Archives For Prayer

A prayer of longing

December 12, 2022 — Leave a comment

A few weeks ago, I shared this “prayer of longing” during my final message with Heritage Church; I’m eager to see this longing fulfilled.

I long to see a church rise up…

…a force unstoppable, empowered by the Spirit of the living God to go into the dark and dangerous places. A people of selfless courage and holy resolve.

…who casts off its sin, lays aside its own agendas, releases its pride, and embraces fully the adventurous leadership of Jesus. A church that sets aside its preference and its legalism to be found in the way of selfless grace.

…who is so saturated by the presence of Christ and his Holy Spirit that wherever the church goes it is active in pursuing:

  • Good news preached to the poor
  • Broken hearts healed
  • Captives freed
  • Prisoners released from darkness
  • and the very favor of God declared and experienced.

…who refuses to settle for what is easy to measure, neat-and-tidy to accomplish, and risk-free… and instead pursues transformation at the cost of comfort, Kingdom at the expense of self, and fresh imagination at the sacrifice of what is known.

…who is scripture-soaked, Jesus-anchored, and Spirit-enlivened. That doesn’t just welcome the widow, the orphan, the stranger, and the marginalized but goes to them and sits with them.

…where the living Jesus is so present that whenever this church gathers, bodies are healed, relationships are restored, the dead are raised, and what was impossible becomes possible.

I long to see a church rise up.

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A Prayer

April 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Our God approaches,
and he is not silent.

Psalm 50:3a, NIV

O God, our God, you approach.
You will not be stopped;
you cannot be contained;
you are the one who pursues us.

We are desperate for you to move–to approach us in these circumstances
of life
of death
of hope
of heartache.

Be not silent–you are the one who creates and sustains and renews and calls us to life by your word.

We are waiting for you because you alone have the words of life.
Speak over us.
Speak for us.
Speak in us.
Speak through us.

Our God approaches, and he is not silent!

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First.

July 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

There’s an old recipe for rabbit stew that begins, “First, catch the rabbit…” Though it may seem a bit obvious, at least the writer of the recipe understood the importance of keeping first things first; and when it comes to exercising faith, it’s important to make sure first things really are first in our own hearts.

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Though __________, I will rejoice.*

July 10, 2013 — Leave a comment

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my savior.
~ Habakkuk 3:17-18

The expression of praise and trust we find at the end of Habakkuk is at once life-giving and convicting, especially when we consider the opening line of the book just a few chapters before — “How long, LORD, must I call for help but you do not listen? Or cry to you…but you do not save?” (Hab 1:2)

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Favor: Post 3 (of 5)

January 26, 2011 — Leave a comment

LEAP OF FAITH.

image courtesy of CRASH:candy/flickr

“Either we sell the house, or Sarah gets a job.  We can’t move to Pittsburgh until then.”

Of course we couldn’t move ‘until then.’ It was the only way ends would possibly meet. It made practical sense, so we dedicated time to trying to sell or rent the house and hunt for work.

But after a couple months, neither the house sold or rented and my wife, Sarah, had yet to get a call for potential employment. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the moment, on my way to the ‘Burgh to look at potential apartments for us, when God clearly spoke to me that he had called us to Pittsburgh and we needed to be *IN* Pittsburgh.  I immediately called my wife from the car and said, “I think I’m going to find our new home today, and that we need to move as soon as possible; are you okay with me signing a lease even though you won’t have seen the place?”

Out of gracious faith in God and me as her husband, Sarah’s response was, basically, “Go for it.”

I did find a place, paid a deposit, and planned our move-in day.  We wouldn’t be able to sign a lease until we were both present, so we prayed with extra fervency that God would provide a job for Sarah.  And nothing changed.  Still, we knew it was time to be in Pittsburgh, so, in faith, Sarah and I met in Pittsburgh to sign a lease.  On her way into the City, Sarah got a call for an interview.  We moved into our Apartment and Sarah got a call for a second interview.  Ten days after quitting her job in Carlisle, she started at a new job with better benefits and more pay in Pittsburgh. And this at the height of the Great Recession.

I’m convinced the job wouldn’t have come if we hadn’t taken our leap of faith by moving.

There have been trying times, tests of faith, and incredibly difficult circumstances since then, but God has proven himself ever faithful and has continued to lavish his favor on us. It makes me wonder, what steps of faith are you being called to this week and need to trust that God’s provision will be found on the other side of your obedience?

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This is part three of a series of post recounting God’s faithfulness as we prepare for the Grand Opening of The Bridge.  You can find part one here and part two here.
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