This was written specifically for my church, where we are looking forward to our annual 21-day season of prayer and fasting in January.  However, it’s good encouragement for anyone thinking of incorporating fasting into their life.  Enjoy!

We’re less than a month away from our yearly “504” (21 days x 24 hours, seeking God in a special way).  So, I’m continuing this series to set our minds for this time. 

I’m by no means an expert on the topic of fasting.  However, I have attempted to make it a regular part of my lifestyle (with varying degrees of success and seriousness) for the last 15 years.  I believe in the power of it, and desire to continue to grow in this grace.  So, I’m hoping through these posts to encourage you and prepare you to engage in fasting in a meaningful and fruitful way.

The best advice I can give you is this: PLAN FOR IT:

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve entered into a fast (whether it was part of a day or many) and what unfortunately happened was, I simply didn’t eat.  There was nothing special about how I spent the time or sought God.  Those are very frustrating times that leave me thinking, “why didn’t I just eat??”.  The point is, if you’re going to fast, make the most of it!  To do so, you have to plan for it.  So, here are a few things to consider:

1. What kind of fast will you do?

      Before discussing specifics I have to say this: IT ALL COUNTS!  If all you do is give up sugar, if it’s unto the Lord, it counts!  He sees and He will bless it!  It’s not about how “hard” the fast is for you, it’s about your heart in the matter!  “Bigger” is not necessarily better.  If your heart is that it be “easy”, that’s all you’ll get – an easy fast.  If your heart is to encounter Jesus deeply — you will! 

      If you are not experienced with fasting, or if you have a very strenuous job, I DO encourage you take an “easy” fast.  However, you DO want it to be a challenge, because by pressing yourself, you are forced to lean into the Lord in a deeper way, and acknowledge your need for Him.  This is where you find Grace!  This is part of the beauty of fasting.

      That being said then, as we’re looking toward a 21-day period, there are a few ways you can approach it:

-A “complete” fast – i.e. no food at all, just water.  This can be a strenuous fast.  Do it only if you feel you have the freedom of lifestyle and grace from the Lord to do it, or if you specifically feel He is “calling” you to do it.

-A “juice” fast.  No food, just liquids.  This is considerably easier, still challenging and requires definitive lifestyle adjustments for the fast period.

-A “Daniel” fast.  A diet consisting mostly of fruits, vegetables and grains.  This is fairly doable for anyone.

-Create your own!  Fast completely three days each week.  Or fast two meals every day (only one meal a day).  Go with what you feel you will be able to stick with and/or what you feel the Spirit may be “calling” you to. 

-“Non-food” fasts.  There are great to do alone or in conjunction with a food fast.  Here you make a conscious decision to “give up” certain things for a season.  You may choose to do a media fast (no TV, movies, radio, etc.), a “word” fast (saying as little as possible, or refusing to talk about yourself, etc.), a “money” fast (stop spending in a certain area and give the money away in a way that honors the Lord).  The possibilities are endless.  Just think of it as a gift.  Whatever you give to your Father, He will enjoy!  So, be creative and have fun (yes, I said FUN in relation to fasting. For real.)

1. Do LESS activity.

      If your fast restricts food intake, this will happen naturally, since you may feel weak.  But, in a practical way, you should schedule LESS things to do, so that you have more time to give toward seeking the Lord in prayer, Scripture meditation, worship, listening, etc.  Spend your “eating” times in spiritual seeking.  Turn off that TV show you always watch.  Limit your computer time, etc.  We’ll be hosting weekly corporate meetings for worship, prayer and teaching as well, because want to all do this together, so make room for that, too.  Our church’s small groups will be on hiatus for these three weeks as well, to give priority to this.

1. Keep a journal- start now!

      It’s always great to be able to remember when the Lord speaks to you or answers a prayer (we forget so easily!).  You can also expect that He will be encountering and speaking to you in a deeper way as you are seeking Him deeper (that IS His promise, after all!).  Keeping a journal is a great way to make the most of this.  Write down everything that He says and special Scripture passages that stick out to.  Write down dreams that you have during this time and ask for their meaning.  Write down inspired words you hear from others as well.  You’ll be amazed, I’m sure of it!  You may even want to begin NOW, by writing down what you’d like to see as you seek Him, or special prayer requests you want to focus on during that time.  Have some expectation.  He WILL meet you.    

4.  Practice!

            We still have a couple of weeks before the “504”.  If you’re new to fasting, but want to make the most of this, try it smaller measures NOW.  Especially if you think you want to do a pretty “serious” fast in January, try a few days now.  Or if you’re very new to fasting, try a portion of a day several times and build up your “endurance”.  He will meet you, even if this!  As I said before, it all counts! J   

Next time, I’ll talk about the REWARDS of fasting.  Yes, there are rewards!   The, you’ll REALLY want to jump in. J

^{Zechariah 8:18} Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me. ¹⁹ This is what the LORD Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”

It’s become an annual tradition for our church to take a 21-day period in January as a special time of prayer and fasting, to set ourselves apart for the Lord, and launch us personally and corporately into a new year.  Sometimes we call it a time of “consecration”, to be more inclusive of the many ways that we can give ourselves to a time that is “holy to the Lord”.  Generally, those tools we use to give ourselves more fully to the Lord have been referred to as ”spiritual disciplines”, e.g. fasting, prayer, Bible study, worship, giving, serving, etc.  One of the most powerful of these, I believe, is fasting.  It is also probably the most under-utilized and perhaps misunderstood of these avenues to engage with God.  Sometimes I wonder if we’ve under-played the fasting aspect of this time, simply because it’s an oft-hated activity.  Those who have fasted will many times confess how much they dislike it, and those who have not ever actually fasted probably haven’t because they dislike the very idea of fasting.

See, actually I think that we should call them “self-disciplines” not “spiritual disciplines” because we are actually disciplining our self (aka “flesh”) so that our spirit can be free.  We have the Spirit of God in us, and He doesn’t need to be disciplined, WE do!  We have to put reigns on our self-indulgent tendencies (how we spend our time, money, energy and how we choose to gratify our appetites: physical, emotional, etc.) so that we can be freed to truly and deeply experience God.  Fasting (and the other disciplines) is uncomfortable because it challenges our selfish nature and our self-centeredness (what we feel we “need” and what we want) – this is probably what causes our dislike/hatred of it.  However, if we can apprehend grace to enter into it, fasting should be an extremely joyful experience!  Why?  Because it sensitizes us and opens us up to more of Jesus, and He is EXEEDINGLY joyful! 

I know, we are currently in a season of “feasting” (in the midst of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays).  Feasting is also very Biblical, and I hope you enjoy this season to the fullest!  But, it helps to prepare yourself before a season of consecration, and that is why I’m putting this out now.  The dates of our “504” (21 days = 504 hours) are January 10^th-31^st (some of you reading this are not a part of SOCC, but you can definitely still set aside a season of seeking God – why not?).  So begin now to think about how you would like to take advantage of this time. 

As I alluded to in the title of this post, it was with JOY that Jesus was able to endure the Cross (Hebrews 12:2).  He knew what would be accomplished by going through the crucifixion.  And, though He didn’t enjoy the process, He knew it was worth it, and He knew that He would enjoy the results.  Similarly, we are told that we should take up our Cross (deny our self) and follow Him (Matthew 16:24)!  Denying self — in whatever choices it looks like — usually doesn’t “feel” good in the process, but what if we could look forward to the results (nearness to God and more of Him in our life) and have JOY??  That is His desire!!  That’s the whole point! 

Just as the verse at the top of this post states, the Lord wants our fasts to be “joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals”.  That may seem odd when in the natural, a fast can make you tired, irritable and weak.  But, if the result is that you are being drawn closer to the heart of God and walking nearer to Jesus, how could it NOT be a joyful, glad and happy occasion??  And I dare say, it WILL be!

Look forward to more thoughts on this in the weeks to come, and if you have questions or thoughts, please post them for discussion! 

This weekly word post is taken from Francis Frangipane’s book, “Holiness, Truth and the Presence of God”. Enjoy!

“You shall not worship any other god, for the Lord Whose name is Jealous, is a Jealous God!”  (Exodus. 34:14)

Sounds good to me!  I must admit that one of my heart cries has always been to “bear much fruit” in my life.  Don’t we all?  Don’t you long  for your life to be meaningful, to have impact, to make a difference in someone’s life?  Of course, we all do.  It’s in the fabric of our being.  Because God put it there.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man

       who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked

       or stand in the way of sinners

       or sit in the seat of mockers.

 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

       and on his law he meditates day and night.

 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

       which yields its fruit in season

       and whose leaf does not wither.

       Whatever he does prospers.

 4 Not so the wicked!

       They are like chaff

       that the wind blows away.

 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

       nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,

       but the way of the wicked will perish.

John 15?

5″I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 9″As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Joshua 1

6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I want to be unshakable, unmoved by life’s circumstances and storms and fruitful in every season (good or bad).  I desire to answer the call to be strong and courageous, to not give in to fear, and yes, to press in to “possess the land” and all that the Lord would give to me/us.  These passages make it clear what the keys are for unlocking this supernatural strength, courage and fruitfulness: 

-delighting in God’s laws

-being rooted deeply in the Lord (like a tree)

-drinking deeply from the waters of Life

-abiding in Jesus, being fully and vitally connected to Him.

-meditating on the Word day and night

-remaining in His Presence

-obeying the Lord

So, instead of trying harder to produce more results/fruit/etc. in our lives and mustering up faith and courage to carry on day after day, we are instructed VERY clearly by God that our main priority must be being with Him. Call it “quiet time”, “devotional life”, prayer/Bible study.  Whatever you call it, it’s basically about building your relationship with Jesus.  All strength, all power, all courage, and great fruitfulness are promised to flow from THAT reality.  And, it takes time.

TIME.  We all have it, but most of us would say we never have “enough”.  A wise person once said to me, as I mused about “not having time . . “:

We have time for what we want to have time for. 

Get it?  To put it differently, your truest priorities are revealed when you look at where you actually spend your time.  Many of us have great notions about what we consider a “priority”.  But, truth is revealed in what we actually do with our time.  You can say that your relationship with God is of primary importance in your life, but if the only time that is set aside for Him is when you’re at church on Sunday morning, what does that really say? 

Where can you “find” the time?  Well, maybe you can spend less time in front of the TV screen or the computer screen.  You could skip a meal here or there (it’s called fasting).  You can get up earlier or go to bed a little later.  It’s not that hard to find the time, the hard part is making it a priority decision and doing it. 

I know for many of you reading this, that may not be a news flash.  It’s not for me.  I’ve been trying to live my life that way for a long time.  But, I still haven’t seen what I believe is the end result that the Word describes.  I have yet to see what I would call “much fruit”, and it’s still a struggle many times to “be strong and courageous”.  Does this mean that it’s not true?  No, because God cannot lie, it’s impossible for Him to do so (Hebrews 6:18)!  It is the answer and we must not grow weary in doing good, for if we do not give up, we WILL reap a harvest (Galatians 6:9)!  They key is:  Don’t give up!  Keep faith for “much fruit”, keep vision for God to His part as you do your part.

Take the prescription that the Lord gave Joshua:  Take His Book (the Bible) in your hand, and in your mouth (speak the words back to Him) and think upon it, day and night.  Give long and loving meditation to God and His Word.  Then, you will see Him conquer your enemies and give you every promise that He has for you.

I try to steer clear of social and political commentary, most of the time, and particularly when I’m writing my posts.  I’m not sure if this is a wise decision (so as not to mix personal opinions with the Word) or if it’s motivated out of fear (don’t want to offend anyone).  I probably teeter-totter in both directions.  I’m also not a big fan of the “news”, so I’m not particularly well-informed most of the time. 

But, I will say that our current culture and recent events give me much reason to pause.  Though I delight in the Lord and sense His blessing in my life personally, I fear that we as a nation/culture/world are consistently moving further away from Him.  Some would quickly step up to their soap box to tell us all the reasons why “those people” are sending us (proverbially) “to hell in a handbasket”.  But, whose fault is it, really?

To put it differently:  Whose world is this?  Who should be setting the cultural norms?  Where does lasting change come from?  Who will have the final say? (Note: the answers to these questions are not all the same.)

The following Scripture passages pretty much tell the story and answer these questions.  I’ll let you read and absorb, then I’ll try to put them together.  Please DO read them, this is my “weekly Word” post after all; you’ll get a good dose of the Word here!  

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it 

Isaiah 9:6-7  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
       and the government will be on his shoulders.
       And he will be called
       Wonderful Counselor,  Mighty God,
       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
   Of the increase of his government and peace
       there will be no end.
       He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.    The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.         

Psalm 102:25-27 In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of Your hands.  
They will perish, but You remain;  they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You will change them
and they will be discarded.
 But You remain the same, and Your years will never end.    

Daniel 2:20-22 “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons;  he sets up kings and deposes them.       
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
  he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 

Revelation 1:5-6 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.   

Revelation 5:8,10 golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. . .You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

Revelation 8:3-4  Another angel . . .was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

Matthew 6:9-10 “This, then, is how you should pray:
 ” ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,
   Your kingdom come,
   Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Revelation 22:17  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”

Here’s the story:

The earth, all of it, and all of the people in it belong to the LORD (Yahweh, the “I AM”).  He has given the governmental authority to His Son Jesus.  Jesus’ Kingdom is ever-expanding and ever-increasing on the earth.  He’s not losing ground and He has never lost control.  He is in the process of fully establishing His Kingdom, and in the End, it will be upon the Earth.  Everything else is subject to change, but He will not.  In fact, He will be the One to change the things that are not right.   

However, He won’t rule this Earth alone.  He has joined Himself to man.  When He became a man, he made the eternal statement about His desire for God and man (us) to be in eternal partnership with Him.  His desire is that we would partner with Him in bringing His Kingdom to earth – and how?  Through (corporate) PRAYER (if this sounds familiar, you probably read this other post).

But, even more than that, if we look into the prophetic picture that God gave the apostle John in Revelation, we see the unfolding of the End Time drama.  Many people are afraid of this book, though at the same time, more people than ever are convinced that we are living in the End Times.  Beloved, this should not be!  God has given us the script for what’s coming down, we can’t ignore it and hope it will all “pan out” in the end (we actually did a chapter by chapter study on the book of Revelation if you’re interested)!

What I find stunning as the events of the book of Revelation unfold, is what precedes some of the most dramatic moments of God establishing His righteousness:  the prayers of the saints.  One of the main catalysts that releases God’s power and reign on the Earth is His people partnering with Him in intercession!  This is our role as “kingdom and priests”.  As priests, we stand before God on behalf of man (intercession), and we stand before man on behalf of God (preaching/witnessing).  As kings, we have the authority of The King to execute His decrees (His Word) and we do it in prayer!  The increase of His government on the Earth (Isaiah 9) comes as more and more people submit to His Lordship AND partner with Him in the place of prayer. 

Another thing that startles me as I look at the picture of God’s activity in the end-times, is this:  the only Church we see is the praying Church.  The people that reign with Him in that day are those who have learned NOW how to partner with Him in prayer.  There is no other group pictured except those who have offered up incense of prayer in the past, and eternally continue to do so.  This is the identity of those who overcome and who truly are “with Him” in the end. 

And, when it truly all shakes out, we will all be of one heart, as the “bride” (Jesus’ eternal companion), in harmony with His Spirit, crying out (prayer), “Come Lord Jesus!”, and then, HE WILL COME!!

Oh, the majesty, the mystery and glory of prayer!

Why I Love Prayer- Part 2

I love life!  I really do!  For the most part, I find myself to be a very happy person.  I’m clearly an optimist, and always have been.  My (step)mother actually pointed this out to me when I was quite young, “you’re what they call a ‘Pollyanna’ person”, she said.  Of course I was like “huh?”, and she explained it to me.  If you look it up, the definition is: an excessively or blindly optimistic person (see here).  Some people would see that as a criticism, but fortunately for me, my Mom seemed to paint the picture that this was a great thing to be, and I have always considered this a great gift of mine.  I see the good in nearly everything.  I like to see the good.  I prefer to give little attention to the ‘bad’.  I would even say that this has a lot to do with faith (see Hebrews 11:1).    

But, I have a confession to make.  I’m actually not satisfied at all with things as they are.

I find myself very often wishing that things were different, on pretty much every level.  To put it plainly, I don’t really like the way things are, and I wish they would change… 

Or, maybe I just see the good that could be, and I’m frustrated that it has not appeared yet. 

I long for my heart to be pure and more devoted to the Lord.

I long for my life and ministry to have a profound impact, to truly make a difference in Eternity.

I want to be the best husband and father that ever lived.

I want to love people deeply, purely, honestly, demonstratively, the way Jesus does.

I want every person I know to know Jesus personally.

I desire the Church to be mature, measuring up the fullness of Christ.

I desire to see a great Awakening yet again in our nation, particularly on college campuses.

I’m looking for the Kingdom of God to come on Earth as it is in Heaven.

Yes, I set my sights high.

I haven’t seen any of these things come to pass yet, but I’m convinced that they can, even more so, that they will.  The unfortunate part of the equation is that I have very little power, if any, to make any of those things happen!  I can’t do it!

But, I refuse to give up.  So, where do I go?

I go to the One who DOES have all power.  I seek the One who can do anything.  I speak to the Lord of Heaven and Earth and make my requests, believing that He will answer me with love and faithfulness.  My voice moves Him. 

I do my part – pray; talk to God; tell Him what He already knows; remind Him of His promises; declare my love and desire for Him to manifest His power (in whatever situation I’m longing to see change in).

Then, He does His part! 

He know what we need before we ask,

YET, he tells us to ASK!!  It’s about relationship, yes.  It’s about PRAYER.

He LOVES when we come to Him.  He LOVES when we ask of Him.  He LOVES to ANSWER us and grant our requests!!! 

Prayer is God’s chosen transaction method for change.  God gets what He wants = us, talking to Him, relating to Him.  In return, we get what we want = answer to prayer.  More importantly, we get what we need = nearness to God!  It’s amazing!   

When we pray, God acts, and things happen.  Conversely, if we don’t pray, nothing happens, nothing changes.  For real!  There are things in God’s heart that He wants to do, but He will withhold the blessing until we pray! 

Many people believe that because God is sovereign (and He is), He will do what He wants to do, regardless of whether we choose to agree with Him or not.  WRONG!  God has chosen to join Himself with humanity, and has limited (some) of His power because He desires partnership with us – that we would bring our hearts into agreement with His; that we would learn what He wants, and desire what He desires, and then ASK Him.  If we can put ourselves in the place, the guaranteed answer is YES!  He wants to do it, He’s just waiting for us to ask. 

The ultimate picture of this is Jesus Himself.  He is God, He is man, completely.  He is a perfect partnership of the two in One person.  And, He’s praying!!  He’s asking the Father for things that He knows the Father wants to do, and the Father says, “YES! YES! YES!” with a huge smile on His face, because He really enjoys this process!  

Check it out from Jesus’ teaching on prayer in Matthew 6:

“7  when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

 9″This, then, is how you should pray:

   ” ‘Our Father in heaven “  

Jesus tells us that our Father already knows what they need, and then proceeds to teach us how to pray/ask God for what they need, and the clear implication is that He will give it when we ask!

Then, a little later in the same sermon, Jesus says:

7″Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

 9″Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

The clear implication here is that if we don’t seek, we WON’T find; the good things come, when we actually ASK God. 

James 4:2 . . you do not have, because you do not ask God

Now, there are many things that may come to your mind during the day, which you don’t like, and where you wish for a change – perhaps “big” things like the government, economy, etc.  Perhaps its “smaller” things, like your job or a strained relationship.  We spend a lot of mental energy grumbling to ourselves and wishing for something different.  Sometimes we even tell ourselves that these musings are prayer, and would tell another “I’ve really been praying about that.“  But, wait.  Did you really stop to talk to God about it?  Did you turn your dissatisfaction into an asking before our Loving Father at His Throne?  Don’t fool yourself and then wonder “why isn’t God answering me?” if you didn’t really pray about it, with your mouth, out loud to Him. 

There’s a completely different dynamic that happens when actually take the energy to turn those thoughts into prayer.  It changes you.  And, yes, it will change your situation. 

That’s why I love prayer!  It works!  God always answers us when we truly call out to Him with a sincere heart!!  I could begin to list numerous things that I have sen change in direct response to prayer, but, this post is already quite long.

I love prayer, because it works.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Romans 5:5  God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The one thing that has always brought me to my knees before Jesus is this:  He loves me.  He loves me.  He loves me.

Unbelievable!  Without any doing on my part, He has loved me.  He has chosen to love me.  He has seen me in my weakest moments, in my deepest sins, my good times, my bad times, my ho-hum times, and in those moments, He has loved me.  He WANTS to love me.  Not just in a conceptual way, either.  He has been so faithful to demonstrate His love to me.  Oh, how He loves to show us His affections!  I can’t even begin to explain how in every season, I have seen His goodness and faithfulness, and yes, felt His embraces.  And, I am fully confident that He has, is, and will continue to do the same for you.    

What I’m saying is, I’m in love with Jesus – because He is in love with me!         

This is why I love prayer.

What happens when you fall in love with someone?

You want to be with them – all the time!  You want to understand what makes them tick.  You want to know what’s on their mind.  You want to feel what they are feeling and share the things that they feel are important.  And, if it goes right, you want to give them of yourself. 

I always remind myself that we don’t have any “original” love for Jesus.  He loved us first, and He always will love us first!  He will always be the One found to move in our direction, way before we move in His direction.  I love that about Him!  He has loved me.  He has loved you.  So, all those those ways we feel when we are in love – He feels for US!!  He wants to be with us, ALL the time.  He wants to know what’s on our mind and heart. He wants to share what is important to us.  What matters to us matters to Him, because He loves us.

To spend time with Him and share ourselves with Him is the very essence of prayer.

But, even as we begin to share our deepest thoughts and feelings with Jesus, spending time with Him, and experiencing His love and affection in our hearts – we find that we want to respond to Him in kind!  I’ve discovered in me a deep longing to find out what is on His mind, and be with Him, doing what He is doing.  This is the place of prayer!

Once again, I find He beat me to it.  This was His desire first!  As He prayed in John 17:  24“Father, I desire those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25″Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

The deep deep desire of the Son of God is that we would be with Him, right where He is, and that He could share the depths of His heart — even share His glory with us. US!  You and me!  This is THE thing that He asked His Father for!

[stunned pause]

So, what is He doing?  Where do we find Him?  And, where does He desire for us to be?

Where He is:

Ephesians 1:21 . .seated .  above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

What He’s doing:

Hebrews 7:25 . .  He always lives to intercede.

Forever and forever, the place where Jesus has chosen to be is on His Throne, PRAYING!  And, it is our grand and royal privilege is to join Him there. 

To be with the King, ruling with Him, in the Throne room = Prayer. Wow.

This is why I love prayer.