calls so I didn’t waste my battery. Or I was constantly looking at the battery life to see if it was going to cut off in the middle of the day. Talking is the way I see things about myself and so I was talking about it, I realized that I really have not been connecting to the source but even worse been relying on my own strength to make it through the day. I was telling God, “I don’t need you, I can make it”. That’s a scary place to be. I said that I want God to be my source, I don’t want to be able to make it through a day where I didn’t tap into my source.

I tried to justify it with the cell phone example: well what if I didn’t talk on the phone that much the previous day (I didn’t totally spend myself on Christ’s behalf) so I have some power left from yesterday. The Holy Spirit said what if an emergency happens and I need all of your energy, but because you’re not fully charged you’ll give out when it’s most critical. Even on the other hand, God did not give the Israelites manna to hoard for the future, they had to use it or lose it. We can hold on God’s power for a future date. He gives it to us to spend in that day. That’s a lack of faith on our part that Christ won’t provide for us tomorrow. (This is convicting even in my writing but it must be exposed!)

This morning as I was reading from one of my books, The ministry of intercessory prayer (Andrew Murray), the chapter that I began to read this morning was “Is Prayerlessness Sin?”. CONVICTION!! I couldn’t even get through the entire chapter. Not tapping in to our source of power will always result in failure or defeat. Defeat and failure are always due to the loss of God’s presence. God’s presence comes through prayer. Look at 1 Samuel 12 with Achan, defeat followed the absence of the presence of God.

Lord, help me to truly see you as my source and not just a resource. Show me that it is IN you that I live and have my being, you are the source of my strength. Father I repent for acting as though I can make it in this life without you and neglecting your work on the cross. I pray that I plug in to you every morning when I rise and every night before I lay down, that I may always have your presence, peace, and power.

Have you made God through prayer your source for living?