“Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples’” (Luke 11:1, ESV).
If we are honest, we must admit that many of us are weak and ignorant about how to commune with God in prayer. We need Christ as our teacher. He does not give up on us. In his grace, he meets us where we are and leads us where we need to go. It is through prayer that we experience the presence of the Lord and commune with him. We need the Lord’s presence and instruction to best learn the ways of prayer.
Bill Elliff states, “Everything flows from the presence of the Lord. Everything.”[1] I long for the presence of God manifest in my life. As the Psalmist wrote, “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1, ESV); “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (Psalm 63:1-2). God is awesome in every way!
Do you have that kind of hunger for the Lord’s presence? It is in the presence of the Lord that we commune with God through prayer. When God’s people pray in God’s presence, things start to happen. God moves in ways that can only be attributed to him. When God is at work, everyone knows it. I long for times of worship like that.
For several years, I have been praying for spiritual awakening in my life, among NGU students, and at my church. I want to see God move in ways I’ve only read about in history books. The Great Awakenings in the United States were times when God poured out his Spirit. Believers repented of their sins, longed for God, and prayed for forgiveness and restoration. Unbelievers saw the genuine change in the lives of believers. When they were in the presence of God at revival services and other times of worship, they were convicted of their sins and thousands received Christ. The Jesus Movement of the 1960s and 70s, was the last national awakening that happened in our nation. I remember the zeal that believers had for evangelism and discipleship. Many who came to faith were those who rejected and rebelled against established institutions; people from the hippie generation. They were unwilling to settle for business as usual. God moved in my life during that period. I am thankful for many friends who received Christ during those days.
Sadly, the church has often presented obstacles to spiritual
awakenings. The truth is that God sometimes moves in ways that makes us
uncomfortable. Too often we have settled for business as usual when God wanted
to do so much more in our lives. Will you join me in praying for genuine
spiritual awakening in my life, on the NGU campus, and all across the nation.
The gospel of Christ can mend our faults and bring reconciliation. We have been
reconciled to God in Christ, and he has called us to be ministers of
reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-21). Lord, send a Holy Spirit inspired awakening
that shakes the world for your glory!
[1]Bill Elliff, The Presence Centered Church (North Little Rock, AR: Truthlink, 2015),