This past weekend was another all-night prayer vigil for NMC Student Ministries. And there are several things I took away from this:
1. I'm getting too old for all-night events! (Never thought I'd say that!) My body is still in a downward spiral as I've been struggling to make up for lost sleep. However...with that said...
2. God's presence was in that place. This all-night prayer was a time of significant connection for me with my heavenly Father. It was a time of just crawling into His lap & spending it focused completely on getting to know Him better.
3. All too often I go into my times of prayer saying, "God speak to me, I want to hear from you." And it's not bad to cry out to God & let Him know we're listening & ready to hear from Him. But...that prayer "God speak to me, I want to hear from you," is all about me! And I think I often get caught up in what I have to bring before God that I don't take the time to just recognize who He is & how incredible it is that I can even crawl into His lap in the first place!
4. Seeing students come together in prayer is powerful! One of my favorite things from this all-night prayer was simply seeing how others were connecting with God. As I glanced around the room, I saw students standing in awe in the prayer room just reading through prayers. I saw students lifting up their hands or bowing their head in the worship room giving praise to God. I heard nails being driven into a cross in the confession room as students gave over to God things they've been holding onto or have allowed to get in the way. I saw students diving into books & diving into the Word, spending time getting to know their Father. I listened as students prayed powerful prayers, praising God & lifting up their friends, family, church, & community to Him. To see students connect with the heart of God is powerful! It challenges me & excites me at the same time! "O, God let us be, a generation that seeks, seeks your face!"
5. God, move us on our knees! To anyone who has been paying attention to what's been happening in NMC Student Ministries, you know that "if we get one thing right this year, it will be PRAYER." Summer trips such as IMPACT & NYGO started to see the vision. Summer Camp continued this movement of prayer through a cabin dedicated 100% to it. The week leading up to the start of school became a 24/8 movement on our knees as students, leaders, & parents joined in on the journey. There have been 2 all-night prayer events that have taken place in the YMC thus far. Yet, take away all these events & other people & where do I stand in my own personal journey of prayer? The most significant movement that has happened out of all these things, has been the movement that has taken place in my own walk with Christ.
Like so many others, because of an "unanswered" prayer, I had allowed myself to disconnect with God somewhere along the line, thinking that He just wasn't hearing my prayers or they weren't important enough to Him to answer. I've continued to struggle through God's silence, only to realize that He's been speaking louder than ever..."Come and rediscover who I am." In the midst of moving on my knees, I've fallen more in love with God and more in love with just spending time with Him.
Come. Let's rediscover who He is.
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